Disability Pride Month 2024: Recommendations of Movies with Disability Representation
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1. The Wizard of Oz (1939) [rated G]
While The Wizard of Oz does not have characters in the disability community, some of the Munchkins were played by actors and actresses who were little people also known as people with dwarfism and young children. The Wizard of Oz was released in the 1930s, and back then, disability representation was rarer in movies than it is in today's world. This is why The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies with actors and actresses in the disability community.
2. The Miracle Worker (1962) [rated PG]
The Miracle Worker tells the true story of Helen Keller who became deaf-blind and mute when severely ill as an infant. Helen was very frustrated and angry about her inability to communicate and would frequently express herself through tantrums. Mr. and Mrs. Keller helplessly and desperately contacted the Perkins School for the Blind for assistance. The Perkins School for the Blind sent one of their former students named Anne Sullivan to the Keller home as a tutor for Helen. Anne was also partially blind due to catching trachoma when she was five years old and wore glasses with dark lenses to protect her eyes from bright lights. The Keller family questioned whether Anne would be able to assist Helen since they were both blind and Anne discovered that Helen's tantrums were actually the result of being spoiled as part of her upbringing instead of a manifestation of Helen's disabilities; however, Anne consistently persevered to teach Helen about obedience, independence, and communication. Anne consistently taught Helen how to communicate by making tactile connections between her hand and objects in her world and teaching her how to use Sign Language. After a difficult road towards mastering the meaning of the words to communicate through Sign Language, it is so heartwarming to watch when Helen makes a breakthrough.
Other adaptations of the original The Miracle Worker include the following:
- Inspiring Animated Heroes: Helen Keller (1996)
- The Miracle Worker (2000)
4. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) [rated G]
While a diagnosis is never mentioned in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and any of its other adaptations, Eeyore is frequently characterized as depressed. Eeyore is basically clinically depressed; however, Eeyore's friends still always include him in participating in adventures and shenanigans. They also never expect him to pretend to be happy nor invalidate his feelings. They just treat him as an equal with equity by showing genuine love for him and never excluding him.
5. Rain Man (1988) [rated R]
TRIGGER WARNING: estrangement, institutionalization, ableism
When a car dealer named Charlie Babbit returns home to Cincinnati after finding out that his estranged father has died, he discovers that he has an autistic savant older brother named Raymond. Charlie also discovers that their father left $3 million fortune to the mental institution that he put Raymond in. Charlie checks Raymond out of the mental institution following the two brothers going on a cross-country trip to return Raymond to Los Angeles. Charlie also fights for custody of Raymond.
6. Of Mice and Men (1992) [rated PG-13]
TRIGGER WARNING: violence, ableism, racism, mistreatment of women
Two migrant workers named Lennie and George travel from place to place in California together. They do so to search for new job opportunities during the Great Depression in the United States. Lennie has an unspecified mental disability that causes him to be impulsive and make harmful choices. As a result, Lennie tends to get him and George into dangerous situations and negatively impact their pursuit of the American Dream. When Lennie and George are hired for the opportunity to own and work on a part of the ranch, Lennie's interest in the owner's daughter-in-law threatens to destroy their American Dream and leads to a dark turn of events.
While Lennie's disability is not specified in the film, viewers have many theories about what disability he has based on the representation of his symptoms. It is possible that Lennie most likely has an intellectual disability (formerly called "mental retardation") or brain damage. In addition, when George speaks to the owner about him and Lennie working on the ranch, George tells the owner that Lennie "got kicked in the head by a horse when he was young" to explain Lennie's lack of talking and other atypical traits. While Lennie is capable of verbally speaking, George told Lennie to be silent and let him do all the talking to protect themselves so that they could get the jobs.
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7. Benny & Joon (1993) [rated PG-13]
TRIGGER WARNING: schizophrenia, institutionalization, ableism
Benny & Joon is about an adult brother named Benny who lives with and takes care of his adult mentally ill sister named Joon. Benny and Joon's parents died in a car accident that they witnessed when they were younger resulting in Benny and Joon living on their own together for many years. While Joon's mental illness is portrayed and mentioned throughout the film, a specific diagnosis is never revealed, and it is unknown as to when the onset of Joon's symptoms began. So, viewers can only theorize as to what mental illness Joon has, especially since many different mental illnesses can have similar symptoms. The representation of Joon's symptoms of her mental illness include but are not limited to auditory hallucinations, delusions, agitation, fixation on cleanliness and order, having a ritualistic daily routine, and playing with fire. In conclusion, it is possible that Joon most likely has schizophrenia in addition to potentially having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Benny persistently looks after Joon and makes arrangements for housekeepers to supervise Joon at home while he is at work. In the beginning of the film, the first housekeeper quits due to not being able to deal with Joon's atypical behavior. One night Benny brings Joon along to his friend's house where he plays poker and when Joon joins the game, she loses a bet. As part of losing the bet, Joon and Benny gain a new roommate named Sam who is the outlandish cousin of Ben's friend named Mike. At first, Benny is angry about this; however, after he, Joon, and Sam spend an evening together at the local diner, and Benny comes home to find that Sam has cleaned the house, Benny starts to like Sam and decides that he can stay as a friend and to look after Joon while he is at work. Eventually, Joon and Sam fall in love as well.
