By and large, ideally, the most structurally sound family has a strong man at the helm. Strongly principled. Strongly spiritual/ethical. Strongly faithful. Someone who has a vision of growth and protection for those entrusted to him.
When was the last time you watched Mary Poppins? At whom is this movie aimed? Who is it that changes at the end? Who is it who makes the enormous character arc which defines the movie and his family? Well, let's see. His wife, Gwen, is a suffragette – frittering away her time while her children are being raised by nannies. George is a workaholic man who spends so much time at his office he barely knows his children and certainly doesn't understand their interests in kite flying or feeding birds. When George has his epiphany and presents his children with the mended kite, Gwen's contribution of her sash for the kite's tail is a clear indication that the dad has, once again, redefined the family's direction for the better – towards unity and putting their marriage and children above his career or her hobbies.
(Quick quiz: can you name the famous American singer/hoofer/actor who played the British chimney sweep Burt? Hint – had his own rather famous show named after him for years.)
The Pacifier was a movie about a bunch of kids whose father was a never-home scientist. The kids were kind of slackers and whiners. The father then is murdered for a secret invention and Vin Diesel's character is an agent assigned to protect them while the mom goes on assignment to aid the government in deciphering the clues her husband left. Diesel, never married and no kids, takes on the job of organizing the kids. It's a very funny "man becomes sudden 'Dad'" scenario. One of my favorite scenes is when the teenaged boy objects to being woken at 6 am and refuses to get up, Diesel, one handed, picks up both boy and mattress, flipping them effortlessly to the ground. (Reminds me of our tussles getting the kids up for morning mass. LOL) By the end of the movie, because Diesel's character steps into the role that even their biological father didn't, the kids blossom.
Next Up – What do The Sound of Music and Kingsman have in Common?
Answer: Dick Van Dyke. HIs show was, appropriately enough, The Dick Van Dyke Show which ran from 1961 through 1966, not counting the re-creation of it in 1971 and the reunion in 2004 of the surviving members of the original cast.