I have a girlfriend who refuses to take her children to see Disney movies because she is certain Disney has it in for mothers.  Since she is not a paranoid type, I asked her one day to explain her bias.  She started naming films from the 40's to the present; Bambi, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Snow White, Dumbo, the little Mermaid, Nemo.  In all of these films the mother either never exists or is brutally murdered in the first few scenes. Ok, I thought, so there does appear to be a pattern but does Disney really have a grudge against moms?  Who was left to care the for the underdog of these stories?  How did these young characters survive?