Published: 2025-12-31

Family Instead of Prince Charming: The Evolution of the Love Motif in Recent Disney Films

Alicja Pulikowska
Dzieciństwo. Literatura i Kultura
Section: Studies
DOI https://doi.org/10.32798/dlk.1948

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of seven recent feature-length films by Walt Disney Animation Studios from the perspective of feminist family studies. The primary research problem is the paradigm shift from romantic to familial love that is prominent in contemporary Disney output, which the author refers to in hypothetical terms as a ‘familial turn.’ To characterise this phenomenon, the author presents the family model reproduced by Disney through the first decade of the 21st century. It is then juxstaposed with the model of family relationships depicted in seven animated films released between 2013 and 2024: Frozen (2013) and Frozen II (2019) by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, Moana by Ron Clements and John Musker (2016) and Moana 2 by Dave Derrick Jr. (2024), as well as Raya and the Last Dragon by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada (2021), Encanto by Jared Bush and Byron Howard (2021), and Wish by Chris Buck and Byron Howard (2023). The portrayal of relationships with parents, siblings, and grandparents in each of the aforementioned films is examined in terms of their characters and narrative function. The analysis identifies apparently consistent features in Disney’s depiction of the family (a lack of diversification, idealisation of fathers and marginalisation of mothers, and unresolved parental issues), alongside several promising paradigm shifts evident in recent productions (the replacement of romance with family love, the affirmation of sisterhood, and increasing representation of non-nuclear family structures). The ‘familial turn’ may thus prove beneficial for the socialisation of young viewers of Disney’s films.

Keywords:

animated films, love, family relationships, family studies, Walt Disney

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Pulikowska, A. (2025). Family Instead of Prince Charming: The Evolution of the Love Motif in Recent Disney Films. Dzieciństwo. Literatura I Kultura, 7(2), 60–84. https://doi.org/10.32798/dlk.1948

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