For the Bush Hager clan, the 'ol Disney magic doesn't always enchant.
Jenna Bush Hager, a mother of three, revealed that the animated classic"Cinderella"had a "dark" impact on her children, she said during a segment on the"Today" showMonday, Nov. 24. Bush Hager, 44, shares daughters Mila, 12, and Poppy, 10, as well as son Hal, 6, with husband Henry Hager.
The parental confession was prompted when Bush Hager's guest cohost,Andy Cohen, made an offhand critique of the Disney flick, which centers on a young girl named Cinderella who works as a servant for her mean-spirited stepmother and stepsisters after the death of her widowed father. The 1950 musical fantasy, nominated for three Academy Awards, is also known for its lively numbers featuring Cinderella's animal pals of mice and birds.
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"It's 52 minutes of cat-and-mouse play," Cohen, 57, said. "I want more of the evil stepsisters and Cinderella glamming up and less of the cat and mice."
Bush Hager said the film's somber plot of Cinderella not having a mother to look after her disturbed her children, along with other movies in the Walt Disney canon. Despite their kid-friendly appeal, many iconic Disney movies are known for theiruse of family death and parentless characters, including"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,""Bambi,""Lilo & Stitch"and"Frozen."
"When my kids were little, my girls would watch so many of those things that they just assumed I was going to die," Bush Hager said. "Mila came to work here, and she went up to Donna [Farizan], who worked here, and she goes, 'When my mom dies, will you be my stepmother?' It's dark!"
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The revelation appeared to stun Cohen, who replied, "Wow, there's a lot to parse out there."
"Cinderella," an adaptation of Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale,grossed $10 millionat the box office during its original release and spawned two sequels, 2002's "Cinderella II: Dreams Come True" and 2007's "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time." The classic Disney princess was also given the live-action treatment in 2015 with aremakestarring Emmy-nominated actressLily James.
In 2019, "Cinderella" was properly crowned when the film was inducted into theLibrary of Congress' National Film Registryahead of its 70th anniversary.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Jenna Bush Hager on why 'Cinderella' was a 'dark' movie for kids