One of the things that I appreciate the most about this film is that Joon's symptoms of mental illness are portrayed realistically. To elaborate more, the representation of Joon's symptoms of mental illness portrays her as not a violent person unlike not all, but many other movies portray mental illness. The portrayal of Joon also shows that her mental illness is not all that she is. It clear that Joon has a passionate interest in painting and is capable of falling in love. In addition, the portrayal of Joon's symptoms shows that every person with mental illness experiences their mental illnesses differently.
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8. Forrest Gump (1994) [rated PG-13]
In 1981, a man named Forrest Gump tells his life story to strangers sitting next to him on a bench at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia. Forrest's life story starts in 1951 in Greenbow, Alabama where he lives alone with mother, and he receives leg braces to fix his curved spine and he is unable to walk properly. On Forrest's first day of school, he is bullied by his peers by refusing to let him sit with him on the bus and make fun of for wearing leg braces and mental difficulties; however, he befriends a girl named Jenny who stands for him and he grows close to. Forrest also goes on to experience many ups and downs while also achieving many outstanding accomplishments and coming far in life.
9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1998) [rated G]
While no disabilities are mentioned in this movie, many individuals in the disability community can relate to Rudolph in so many ways.
10. I Am Sam (2001) [rated PG-13]
I Am Sam tells the empowering story of a man with Down Syndrome named Sam Dawson who becomes a single father of Lucy Diamond Dawson (named after the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"). Sam has a close bond with Lucy raises her with the help of his diverse and kind group of friends; however, as Lucy turns seven years old, she starts to intellectually exceed her father, which threatens their living arrangement and comes to the attention of a social worker who puts Lucy in foster care. Sam receives advice from his friend's and hires a lawyer to assist him in fighting for child custody of Lucy.
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11. Mockingbird Don't Sing (2001) [rated PG-13]
TRIGGER WARNING: child abuse and neglect, ableism, domestic abuse, violence, suicide, self-harm, estrangement
Mockingbird Don't Sing is based on the true events about one of the most severe child abuse cases ever discovered in history that gained national media attention in 1970. The real-life survivor is a female child who is referred to with the pseudonym, Genie, also known as the world renowned "wild child." Pseudonyms for everyone involved in Genie's case are used in the film. In the film, a thirteen year old named Katie Standon's father named Wes has imprisoned her in a room with no human contact since the age of one years old. It is later revealed in the film that Wes imprisoned Katie because he was afraid that doctors would take her away after she was diagnosed with an intellectual disability. Katie's mother named Louise who is blind from having cataracts also experiences domestic abuse from Wes. Eventually, Louise gets her son named Billy to help her and Katie escape their home after she has put up with far too much abuse from Wes. Katie is taken away from her parents who are arrested after a social worker at a welfare office notices something off about Katie and reports suspected child abuse and neglect. Katie has bloodshot eyes and experienced malnutrition along with no ability to speak or function properly in the outside world due to her history of experiencing child abuse and neglect. Katie becomes a case study investigated by researchers, social workers, doctors, psycholinguists, and a Special Education teacher called the "Katie Team" who assist her; however, Katie's Special Education teacher named Judy Bingham works with Katie for the ulterior motive of gaining international fame referring to herself as "the next Annie Sullivan." First year Speech Language Pathology (SLP) graduate student named Sandra Tannen is one of the team members who passionately nurtures and exposes Katie to real world, hands-on, and visual experiences to attempt to build her language. Unfortunately, however, Sandra is shown underappreciation by Judy, Louise, and many other individuals due to her lack of education. Judy often shuts down and attacks Sandra's research and findings about Katie's developmental concerns, trauma responses, and milestones. Eventually, many other controversial and unsettling events happen during the investigation of Katie's case.
The first time that I watched Mockingbird Don't Sing was in the first year of the child development course that I took when I was in high school. My child development course teacher played this movie for us to learn about how harmful child abuse/neglect and lack of exposure to human contact can be for child development.
