"Mars Needs Moms" Mothering Musings

I had the opportunity to watch Disney's "Mars needs Moms" today with my daughters. Basically, a boy's mother gets kidnapped by aliens who want to use said mother for her discipline. The aliens are convinced that they can isolate and capture the "discipline" gene that Mom's seem to have, so that they can use it to create order to the future generations of aliens. The boy follows his mother onto the alien's spaceship and ends up in Mars, where he quickly discovers that the ruling body of aliens are all females. Females run the government, make up the army, and use state of the art technology to help them raise the next generation of females.  The male aliens, on the other hand, are ostracized and sent to live underground (think of Plato's "Republic" with the cave allegory) where they raise the baby boy aliens that have been rejected by the females.  The common contrast between the female and male societies is that the females live in a world of light and order, but are strictly controlled. The males on the other hand, live in a world the is predominately dark and chaotic, but the men are the "huggers" and embrace fun and family playtime.  By the end of the movie, the boy is able to not only save his Mom, but convince the aliens that the baby aliens deserve to grow up in a world that consists of both chaos and order, light and dark, but to ultimately feel the love and support from both parents.
I was struck, and not for the first time either, by the thought that once again, Disney has nailed a social commentary. While women are naturally more nurturing, men also play a vital role in the lives of children. At times I think I can handle doing all the parenting for my girls without my husband around, or at least do it in a more efficient and orderly manner, but that doesn't make it more effective. The girls love spending time with their Dad, and although his parenting techniques might be different than mine, we are both striving for the same goal: to help our daughters become well adjusted members of society, high-functioning, and happy.  It will take both of us to do this properly and I have every intention on giving my girls what they need and deserve.
On a less philosophical note, the girls thought it was strange that the boy could defy gravity on Mars and jump really high without getting hurt. Go Disney for glossing over the cuts and bruises associated with being the protagonist.