Parents are the main source of guidance for their child. They are supposed to lead their child down the right path by teaching them valuable lessons. However, the main character in the beginning of the movie does not get these lessons. In The Pricess and the Frog, Tiana's dad tells her that love and happiness is more important than working 24/7. However, Tiana does not get this until the end of the movie. Simba in The Lion King does not have his dad around to teach him how to become a strong leader and free him from his guilt. In Frozen, the death of the parents scars Elsa and is what makes her constantly afraid of her powers because she has no one to help her control them. She also does not want to risk killing her sister Anna, the only family member she has left. By having the main characters struggle with the absence of their parents it tells the children in the audience that they should listen to what their parents say, but more importantly love them because their parents will not be around forever.
In cases of single parents like King Neptune from The Little Mermaid, it teaches that there should be a compromise between parents and children. Children should listen to their parents, but the parents should also listen to their children. They should not shelter their child from the real world and prevent them from trying new things. Children can teach their parents lessons of acceptance to change.
The Disney story element of the lack of parents or a parent is an effective tool to teach life lessons to the audience.
