Cruella De Vil. Ursula. Cinderella's Stepmother. The witch from Snow White. These are just a few very evil villains from some popular Disney movies. What do they all have in common? They are all old with white hair. Are these Disney characters giving elderly people a bad rep?
93 Disney characters are over the age of 55.
42% of this group had negative qualities such as being grumpy, lazy, helpless, absent-minded, evil, sinister, or crazy.
71% of the films contained at least 1 negative portrayal of an older character
However, 10 films did contain only positive portrayals of older characters.
I think it's surprising how so many of the older characters in Disney movies are portrayed negatively. Now that I think back on the Disney movies I watched as a kid, I can think of at least one older character in each movie that had a negative quality. I think that this could definitely influence the way children perceive older people. I think that how you are raised can also effect this. If you grow up surrounded by loving older adults, you won't really believe the things you see in Disney movies. But if you grow up without grandparents or your grandparents were had one of these negative characteristics, you could think that all old people are how they seem in Disney movies.
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