1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Dumbo

#158- Dumbo (1941)
Starring: Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Cliff Edwards
Directed by: Ben Sharpsteen, Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, William Roberts, Jack Kinney, Samuel Armstrong


Plot Summary: Mrs. Jumbo is expecting the stork to deliver her new baby elephant, Jumbo Jr. When the baby is delivered, he is born with humongous ears, causing the other elephants to laugh at him and give him the nickname "Dumbo." When some kids at the circus taunt Dumbo about his ears, Mrs. Jumbo attacks them and is locked away, leaving the other elephants to turn their backs on Dumbo. Without a mother's protection and shunned by everyone else, Dumbo is discouraged until a friend shows up in the form of Timothy Q. Mouse. With Timothy's help, Dumbo is able to visit his mother for comfort, but still hates how he is being used at the circus. After the two wake up in a tree, Timothy concludes that Dumbo's ears acted as wings and they were able to fly up there. With the help of a "magic feather," Dumbo must muster up the courage to prove that an elephant can indeed fly.


In terms of Disney's earliest films being on the list, Dumbo seems like a bit of an odd choice. I understand choices like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and even Bambi, but I was so confused that on a list of great movies to see before you die that a spot would be given to an animated film about a flying elephant. And that's not to say that I dislike Dumbo, which is one of Disney's finest displays of their trademark magic. But on a list that doesn't feature Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, or Cinderella, I was very unsure if it deserved the spot on the list over those other great films. So what is it about Dumbo that allowed it triumph over those other Disney classics by making it onto the list?

Dumbo, a silent character, is an adorable baby elephant whom is constantly mocked for his big ears. How do you not empathize with a character like this? To add Dumbo's problems, his mother Jumbo, voiced by Verna Felton, is placed in solitary for defending Dumbo, and the rest of the circus elephants completely ignore him. The fact that such a cute and young character is left alone to wallow in his shame is darn near heartbreaking to see. The silver lining is that the audience wants Dumbo to overcome his adversities and become a success story, so that's really good filmmaking in displaying a protagonist that the audience will find easy to gravitate towards. Also, like WALL-E, Dumbo is one of Disney's most beloved and marketable characters for the sake of his cuteness. I think part of Dumbo's appeal is in his silence. He doesn't need to say a word, because the audience can fully understand him through his actions and faces. That's pretty impressive for an infant elephant with big ears.

Dumbo's only friend for most of the film is Timothy Q. Mouse, voiced by Edward Brophy. Timothy is a very good friend character for Dumbo to have, since he acts as a mouthpiece as well as Dumbo's support system. Timothy is a loyal friend who wants Dumbo to believe in himself and achieve success. With all the great Disney characters out there (especially supporting characters), I wish Timothy would be remembered more often because he's very genuine and doesn't feed off of annoying catchphrases and pop culture references, which is VERY rare nowadays in modern animated films.

Let's also use this time to analyze the most famous scene in the film (and no, I'm not talking about Dumbo flying). I'm talking about those darn pink elephants. In one of the trippiest scenes in animated history, Dumbo and Timothy accidentally get drunk (that's right....DRUNK) and hallucinate a bunch of pink elephants who terrorize their vision with some of the strangest imagery you could think of to one of the creepiest songs Disney has ever created. Even more bizarre is the fact that once the scene is over, it is never mentioned again. It left a lasting impression on viewers though, and was nightmare fuel for a lot of people thanks to the complete opposite tone the scene has in comparison to the rest of this cute and cuddly family film.

There's also a bit of infamous racism in Dumbo, thanks to a group of crows, voiced by the Hall Johnson Choir, led by Jim Crow, voiced by Cliff Edwards. It's true that the crows (that are already black based on the color of their feathers) speak with a jive-heavy lingo, and the fact that their leader is named Jim Crow is pretty politically incorrect by today's standards. I will say that I didn't find it THAT distracting when I was watching it, as I was able to forgive the filmmakers because it was a different time back in the '40s where stuff like this wasn't as frowned upon as it would obviously be today. The same goes for the faceless, but noticeably black, workers the circus has to do most of the labor. Based on the time it was portraying, this might be a bit more commonplace, so I was able to move on and not raise too much fuss, which is a lot more than I can say for some modern film analysts who just won't let it go. Needless to say, people still like to point the finger at Disney when using the phrase "racist" and the crows are usually an initial go to example.

The biggest impact a film like Dumbo can have is that it's a film that even if you haven't seen it, you're very familiar with the story. It's a very iconic "ugly duckling" story where the main character has a condition that society rejects (his ears), but by the end has embraced who he is and makes a positive out of his negative circumstances (learning how to fly). The image of Dumbo flying is one of Disney's most iconic images to the point where it has been recreated and immortalized in one of the most popular rides in all Disney theme parks. So, it seems there are a lot of reasons why this film is significant for Disney, and it leads me to this conclusion about the other quality films that were left off the list: Disney has SO MANY memorable and magical films that there just isn't enough room to place all of them on the list, so re-watch the ones you like, avoid the ones you don't like, and have your own personal list of Disney favorites that you will cherish forever...Sorry, didn't mean to get all sentimental there. Fricken Disney.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Dumbo was a surprisingly short film at only 64 minutes. Still, the animation has aged wonderfully, Dumbo is one of Disney's cutest and most marketable of characters, and the film is well-done and tells a brief, but heartwarming story that many moviegoers should see at least once. I recommend fans of Disney and animation own the film in their collection, but be cautious because you may see some pink elephants in your dreams.

Dumbo and movie images are copyrighted by Walt Disney Pictures