Disney's Non-Nuclear Families

In college I wanted to submit a political cartoon to the school newspaper showing Disney studio execs sitting around a boardroom table trying to decide which parent to do without in an upcoming movie. I assumed that most people would recognize the large percentage of Disney movies which feature single parent families and orphans (70%). After watching The Princess and the Frog, my wife asked me why that's the case. All I could think to say was "cheap ploy for sympathy." Can you think of any other reasons? As you read over the following list, don't forget about the single parents and orphans in Disney live-action like Pete's Dragon (1977) and Enchanted (2007) or Tim Burton's stop-motion James and the Giant Peach (1996) or Pixar's Finding Nemo (2003) and Up (2009).

Disney animated theatrical releases featuring children
raised by single parents and/or various solitary role models:

1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - yes, the title character
1940 Pinocchio - yes, the title character
1940 Fantasia - none
1941 Dumbo - yes, the title character
1942 Bambi - yes, the title character
1950 Cinderella - yes, the title character
1951 Alice in Wonderland - none
1953 Peter Pan - none
1955 Lady and the Tramp - none
1959 Sleeping Beauty - none
1961 101 Dalmations - none

(next there was a switch to mostly orphans):

1963 The Sword in the Stone - yes, Arthur
1967 The Jungle Book - yes, Mowgli
1970 The Aristocats - yes, Marie, Toulouse and Berlioz
1973 Robin Hood - yes, Maid Marian
1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - yes, Roo
1977 The Rescuers - yes, Penny
1981 The Fox and the Hound - yes, Tod
1985 The Black Cauldron - yes, Taran
1986 The Great Mouse Detective - yes, Olivia
1988 Oliver & Company - yes, everyone

(then there was a return to single parent families):

1989 The Little Mermaid - yes, Ariel
1990 The Rescuers Down Under - yes, Cody
1991 Beauty and the Beast - yes, Belle
1992 Aladdin - yes, Jasmine
1994 The Lion King - none
1995 Pocahontas - yes, the title character
1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame - yes, Quasimodo
1997 Hercules - none
1998 Mulan - yes, the title character
1999 Tarzan - yes, the title character and Jane
2000 Fantasia 2000 - none

(recent blurring of traditional families due to natural habitat, government agents, cross-species transformations, time travel and celebrity lifestyle):

2000 Dinosaur - yes, Aladar
2000 The Emperor's New Groove - none
2001 Atlantis: The Lost Empire - none
2002 Lilo & Stitch - yes, the sisters
2002 Treasure Planet - yes, Jim
2003 Brother Bear - yes, Koda
2004 Home on the Range - none
2005 Chicken Little - yes, the title character
2007 Meet the Robinsons - yes, Lewis
2008 Bolt - yes, Penny
2009 The Princess and the Frog - none, you can rest easy because Princess and Prince Naveen both have a mom AND a dad