Here's the tragic reason why parents are always killed off in Disney movies

It turns out that there is a surprising reason as to why Disney heroes are almost always orphans.

Viewers are perhaps still haunted by the deaths of Mufasa in Lion King or Bambi’s mum having grown up watching the movies and princesses Cinderella, Belle and Ariel were just some of the many characters who grew up without mothers.

Hunters, stampedes and even pirates have killed off many a cartoon parent, almost always at the start of the film, and there's a tragic reason behind Walt Disney's decision to do this.

According to an interview given to Glamour, Disney producer Don Hahn revealed a heartbreaking story about Walt's own past, which explains the almost total absence of the mother figure in his movies.

He said that the infamous film producer bought his parents a house in the early 1940s - and tragedy struck. According to Dan, Disney had the studio guys come over and fix the furnace, but when his mum and dad moved in, the furnace leaked and his mother died.

The housekeeper came in the next morning and pulled his mother and father out on the front lawn.

Don said he believes Walt was "haunted" by the death of his beloved mum.

A second, more practical, theory is that the parents need to be killed off to speed up the plot - as the films are normally only 80 or 90 minutes long.