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12. Finding Nemo (2003) [rated G]
Finding Nemo is another movie that can resonate with many individuals in the disability community through symbolization. Nemo's right fin is smaller than his left fin because he injured his right fin while he was still in the egg during a barracuda attack that took the lives of his mother and sisters. Nemo calls his deformed fin his "lucky fin." While Nemo's father named Marlin survived the attack, he is over-protective of Nemo due to post-traumatic stress. Nemo's differently sized fin can symbolize limb deformities also known as limb differences since the people with limb deformities/limb differences have a body part that is shorter than the other or different looking in some way. Accidents are also one of the causes of limb deformities/limb differences sometimes. The character named Dory also symbolizes short-term memory (STM) loss, which I explain further in #17.
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13. Happy Feet (2006) [rated PG]
Happy Feet is a third movie that can resonate with many individuals in the disability community through symbolization. While no disabilities are mentioned in this movie, many individuals in the disability community can relate to the main character named Mumble in Happy Feet in so many ways. Happy Feet is about two soulmate Emperor penguins named Norma Jean and Memphis whose son named Mumble is unable to sing like all of the other penguins caused by accident that happened while he was still in the egg. Despite his inability to sing, however, he has an incredibly ability of tap dancing instead. Mumble's gifted talent of being able to tap dance instead of sing can symbolize diversity, abilities, and uniqueness that the disability community has despite their struggles and atypical characteristics. From my perspective, the type of disability that Mumble's difference could symbolize is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is like when people on the autism spectrum/autistic people/people with autism/ASD struggle with social-emotional skills and fine and gross motor skills as part of their learning differences while also having savant skills or other talents or gifted abilities.
14. Autism: The Musical (2007) & Autism: The Sequel (2019) [both rated TV-14]
CONTENT WARNING: parent separation/divorce, ableism, controversial views about autism
Autism: The Musical is a documentary about a stage performance program for children in the autism
(spectrum) community called The Miracle Project. A mom named Elaine who adopted a child named Neal from Russia who later became diagnosed with autism started The Miracle Project. Parenting Neal motivated Elaine to start The Miracle Project. The diverse representation of the lives and disability journeys of five children in the autistic/autism (spectrum) community in the rehearsals, stage performances, and behind the scenes are shown in this documentary. The first time that I watched Autism: The Musical was in the seminar part of my practicum lab course towards my Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education at Bucks County Community College. My professor showed the documentary since this specific practicum lab at Bucks is for pre-student teaching in preschool Autism Support classrooms.
In 2019, Autism: The Sequel was released to show updates in the lives of all five children in their young adulthood as they navigate their successes and challenges.
15. Front of the Class (2008) [rated PG]
Front of the Class is based on the true events that Brad Cohen faced as a person with Tourette's Syndrome. When Brad was twelve years old and living in Missouri, his parents named Ellen and Norman divorced. Brad constantly got into trouble with his father and teachers at school for his involuntary vocal and motor tics. Ellen went to seek medical help from a psychiatrist because she was determined to find answers about her concern about Brad and the psychiatrist insisted that Brad's tics were a result of his parents' divorce; however, Ellen continued her search at a library where she found Tourette's Syndrome in a medical book that she showed to the psychiatrist who agreed with the diagnosis and told Ellen that there is no cure. Brad experienced frequent bullying from peers, educators, and strangers for his tics along with many supportive people during his childhood and adulthood. Before Brad's diagnosis, one of his teachers forced him to stand in front of the class and apologize to everyone for disrupting the class and promise he "won't make any more silly noises ever again." This traumatic experience motivated Brad to make him "the teacher he never had." In Brad's adulthood, he was turned down in twenty-four interviews for teacher positions because of his Tourette's Syndrome. Eventually, he finally landed a job as a second grade teacher where the staff and administrators were accepting, and he made a difference in many of his students' education and lives.
16. Temple Grandin (2010) [rated PG]
This biographical drama film depicts the life of the notable American autistic humane livestock handling industry scientist, professor in Animal Sciences at Colorado State University, and autism and animal rights advocate named Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin faced many social-emotional and sensory challenges along with many successes along her disability journey while persevering. Temple Grandin especially faced many challenges and frequent bullying during her childhood and college years. She also faced gender prejudice when she initially started working in animal husbandry following her becoming a hero for the humane handling of livestock on cattle ranches and slaughterhouses through her inventions, scientific research, and advocacy.
