The story begins with storks delivering baby animals to all the mothers in the circus troupe, when a lonely Mrs Jumbo finally gets her bundle of joy. A baby elephant with abnormally large ears is delivered much to the other female elephants dismay as they give him the nickname Dumbo instead of the name his mother gave him, Jumbo Jr. Mrs Jumbo and the rest of the elephants are Indian elephants, but it appears that Dumbo's father (who we don't actually see) was a large-eared African elephant but even then Dumbo still has unusually large ears. Dumbo's ears not only earn him ridicule from Mrs Jumbo's catty, stuck-up fellow elephants, they also make him the center of unwanted attention from young circus spectators leading to Dumbo being separated from his protective mother, who gets locked up in solitary confinement for being a 'mad elephant'. As a punishment for ruining the elephant pyramid during a performance, Dumbo gets sent to work with the clowns which results in the other elephants deciding he is 'no longer an elephant'. Dumbo is then left alone till he attracts the company of Timothy Q. Mouse, the typical diminutive Disney sidekick. In order to diminish a case of the hiccups, Dumbo starts chugging some water which turns out to be champagne causing him to be inebriated. The starts a surrealist dream sequence called 'Pink Elephants on Parade' a pretty risky scene which I admire Disney for as this movie had a really low budget and they still wanted to be artistic and take risks. When Dumbo and Timothy wake after their drunken antics, they find themselves in the top of a tree where they meet a band of crows who tease them however they eventually become friends leading to the song 'When I see an elephant fly'. The crows have received some criticism and backlash over the years, however I think the crows are friendly, happy, characters, I don’t see them as any different than the vultures in Jungle Book. Eventually Dumbo realizes he can fly and he returns to the circus becoming a star along with his true friend Timothy. It is only 64 minutes long so Disney’s shortest theatrical release and it has relatively few characters. None of the voice talent was even credited at the end of the movie.
The downside that I feel Dumbo does have is that it is rather unsatisfying to watch, it simply fell flat compared to its predecessors. Not to mention there really isn't much too it, it is rather a flat movie plus it is rather short to even be considered a movie nowadays. At a mere 64 minutes, Dumbo seems just a padded out version of animations that could have perhaps worked better as short stories. Dumbo has always felt to me like it was more of a practice job, a project that helped trained up and coming animators, and it turns out that isn't too far from the truth. Dumbo was originally developed as a short film however due to the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the subsequent financial failures of Pinocchio and Fantasia, Disney thought Dumbo might help bring them back. Dumbo was deliberately created on the cheap, they didn't include lavish backgrounds or the intricate animation of its peers. The character animation is rather simplistic compared to previous scenes in other movies for example the Monstro scene in Pinocchio. Don't get me wrong it is still lovely animation, it just doesn't really compare to its peers. The surreal "Pink Elephants on Parade" sequence still scares me too my core however I may be willing to look past that. Nevertheless, I think Dumbo is great for kids of all ages with perhaps the pink elephants scene skipped for very young children. Also, talking about Dumbo and Timothy getting drunk may need to take place after the scene is over.
There was a strike while Dumbo was in production which was very demoralizing for Walt and Roy Disney. He had felt like a family to the animators and as a subtle jab in the clown scenes several of the strikers are depicted. The war also affected Dumbo. Time magazine was going to name Dumbo ‘mammal of the year’ and have him on the cover but the bombing of Pearl Harbor superseded it although the article was still listed. No doubt the new war made a sentimental tale about friendship extra appealing. Dumbo cost half the price of Snow White and a third of Pinocchio so they succeeded in their budgeting for once.
I love stories about friendship and Dumbo certainly gives us a great one and reminds us friendship can come from the most unexpected sources. It also teaches what is seen as a drawback to others, is actually what makes us special and unique. When Dumbo embraces his ears instead of hiding them he is embracing his nature and is happy. The world recognizes him for that. If he had stayed in a corner in fear that would have never happened. I love stories that have a real heart to them and Dumbo certainly has that in spades. Amazing to have a lead character who doesn’t have one line of dialogue can be that appealing and sweet. Timothy Q Mouse is the real hero of the movie who doesn’t let the discrimination and hate of other people influence his thoughts and actions. It probably has more tears than in any other Disney movie but I feel the tears are earned because we see what is happening to a character that is a baby. At it’s core Dumbo is about overcoming differences and finding true friends. (and never discounting someone as a friend because of those differences). Of all the Disney ‘messages’ it is one of my favorites. Each character is vividly portrayed because the backgrounds and other visuals were simple allowing the eyes and other body parts to be especially expressive. Outside of Timothy Q Mouse and the crows there is remarkably little dialogue in Dumbo, but we don’t notice it because meanings and emotions are very clear. It’s also an interesting depiction of both the joy of maternal love and the pettiness of a sorority mentality.
I may have had a lot of negative opinions towards this movie but I still consider it a classic even though it may not be my favourite. It is a weird, sweet, sad, tender-hearted tale of an elephant with really big ears! Dumbo’s fans celebrate its emotional power as the secret of its success, and it’s true that Dumbo has an emotional directness surpassing even Pinocchio and Bambi — a feat even more remarkable in light of Dumbo’s wordlessness. Yet Dumbo is also the feature in which Uncle Walt plucks the heartstrings most shamelessly, and the cruelty and pathos of the film extends for far too long, with too little catharsis at the end. It is truly a unique movie, Dumbo is one of the most expressive and charming characters created by Disney and he doesn't even say a work throughout the movie.
Easter Eggs
#1 The Stork
The stork who delivers the baby elephant to Mrs. Jumbo was voiced by actor Sterling Holloway. The stork was Holloway's first Disney character, who would go on to voice dozens more, including Bambi's Flower, The Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh.
#2 WDP & Casey Jr
The WDP Circus' locomotive inspired the Casey Junior Circus Train at Disneyland also WDP Circus is named for Walt Disney Productions.
#3 1941 Newspaper
During Dumbo's production, much of the world was already involved in World War II. Sharing the front page with Dumbo, are several stories alluding to the war. The United States wouldn't join the war until after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
#4 Circus Clown Fire Brigade
The circus clowns and their dysfunctional fire brigade, inspired Dumbo's Bucket Brigade Boardwalk Game, currently located at Disney California Adventure's Paradise Pier.
#5 Mrs Jumbo & Jumbo Junior
Separated from his mother, Dumbo sits next to her water tub, marked Mrs. Jumbo. Originally named Jumbo Junior, it is implied that Dumbo's father is the famed Jumbo, a circus elephant owned by master showman, P.T. Barnum.
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