Dumbo (1941)
Directed by Ben Sharpsteen
Written by Joe Grant, Dick Huerner
Starring Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Cliff Edwards, Herman Bing
Release Date October 31st, 1941
Published October 30th, 2011
A bundle of joy
On a starry night a winged courier marks the sky, a round package hanging from his beak. Gently this very important package is delivered via parachute into the cages of a group of circus animals. One by one these tiny packages unfolds to reveal baby tigers, giraffes, hippos and even hyenas. All the while Mrs. Jumbo stares out at the stars hoping her bundle will be the next to arrive.
It's astonishing the way we feel for Mrs. Jumbo in this scene. Everyone has hoped for something and knows the crushing disappointment when something hoped for does not arrive. Even though Mrs. Jumbo is an elephant and though we are well aware that her bundle will indeed arrive, a very special bundle at that, our heart still goes out to her as she waits through the night and boards the train the following morning without her baby.
E-A-R-S
When the stork finally does catch up to the train Mrs. Jumbo, though briefly detained by a cleverly funny bit of bureaucracy and ceremony, excitedly welcomes a baby show dubs Jumbo Jr. The baby will not carry that name for long sadly. Just as soon as the bundle has been revealed as gorgeous baby boy, a sneeze reveals his large secret, giant, wing-like ears. The older, nasty elephants are quick to give the boy a name that does stick Dumbo.
Our sympathies are never in question in Dumbo and it is the lack of complexity, the purity of this story that sells it. No nuance, no doubt, Dumbo is us and we identify with him and his mother, their all to brief joy and the sorrow of the moment when Dumbo's mom defends him from bullies and is taken away and caged. If these moments don't move you then you need to have your soul checked.
Timothy T. Mouse
The emergence of Timothy Mouse is one of the genius creations of Dumbo. Though he is easy to compare to Jiminy Cricket and other sidekick characters from the Disney canon, Timothy doesn't fit neatly into the role. Indeed, Timothy is a leader and a friend to Dumbo. Without Timothy there is no story; he drives every element from tricking the Master of Ceremonies to put Dumbo in the show to reuniting Dumbo with his mother to finally convincing Dumbo to fly, Timothy is a catalyst not an observer, a live wire of good humor and deep heart and a uniquely Disney creation.
It's hard to talk about Dumbo without acknowledging a few of the more uncomfortable racial stereotypes that the film trades in. Keeping in mind that the film was made in 1941, before the Civil Rights era, the ignorant stereotypes featured in The Song of the Roustabouts sequence, African American workers singing about being unable to read or write or keep track of their pay that they throw away or the outlandish caricatures Jim Crow and his crow friends, the makers of Dumbo undoubtedly blighted the film's legacy.
Mother and Son
Race however, was not the subject of Dumbo and though being a product of its time is not a great defense, it is an understandable one. Audiences can still appreciate other aspects of Dumbo especially the glorious relationship between Jumbo and Dumbo that is as moving as any parent and child relationship in a live action movie with human actors.
There is also the mindblowingly beautiful animation of Dumbo. The scenery in the train early train sequence as the Casey Jr. train is rolling into some nameless Florida town is a work of art in motion. The driving rain of The Song of the Roustabouts sequence, despite the song and the stereotypes, is a stunning visual; as striking as any bit of animation before or after Dumbo.
The Pink Elephant Dance
And you cannot talk about the animation of Dumbo without discussing The Pink Elephant Dance. This amazing sequence that proceeds from Dumbo and Timothy accidentally drinking water mixed with Champagne is one of the finest moments in animation history. It's daring, bold and dynamic even as it seems to have little to do with the story of Dumbo. It would be fair to call The Pink Elephant Dance indulgent on the part of the Disney animation team but the sequence is so remarkable you can forgive them for it.
Dumbo came along at a time when Disney Animation was struggling. Pinocchio and Fantasia are remembered today as classics but in 1941 they were twin box office failures plaguing the studio and causing Dumbo to be rushed through production so fast that Walt Disney's son Roy, according to an interview on the special edition Dumbo DVD, wasn't aware the film existed until it was completed.
Shortest film in Disney history
Dumbo is the shortest Disney film of all time due to that rush through production and the notion that, at a mere 65 minutes, it could be shown more often throughout the day in theaters and thus offer a bigger payback. Indeed it did, Dumbo became, for a time, the most profitable Disney film ever.
Filled to overflow with warmth and heart, Dumbo is a flawed but still remarkable Disney classic about family, friends, acceptance and overcoming the odds. Who can honestly say they never felt like Dumbo? Everyone has had a moment where they felt left out, where something about them felt seperated from society. Dumbo reminds us all that our limitations can be exceeded if we have love in our hearts and a determined friend to help along the way.
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