17. Dolphin Tale (2011) & Dolphin Tale 2 (2014) [both rated PG]
Dolphin Tale is based on the true story of a real-life dolphin named Winter whose tail was amputated due to being caught in a rope in a crab trap and rescued following her perseverance, usage of prosthetic tails, and inspiration for other amputees. While there is a difference between Winter's trauma, rescue, and the cause of her amputation in the movie versus real-life events, documentary footage of Winter's real life rescue, prosthetic tails that she has worn, and real amputees visiting her at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA).
In Dolphin Tale 2, multiple years have passed since Winter's rescue with another crisis. When Winter's old and deaf surrogate mother dolphin dies, Winter becomes depressed without a pool mate. In addition, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations prohibit dolphins from being housed alone leaving CMA in jeopardy of losing Winter unless they quickly find her new pool mate. The rescue of other dolphins is depicted as well along with the real Bethany Hamilton making an appearance as herself a couple times in Dolphin Tale 2.
18. Soul Surfer (2011) [rated PG]
TRIGGER WARNING: shark attack
Soul Surfer is based on the notable American surfer named Bethany's Hamilton's true story of surviving a shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off. Bethany Hamilton's shark attack occurred when she was thirteen years old at Tunnels Beach in Kauai, Hawaii. Bethany Hamilton was brave enough to return to surfing after only one month of surviving the shark attack.
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19. A Smile as Big as the Moon (2012) [rated PG]
A Smile as Big as the Moon is a Hallmark movie based on a true event about a Special Education teacher named Mike Kersjes who wants his students to attend a Space Camp. He especially wants this dream to happen since being an astronaut is the dream job of his students with Down Syndrome named Ben Schmidt. Mike faces many challenges with his school administrators as he tries to fight for his students' rights to attend this Space Camp and only one teacher in the school supports his decision. The school administration argues that the Space Camp is for students who are far more advanced in mathematics and science. Eventually, however, the trip is approved after how much he works hard to fight for his students' right to be included in this educational experience.
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20. An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars (2012) [rated G]
A fourth grade girl named McKenna who is a talented competitive gymnast struggles to maintain her school grades due to difficulties with reading comprehension. A girl named Josie Myers who uses a wheelchair tutors McKenna who feels embarrassed about needing tutoring.
21. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) & Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters (2013) [both rated PG]
In Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, a sixteen year old teenager with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia named Percy Jackson learns that he is the son of the Greek god of Poseidon. Percy learns to use his unique powers and prepare for a dangerous adventure. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters is the sequel. In fact, some demigods are dyslexic because their brains are hard-wired to read ancient Greek and most demigods have ADHD, which indicates that they have heightened senses and battle field reflexes. In addition, Rick Riordan who is the author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books has a son who is dyslexic, and he based Percy on his son.
22. The Theory of Everything (2014) [rated PG-13]
The Theory of Everything is based on the notable theoretical physicist named Stephen Hawkings' life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and his personal and vocational challenges and successes.
23. Inside Out (2015) [rated PG]
Inside Out is about an eleven year old Midwestern girl named Riley whose life and mental health changes when she and her parents move from Minnesota to San Francisco, California. Riley's emotions and thoughts are guided by multiple characters inside of her mind named Joy (the leader), Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust. While no disability diagnosis that Riley has is mentioned in Inside Out, there are many viewers with theories about Riley possibly having depression, adjustment disorder, other anxiety disorder(s), and/or other disabilities that affects mental health.
Inside Out 2 came out last month and while I have not seen it yet, I look forward to doing so!
24. Fences (2016) [rated PG-13]
TRIGGER WARNING: racism, infidelity, death, mentions of war trauma and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Fences is about a man named Troy Maxson who is a sanitation work in 1950s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Troy lost his dream of becoming a professional basketball player due to racism and was considered too old when the major leagues started recruiting black athletes. Troy creates tension in his relationship with his family when he destroys his son named Cory's opportunity to be recruited by a college football team due to disappointment about the discrimination that he experienced and makes another harmful choice. Troy has a brother named Gabriel who has a TBI from a metal plate getting stuck in his head from fighting in World War II.
