15 Disney moms who deserve the spotlight on Mother’s Day

Kala (Tarzan)

After losing her own baby to the leopard Sabor, Kala saved Tarzan from the same fate. She took him in and raised him as her own, though her mate wasn’t too happy about it. For Kerchak, it wasn’t right to bring a human into their gorilla family, and he made it very clear that he didn’t want Tarzan.

That’s hard for anyone to deal with, let alone a kid. But Tarzan tried so hard to win Kerchak’s approval. Finally, he hit his breaking point. Seeing his reflection in the water, he hated seeing his human self (though he didn’t realize then what he was, exactly) and splashed until mud hit him in the eye.

Realizing that the mud made him look at least a little like a gorilla, Tarzan covered himself in it. Before he could totally lose control, Kala appears behind him. She offers a listening ear as she cleans him up, letting Tarzan vent all of his frustrations.

When he was finally done, she knew exactly what to say. She calmly reminded him that they’re not all that different. She had him feel her own heartbeat, and hear how it was exactly the same as his.

Kala had Tarzan list everything that was the same between the two of them, and it was exactly what Tarzan needed. Through the rest of his life, she never stopped supporting him, even when that meant leaving her to start a new journey as a man.