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Darn, you beat me to writing this!
I was wondering about this myself recently since I have decided to rewatch several different animated films that either have the main character with either both parents, one parent, or none at all. (this IMO also includes situations that shows the main character's relationship/focus on one parent as well)
Here goes: (Warning - this is quite long, and there are slight spoilers for TLM, TLM2, TLK, TLK2, and Bambi 2. Read with CAUTION!)
Both Parents -
Balto III: Wings of Change
Character focus - Kodi
Note that Kodi is one lucky pup - he has both of his parents, who both love and support him (unlike from what we know of Aleu's relationship with her own mother in WQ - she seemed to be as if she was raised by only her father due to her looks and actions IMO). Because of this situation with the sled dogs and the bush plane, Kodi is given advice from both his mother and his father on the right things to do, even if it takes him a while to understand both sides of the matter (as in the situation in WoC).
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One Parent (father/daughter)
The Little Mermaid
Character focus - Ariel
Ariel, the youngest daughter of the sea king Triton, is bubbly, adventurous, and strangely curious about the forbidden world of the surface where the humans live. Her relationship with her father may seem like he is overprotective of his youngest child, but he really mean well - he just cannot understand the female species on his own since it seems that Ariel's mother is M.I.A. (it's rumored that the TLM 3 film may shed some light on this gray area for us; stay tuned!) and he has the power of the sea to protect, as well as six other daughters (the poor guy - all those women and no mother to care for them . . .). But in the end, he realizes that although Ariel is his daughter, he can't stop her from loving the human who helped save his own life (and that not all humans are evil as he believed they were). Their bond is strong and special, and it continues to live on, even though father and daughter are now separated by land and sea.
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One Parent (father/son)
The Lion King
Character focus - Simba
At birth, Simba was destined to take his father, Mufasa's place and become the next Lion King. As a young curious cub, he loved to play and try to spend time with his old man while learning more about the kingdom that he would soon rule, but many times, the kingdom's duties would cause Mufasa to leave his son in the service of Zazu while he tended with the invading hyenas (also causing Simba's curiosity of the forbidden areas of the Pridelands to grow and giving him the perfect opportunity to get in trouble). We suppose that Mufasa never meant to leave his son behind - he did it for his safety, but he also never failed to teach his son a lesson when he made mistakes. Of course, Simba's greatest hardship was to deal with his father's sudden death, and the guilt that he had for the next couple of years of what he had believed: He had killed his own father. But after a brief reunion with his father's majestic spirit, he realized that the past would be difficult, but it's the future that matters most - his kingdom was waiting for him to return to the throne that was rightfully his.
The bond between Father and Son is quite binding, and ever since he became King and started a family of his own, his goal has been to become as powerful of a King as his father was (But thanks to his daughter's comment, she reminds him that he can never be like Mufasa because he isn't Mufasa).
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One Parent (mother/daughter)
The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea
Yes, I know. Melody does have both of her parents too, but only her mother can relate to the situations that the young rebellious princess goes through. Of course, Melody is the offspring of Ariel and Eric, a child "born of sea and shore", as the movie states. Due to the threat of Ursula's sister, Morgana, Ariel had to have a giant wall built in front of the castle, blocking her daughter from the sea where Morgana lurked, awaiting the chance to steal her away. Over time (12 years, to be exact), Melody secretly longs for the sea and wonders why her mother hates such a wonderful place. Also, she discovers that she can understand fish and crabs (just like a mermaid would), but is ridiculed for it by her fellow young royals. Soon the secret of a locket she finds with her name on it reveals that her mother was wrong about the sea, and she runs away to discover what it all means and why her mother would hide this from her.
Their feminine bond is strong, but Ariel realizes that her daughter is a spitting version of herself at that age (except she was a princess undeneath the waves, not above them), still with that spunky and curious nature that her father had once punished her for; it takes a major mistake on Melody's behalf for her to understand that her mother was only protecting her from the dangers of the sea (not because she wanted to, she had to). Later on, they reunite the seas to the shores once more, hoping for a peaceful friendship of the humans and the merfolk.
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One Parent (mother/son)
Bambi/ Bambi II
Of course, we all know Bambi's story. Since his birth, the only parent the young prince had known was his mother, since does are the ones that raise the children, not the bucks. His mother (who has been nameless from the beginning) taught him everything basic about the forest - the dangers of the meadow, who is friend and who is foe, the strange occurences of the weather (the seasons, thunderstorms, snow), and even the dangerous of all - the threats of Man (which becomes her demise).
After his father, the Great Prince, tells him that his mother is gone, this causes him great sorrow, as seen in the beginning of Bambi II. He even dreams about her, wishing that she was still with him since she had been there for as long as she could remember. This is quite understandable when you think about motherly relationships.
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No parents - orphans
There are several little examples, but one thing is the same:
Someone ends up taking them under their wing, becoming that "lost" parental figure in their life.
- The Fox and the Hound: Tod is orphaned as a young kit when his mother leaves him behind and gets killed by hunters. Thank goodness the owl, Big Mama, sees the little fox and decides to find someone to raise him for the time being (Widow Tweed, the older lady takes him in and names him).
- Balto: Well, it's not proven that both of his parents are dead (we know his mother, Aniu, is definitely dead . . . or maybe she had always been a spirit; no one knows the info about her much - she's a mysterious character. His husky father . . . we know nothing about him, really.), but we do know that Boris took him in until he "could stand on his own four feet", as he states in the first movie. In WoC, Balto tells Stella that Boris was like the father he never had.
- Oliver and Company: Oliver, a young kitten that was left abandoned in an adoption box, learns how hard it is to live on the streets of NYC in the late 1980s. He befriends Dodger and his gang of strays, who end up caring for the little nameless cat until a rich girl named Jenny finds him, making him her own pet and causing his friends to steal him back, not realizing that all he ever wanted was a home to call his own and an owner that he could grow to protect.
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Whew! I hope this helps. I agree that most animated films nowadays have a child losing a parent or living with only one parent without the viewer knowing where the other parent is. I suppose it gives a film that dramatic quality that we expect.
Also, I forgot to mention: Have you noticed that most of the offical Disney Princesses either have one parent (usually the father) or none at all? (The exceptions would be: Princess Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty (I do believe she still has both parents); Kiara (from TLK2); Melody (TLM2); and Mulan (although she's not really a princess, she is part of the "Disney Princess" line). If there are any others, do tell me so that I could fix this!
(This shows that I really have too much time on my hands . . . XD)
- Juuchan17
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