The Ashes of Tragedy: Parental Death and Child Character Development in Bambi and The Lion King.
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| Title: | The Ashes of Tragedy: Parental Death and Child Character Development in Bambi and The Lion King. |
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| Authors: | Lammon, Marissa1 (AUTHOR) marissa.lammon@colorado.edu |
| Source: | Omega: Journal of Death & Dying. Feb2026, Vol. 92 Issue 3, p1340-1363. 24p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Content analysis, *Child development, *Grief, Orphans, Parental death, Character, Orphanages, Bereavement, Motion pictures |
| Abstract: | The Walt Disney company has been the topic of extensive research for decades; among the explored subjects and identified themes is Disney's fixation on death. Disney has capitalized on the incredibly traumatic childhood experience of the death of a parent by featuring parental death as a major narrative component. Speculation remains regarding the accuracy of not only death presentations in media, but death influence on characters. Using textual analysis, this paper explores the role of parental death on child character development within two Disney animated films. Analysis demonstrates an inaccurate depiction of parental death influence on children in a positive light – essentially overlooking the trauma associated with loss during childhood and the mediating factors of long-term bereavement outcomes. Conversations remain to be had regarding how these inaccurate depictions of death and dying in popular culture influence the children consuming them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Omega: Journal of Death & Dying is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | The Walt Disney company has been the topic of extensive research for decades; among the explored subjects and identified themes is Disney's fixation on death. Disney has capitalized on the incredibly traumatic childhood experience of the death of a parent by featuring parental death as a major narrative component. Speculation remains regarding the accuracy of not only death presentations in media, but death influence on characters. Using textual analysis, this paper explores the role of parental death on child character development within two Disney animated films. Analysis demonstrates an inaccurate depiction of parental death influence on children in a positive light – essentially overlooking the trauma associated with loss during childhood and the mediating factors of long-term bereavement outcomes. Conversations remain to be had regarding how these inaccurate depictions of death and dying in popular culture influence the children consuming them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00302228 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/00302228231202884 |
