'Hugo,' Harry Potter And Other Magical Movie Orphans

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[img]http://moviesblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/hugo_cabret_2.jpg[/img]

[i]by Amanda Sprecher[/i]

Being an orphan is no laughing matter… unless we're talking about the movies, in which case growing up without parents can actually yield some incredible results. It's become a long standing film trope that parents tend to be the one thing standing in the way of their children's magical adventures — a trope that's pushed even further this week with the release of [url="http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/11/23/hugo-martin-scorsese-movie-review/"]"Hugo," Martin Scorsese's 3-D family film[/url] about a young orphan's fantastic journey through Paris.

In honor of "Hugo" and this fine tradition, here are some of the best examples of awesome movie orphans!

[b]An Entirely New, Magical World[/b]
Harry Potter had the tragic fate of losing his parents as a baby, and living with Muggles. Things finally started going his way though when he was old enough to be whisked away to a magical school where he found out that not only does he have magic powers, he's also the most important wizard in the entire world. Additionally, the kids from "Narnia" have a wardrobe that they can use to conveniently access a world where they are the most interesting people ever and are each bequeathed individual weapons by a talking warrior lion/Jesus figure. Not a bad deal for Potter and the Pevensie kids!

[b]The Unlawfully Terrible Orphanage/Boarding School[/b]
Like Annie or Sara from "A Little Princess," if you’re a young girl without parents in the 1930s you had the unfortunate fate of attending a terrible institution run by evil unmarried ladies like Miss Hannigan or Miss Minchin. It was very important they maintained their sense of optimism and whimsy though because eventually prominent father figures came through for them in the end to take them out of their child-oppressed hell hole.

[b]Raised By Animals[/b]
Those orphans lucky enough to be left in a jungle like Mowgli, Tarzan, or George (of the Jungle) could tell you first hand that this is probably the overall most fun foster film situation you can find yourself in. With all the singing and tree surfing, these movie orphans seem fine hanging with apes and being adopted by a panther... until of course an attractive lady comes along to teach them how to love and use forks.

[b]Evil Step Parents[/b]
With the upcoming release of two Snow White movies, animosity towards step-parents has never been higher. Disney classics “Cinderella” and “Snow White” taught us that being in the custody of your father’s ex-wife is one of the worst scenarios to be in, because she may try to either enslave you as a cleaning lady or put you in an apple-coma. Luckily, if you’re hot and are friends with a lot of animals, a prince's kiss will make everything better.

[b]Super Hero Syndrome[/b]
One of the leading ways kids fall into the crusader business is through lack of parental supervision. Superman basically couldn’t help being a super hero, it’s ingrained in his DNA plus he had nice adoptive parents, but do you really think that if Batman had parents looming over him they would have ever allowed him to spend all their money on gadgets and lairs? I think not.

[b]Bonus: The Roald Dahl Orphan Olympics[/b]
Roald Dahl loves putting orphans in the most precarious situations. Whether it’s dealing with witches or eccentric chocolate factory owners, if Roald Dahl had anything to do with the movie, these orphans ended up with the weirdest lives possible. Although, it should be a rule that if your parents are killed by a rhino you’re allowed to fly on a giant peach to America with giant bugs. That just makes sense.

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[url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/11/23/hugo-harry-potter-and-other-magical-movie-orphans/]View the full article[/url]