History Main / ParentalTitleCharacterization

** Cosette usually calls her [[HappilyAdopted adoptive father]] Jean Valjean "Father," while Éponine and Azelma usually call Thénardier "Papa" – this highlights the class difference between the girls, and rings somewhat ironic too, since Valjean is the [[GoodParent warm, loving father]] of the two, while Thénardier is an [[AbusiveParents abusive]] one. Averted in [[Theatre/LesMiserables the musical adaptation]], however, where Cosette calls Valjean "Papa." Also, when Valjean is trying to distance himself from Cosette for her own good after her marriage, he insists that she call him "Monsieur Jean," but gets to hear her say "Father" again when they reunite [[spoiler: just before he dies.]]

** Littlefoot refers to his mother as "Mother", although their relationship is definitely warm and close.

** Littlefoot refers to his mother as "Mother".

* In ''Theatre/ByeByeBirdie'', Kim calls her parents [[CallingParentsByTheirName by their first names]] because it's the "modern" thing to do. But when she gets the call informing her that she's been chosen to be kissed by Conrad Birdie on live TV, she calls "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" in wild excitement to tell her the news.

* Bambi from ''Literature/{{Bambi}}'' calls his mom "mother". This could be because of the time period of the book, but it also could be to emphasise that he's an animal.

* In ''Theatre/ByeByeBirdie'', Kim calls her parents [[CallingParentsByTheirNames by their first names]] because it's the "modern" thing to do. But when she gets the call informing her that she's been chosen to be kissed by Conrad Birdie on live TV, she calls "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" in wild excitement to tell her the news.

* [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Damian Wayne]] calls his [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} dad]] “father”. It’s representative of being raised in a formal, hands off cult of assassins.

* Given that the franchise takes place from 1899-1914, most of the characters in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' and ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' call their parents “Ma” and “Pa” but there are some exceptions . SpoiledSweet upper class women (like Arthur Morgan’s ex Mary) call their fathers “daddy” directly. Men like Dutch and Micah will sometimes use “daddy” to indirectly mention their fathers. Jack Marston usually uses “pa” for John but will call him “sir” a lot to show their somewhere distant relationship.

* Given that the franchise takes place from 1899-1914, most of the characters in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' and ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' call their parents “Ma” and “Pa”. Sometimes “daddy” gets used to refer to someone’s dad broadly but only a few people actually call their dads that directly. Jack Marston usually uses “pa” but will sometimes call John “dad” but he’s the only one that uses it.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Goldstein}},'' one of Yehudah's friends, Danzinger, seems to come from a family that originally wasn't as observant as the others in their Orthodox Jewish neighborhood. Part of what made him stand out as a child was that he called his mother "Mum" instead of "Mummy."

* In ''Literature/TheColorPurple'', Squeak was in jail for over a decade. As a result, her kids call their step-mom "Mama" but Squeak "Miss". It upsets Squeak.

** Carlton calls Vivian and Philip "Mom" and "Dad" respectively, except for that one time they caught him stripping, at which point and alarmed Carlton blurts out "[[OhCrap Mommy!]]"

** Will's father Lou, who walked out on Will and Vy when will was three, comes to the Banks residence to visit Will. Will is so happy to have his father back in his life that he calls him "Pop" and "Daddy-o." When Lou announces he's leaving Will again, a crestfallen Will addresses his father for the last time as "Lou."

** In his LotusEaterMachine experience in the second-to-last episode, Cody thinks he's with his father, who died when he was very young. He's a very intelligent and serious young man; that the subtitles for the original version of this scene have Cody addressing his father as "Daddy" speaks to the emotional impact this has on him.

** KO calls his mother "Mommy". This helps accentuate his youth as well as [[VagueAge make his age all the more vaguer]] (he's ''explicitly'' six to eleven years old).

* Utilised iconically in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Bart regularly calls his father, Homer, by first name or other more derogatory titles to display his cocky impudence (though he also calls him "Dad"). In the original shorts, Lisa did similar to show her similar bratty characterisation, though when she diverged into a more precocious, well behaved child, she started referring to him solely as "Dad". As shown in the flashback episode "Lisa's First Word", both kids referred to Homer by first name even as infants, building up to the heartwarming final scene where Maggie calls him "Daddy", though out of earshot.

