It's not easy being the mom or dad of a fairy-tale character. As a recent study in the British Medical Journal concluded, "risk of parental death was five times higher in children's animated films compared with dramatic films for adults.
In fact, the BMJ found that on-screen deaths were generally more likely to occur in children's movies than in grown-up ones.
Using regression analysis, the article's British and Canadian researchers note:
"Common causes of death in children's animated films included animal attacks and falls (intentional or not), while in comparison films common causes of death were gunshots, motor-vehicle crashes and illnesses. Notable early on-screen deaths included Nemo's mother being eaten by a barracuda four minutes and three seconds into 'Finding Nemo,' [and] Tarzan's parents being killed by a leopard four minutes and eight seconds into 'Tarzan.' " "The Lion King" and "Bambi" give those a run for their money.
If you think those are bad, be sure to go back and read the original "Grimm's Fairy Tales." "The original edition was not published for children or general readers," says Jack Zipes. Zipes, who just authored a new translation of the original, told a public-radio interviewer the tale of a boy who kills his younger brother. Then the boy is stabbed by his mother, who leaves another child in the bath. That child drowns, the mother kills herself and the father is so distraught he too dies.
Part of what makes the Pixar films so great, and heirs to the fairy tales that came before them, is that they understand that kids grow by grappling with emotion.
"It was only after the Grimms published two editions primarily for adults that they changed their attitude and decided to produce a shorter edition for middle-class families," according to Zipes.
For that matter, Bible stories can be pretty frightening too, but kids are exposed to those less and less.
So, should we stop letting kids watch this murder and mayhem? The authors of the BMJ study warn that "Exposure to on-screen death and murder could have deleterious and long lasting effects on children, especially young children. Recent evidence suggests that media exposure to real life traumas (such as terrorist attacks) can trigger symptoms of post-traumatic stress among children . . . In one experimental study, children exposed to fictional on-screen depictions of death reported increased worry about the occurrence of similar events and increased avoidance of situations relevant to those events."
The truth is that most American kids today lead such sheltered lives that movies (and books) are the only times they are exposed to tragedy. It is pretty unusual to have a parent, let alone a sibling, die before children reach adolescence. Life spans are longer and less violent, and child mortality is much lower than it has ever been.
Yet children's programming has gotten softer and softer. It's hard to learn anything from "Dora the Explorer" besides "it's important to share" and don't take things that don't belong to you. ("Swiper! No Swiping!") Strong emotions are immediately smoothed over.
"WALL-E"Photo: Everett Collection
These transition easily to the safe tween shows on the Disney Channel, which rarely go deeper than "be nice to unpopular kids" and "don't use drugs."
Part of what makes the Pixar films so great, and heirs to the fairy tales that came before them, is that they understand that kids grow by grappling with emotion. "Toy Story," "Up" and "Wall-E" all have moments of profound sadness that make them resonate with children more than bland encouragements. The studio's new film this year, "Inside Out," promises to confront these emotions head on, by personifying them in a little girl's head.
Just because we live in a safer, more healthy world doesn't mean children don't benefit from learning how to deal with tragedy. Dealing with pain, loss and fear are lessons like any other — as important as sharing and tolerance.
Where else are they going to see depictions of honor in the face of tragedy, of independence, of true compassion, of bravery? When they do finally confront danger or illness or death, these movies will at least give them a sense of what's expected of them.
Life is sometimes a fairy tale; just the classic kind.
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