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25. Finding Dory (2016) [rated PG]
Many individuals in the disability community can also relate to Dory. As Dory explains in Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, she has short-term memory (STM) loss, which means that she constantly forgets things very quickly. Dory's STM loss affects her daily life and self-esteem. Individuals whose disabilities affect their learning and/or mental health either struggle with poor working memory (WM) or STM loss. The difference between poor WM and STM loss is that while both symptoms involve difficulty with memory, people with STM loss tend to forget more quickly, easily, and frequently than people with poor WM. STM also involves the cognitive storage of pieces of information while WM involves remembering to apply using this stored information. Both people with STM loss and poor working memory can relate to Dory's struggle with STM loss as a trauma response. The plot of Finding Dory is that Dory has been searching for her parents for most of her life after becoming separated from them as a child and she continuously forgets to attempt to find them due to her STM loss. However, with Dory's positive attitude that comes with her growth mindset and assistance from her friends named Marlin and Nemo, a hesitant and anxious octopus named Hank, and two whales, Dory goes on a great adventure to find her parents. Hank's anxiety and fear of returning to the ocean also reminds me of symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Hank is an octopus with seven tentacles instead of eight. While the cause of Hank losing one of his tentacles is not specified in Finding Dory, he tells Dory that he has bad memories about the ocean, which is why he never wanted to return to the ocean at first.
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26. Annabelle: Creation (2017) [rated R]
TRIGGER WARNING: violence, supernatural life
Annabelle: Creation is an American supernatural horror film about the creation of the controversial allegedly real life possessed doll named Annabelle. A young girl named Janice who is physically disabled by polio is the female lead character and becomes possessed by the doll leading to many scary events.
27. Wonder (2017) [rated PG]
Wonder is a heart-warming drama comedy film about a scientifically and mathematically gifted boy with a facial deformity also known as facial differences named Auggie Pullman. The diagnosis for Auggie's facial deformity is Treacher-Collins Syndrome and he has undergone twenty-seven different surgeries for it. Via's best friend named Miranda bought Auggie a space helmet as a Christmas gift one year since he loves outer space so much. Usually, Auggie uses this space helmet to cover up his face that he is so insecure about. Auggie lives with his mom, dad, sister named Via (short for Olivia), and their dog named Daisy. Auggie was homeschooled for his whole life until his family decides to enroll him in a private school called Beecher Prep when he is going into fifth grade. When Auggie starts going to private school, he is bullied by most of the entire student body, especially Julian who is the main bully; however, Auggie quickly befriends two students in his grade named Jack Will and Summer Dawson. While Auggie experiences the hardships of bullying for facial deformity, he goes through an extraordinary journey that teaches all of his peers to be more accepting. In the end, Auggie proves to his peers that it is okay to be different and how WONDERful people of all differences are.
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28. Please Stand By (2018) [rated PG-13]
An autistic girl named Wendy lives in a group home in San Franciso, California where she is frequently supervised by the house manager named Scottie. Scottie frequently forces Wendy to mask (e.g. forced eye contact, smiling) and Wendy works at a bakery called Cinnabon. Wendy's special interest and fixation about Star Trek motivates her to write a 450-page Star Trek script when she hears about a Paramount Pictures' screenwriting contest for a $100,000 prize. When Wendy's sister named Audrey comes to visit her at the group home, an argument breaks out between them when Audrey disapproves of Wendy's idea of entering the contest to win the prize money to move out of the group home and move back in with her. This leads to Wendy having a meltdown and later on she elopes from the group home after realizing that she missed the mail-in date to send her script to Paramount Pictures. This sends Scottie along her son named Sam and Audrey on the road to find Wendy and eventually changing their minds about Wendy's potential. The theme of Please Stand By is to look beyond people's disabilities and only acknowledge their disabilities when necessary. There is a huge lack of seeing the disability community's potential. There are some people like Audrey who lack patience and only see a person's disability without giving them a chance to be exposed to opportunities, positive risk taking, and developmentally appropriate support. The following quote from Wendy's script is one of my favorite parts of Please Stand By: "The unknown is there for us to conquer, not to fear."
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29. The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) [rated PG-13]
A young man with Down Syndrome named Zak runs away from a state-run care facility to follow his dream of becoming a professional wrestler with training from the Salt Water Redneck. Zak befriends an outlaw named Tyler who becomes his role model and advocate for his potential.
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30. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) [rated PG]
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is based on the real life Fred Rogers also known as Mr. Rogers who was a children's TV show host. In this film, a journalist named Lloyd Vogel is assigned to profile Fred Rogers. Lloyd starts the interview project with reluctancy because he finds it difficult to believe that anyone can be as kind as Fred Rogers partially due to Lloyd's childhood trauma; however, Fred Rogers' kindness, empathy, and positive attitude quickly changes Lloyd's negative view about life motivating him to heal. While A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is not about the disability community, Fred Rogers was known for passionately advocating for people of all differences. A child with a life-threatening illness who visits Fred Rogers on set is also featured in this film.
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31. Barbie (2023) [rated G]
While the 2023 Barbie movie is not about characters in the disability community, there is a Barbie who is a wheelchair user and a Barbie with a prosthetic arm who are briefly featured in the beginning of the film.
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