** Boruto usually calls his father Naruto "''oyaji''" (old man) to emphasis his feelings of [[WhenYouComingHomeDad neglect]] by his father. When he's happy with his dad, he calls him the very affectionate "''tou-chan''".
** Sarada does not know her father Sasuke well due to [[spoiler:him being on a mission since she was a toddler]], however she refers to him with the affectionate "Papa" (changed to "Dad" in the English dub). She also refers to her mother by "Mama".

* Most adult cats and older kittens in ''Literature/WarriorCats'' refer to their parents [[CallingParentsByTheirName by name]]. In the rare occasion that they do use a title, it's usually "Mother" or "Father".
* Dogs in ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'' refer to their parents are "Mother-Dog" and "Sire-Dog". This is because fathers are rarely present in their lives.

* Bambi from ''Literature/{{Bambi}}'' calls his mom "mother". This could be because of the time period of the book but it also could be to emphasise that he's an animal.

* XenofictionalLiterature often has animals refer to their parents as "mother" and ([[DisappearedDad assuming they're present]]) "father" in order to emphasis their otherness:
** Most adult cats and older kittens in ''Literature/WarriorCats'' refer to their parents [[CallingParentsByTheirName by name]]. In the rare occasion that they do use a title, it's usually "Mother" or "Father".
** Dogs in ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'' refer to their parents are "Mother-Dog" and "Sire-Dog".
** Wolves in ''Literature/{{Firstborn}}'' call their parents "mother" and "father".
** Squirrel in ''Literature/ADogsLife'' notes that her mother's name was "Stream", but that to her and her brother she was just "Mother".
** Bambi from ''Literature/{{Bambi}}'' calls his mom "mother", because he's an animal.
** In ''Literature/ADogsPurpose'', all dogs presumably only use "mother". The protagonist doesn't understand that "mom" is another term for "mother" and thinks that Ethan's mother is literally named "Mom".

** As with all protagonists, Eilio/Selene from ''Sun and Moon'' refer to their mother as "Mom". In a throwaway line, they refer to their father as "father". This implies a distant relationship, made more noticeable by the fact Mom seems to have moved to Alola alone, however it's never given any further specification.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', Hinata is slightly dismayed to hear his son Hisame, a very serious and mature individual, calling him "Father" when Hinata visits Hisame in the Deeprealms, since the last time Hinata visited, Hisame called him "Dad." Hisame then reminds Hinata that given [[YearInsideHourOutside the nature of the Deeprealms]], it's been much longer since the last visit than Hinata realizes, and Hisame's bitter about his father not visiting that often.

"Mother" and "Father" used to be perfectly neutral terms but have become formal and old-fashioned over time. It can signify that the characters are uptight and formal, they're royalty, or that their parents are distant. Using "Sir", "M'am", and other extremely formal titles has even more weight to it then referring to them as just "Mother" and "Father". It's almost always to signify that the characters parents as abusive, aloof and unaffectionate, or are militaristic.

* RebelliousPrincess Merida from ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' refers to her mother Elinor as either "Mum" or "Mother". She regresses to "Mummy" in the climax [[spoiler:when she begins crying due to believing her mother is permanently a [[BalefulPolymorph bear]].]]

* In ''Film/Shrek2'', the fully grown Prince Charming calls his mother, the Fairy Godmother, "Mummy," and it isn't lost on Fiona. As it happens, [[MyBelovedSmother Fairy Godmother is controlling Prince Charming]].
* Throughout ''Disney/{{Bambi II}}'' Bambi refers to the Great Prince as "Sir" to reflect the latter's distant and somewhat intimidating nature to him. Them fully developing a loving bond is culminated by Bambi finally calling him "Dad", an even less formal term than his "Mother" whom he had a far more relaxed and affectionate relationship with beforehand.

** Though parents don't come up as much with other characters, Marinette's babysitting charge Manon uses "Mama" and "Mommy" for her mother and Adrien and Marinette's classmate Alix uses the age-appropriate but affectionate "Pops" when she is seen with her father. AlphaBitch Chloe uses both "Papa" and "Daddy" depending on dub, indicating her SpoiledBrat status and his PushoverParent nature.