The Bizarre Tragedy of Children’s Movies
Films such as The Lion King, Bambi, and Up all have upsetting moments. That doesn’t mean they’re bad for young viewers.
A few weeks ago, I came across a GIF from the 1994 film The Lion King that made me weep. It shows the lion cub Simba moments after he discovers the lifeless body of his father, Mufasa; he nuzzles under Mufasa’s limp arm and then lies down beside him. I was immediately distraught at that scene, and my memories of the ones that follow: Simba pawing at his dead father’s face, Simba pleading with him to “get up.”
That scene lives in my thoughts with a few similar ones: the baby elephant Dumbo in his abused mom’s trunk as she’s trapped behind bars; Ellie, the beloved wife in , grieving a miscarriage and eventually passing away within the
