As Father’s Day approaches, I have noticed that there has been a lot of Father’s Day memes involving Darth Vader. I will admit some of them are funny but do you have to cut off your child arm to become father of the year? If anything, it says a lot about Luke forgiving him and helping him to become a Jedi again. In this post we will look at different Disney fathers that should be recognized more than Darth Vader as this holiday approaches.
When I think of excellent fatherly characters Pacha comes to mind. He goes out to meet the emperor, Kuzco, to change his mind to keep his family home as well as his villager’s home from being destroyed. Pacha is a hard worker with his duties of being a father, a llama herder, and the leader of his village. Pacha is best described as a family man, his wife and kids love him and his isn’t a dumb dad like most dads portrayed in media in the 2000's. When Pacha met Kuzco he felt that he was a spoiled brat. But when Kuzco became a llama, instead of taking the easy way out and abandoning Kuzco and having Yzma rule, he helped him--- hoping that the emperor’s attitude would change like a father would with a wayward son.
George Banks: Mary
Poppins
George Banks loves his kids
throughout the movie, but it never registered to his children because of how he showed his love. He
wanted his children to become successful so they wouldn’t have financial problems
when they become adults, which is what all parents want but his approach was
not the best. He wanted them to become so successful that they could not
enjoy being children. However, as George's professional life turns upside-down, he realizes the ultimate value of his family and makes real changes in his life. As he walks to his job, in one of the most beautiful scenes in cinema, you see
the fear he has about the future but, as his ties to his job are finally cut, we also see the resolve develop within him to make some real changes in his life.
Mufasa: Lion King
Instead of celebrating Darth
Vader on Father’s Day how about focusing on another role that James Earl Jones
had where he was a sacrificing father, like Mufasa. Mufasa was king of Pride Rock. He had a good work and home life balance teaching his son and being king. He taught Simba to
respect all creatures, but also having fun playing games on Zazu. He sets boundaries
to protect his son, but also encourages him to explore. When his son disobeyed he reprehends him, but also forgives him. The most notable quality
Mufasa has is he sacrificed himself so his son could live.
Mando: The
Mandalorian
I get it--- you're probably a Star Wars fan and love all the memes that have been generated over the years. Father’s Day is another
Star Wars day for you. Well thankfully Disney has created a new unorthodox
father in Star Wars, Mando. After he captures and delivers Grogu to his client he goes
against the code for bounty hunters and rescues Grogu and essentially adopts
him until he finds a Jedi to teach him. When they finally find Luke, it was a sad departure for them because of their relationship as father and son, but Mando wanted
what was best for Grogu and lets him leave. Of course, he wouldn’t stop being a
father and tries to visit Grogu bringing gifts.
Goofy: Disney
Speaking of unorthodox parents, we couldn’t ignore Goofy: a single father. Goofy may be silly but he is also a wonderful role model for a father. With a teenager going through angst, he manages to show kindness and compassion making him aspirational for fathers. He works a demanding job, so they are financially stable. When his son, Max, is struggling he plans a father-and-son trip to lift his spirits because he cares about Max’s emotional health. He lets his son be an individual and takes interests in Max’s hobbies. He trusts his son completely, he allows Max to choose stops along their road trip. Even when Goofy suspects that Max is changing their road trip destination, he gives Max the responsibility of being the navigator because of that trust. Finally, he pays attention to his son’s feelings and gives him space. If you don’t believe me watch “A Goofy Movie”.
Scott Lang: Ant-Man
When divorce happens it hard for
a father to be fully invested in their children. In Ant-Man we see Scott Lang
doing his best to be a father while respecting his former wife's boundaries. After
being released from jail he wants to be part of his daughter’s life and tries
to be law-abiding by working at Baskin Robbins even though he has an engineering degree. He wants to make his daughter proud and be a good
example for her. He becomes Ant-Man at first because of his thieving skills,
but transitions to being selfless. He helps Captain America and saves Janet Van
Dyne from the quantum realm. In Avenger’s Endgame we see Scott come out of the
quantum realm to find his daughter aged by five years. We see the depression on
his face when he realized how much of his daughter’s life he has missed.
Agustín and Félix: Encanto
This one is cheating a bit
because I couldn’t choose which of these fathers to talk about. They are both
good examples of being part of their children’s life. Agustín is sympathetic and understands how it feels not belong in the family
and tries to comfort his daughter Mirabel when she obtains no magical gift. We
see in the movie that he pays attention to all his daughters’ feelings. For
example, when Luisa loses her strength and runs away saddened, he chases after
her. We don’t know much about Félix, but he is also present with his children
and supportive to his wife, presenting a positive attitude even when it rains.
Mr. Incredible: Incredibles
We couldn’t end the list without
the most recognized superhero father, Mr. Incredible. After the first movie Mr.
Incredible, Bob Parr, learned to keep his selfish interests in check and become
involved with his children more. Instead of giving up on helping his son, Dash,
on his homework, he learns how the new approach and helps Dash. He also cares
about his children’s feeling by helping his daughter, Violet, talk to her crush
by taking the family to the diner where he works. It turned out horribly, but
he does the most honorable thing a father can do, apologize to his daughter for
making things worse.
These are just eight honorable Dads we decided to mentioned in this post, but Disney has produced more decent fathers. Here is a list of honorable mentions.
- Marlin: Finding Nemo
- Pongo: 101 Dalmatians
- James: The Princess and the Frog
- Carl: Up
- Geppetto: Pinocchio
- Héctor: Coco
- Mr. Potatohead: Toy Story
- Vision: Avengers
- T’Chaka: Black Panther
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