As for them saying that they want to enjoy it with parents and children together - why do so many disney movies have the theme of parents dying as a center piece of that plot lines?

Many, if not most, of the oldest fairytales have that story device. It forces the child to step up and find his courage and learn how to deal with a dangerous world. If the parents were there, the kid could just stay home safe and protected and not worry about a thing.

Worth noting that Harry Potter is an orphan with cruel stepparents, too, and spends the entire book learning how to deal with a dangerous world - and teaching his friends how to do that, too