Dumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by
Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by
RKO Radio Pictures.
The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a novelty toy ("Roll-a-Book"). The main character is Jumbo Jr., a semi-anthropomorphic elephant who is cruelly nicknamed "Dumbo". He is ridiculed for his big ears, but in fact he is capable of flying by using his ears as wings. Throughout most of the film, his only true friend, aside from his mother, is the mouse, Timothy — a relationship parodying the stereotypical animosity between mice and elephants.
Dumbo was made to recoup the financial losses of Fantasia. It was a deliberate pursuit of simplicity and economy for the Disney studio, and at 64 minutes, it is one of Disney's shortest animated features.
Plot
While circus animals are being transported, Mrs. Jumbo, one of the elephants, receives her baby from a
stork. The baby elephant is quickly taunted by the other elephants because of his large ears, and they nickname him "Dumbo".
Once the circus is set up, Mrs. Jumbo loses her temper at a group of boys for making fun of her son, and she is locked up and deemed mad. Dumbo is shunned by the other elephants and with no mother to care for him, he is now alone, except for a self-appointed mentor and protector, Timothy Q. Mouse, who feels sympathy for Dumbo and becomes determined to make him happy again.
The circus director makes Dumbo the top of an elephant pyramid stunt, but Dumbo's ears causes the stunt to go wrong, injuring the other elephants and bringing down the big top. Dumbo is made a clown as a result, and plays the main role in an act that involves him falling into a vat of pie filling. Despite his newfound popularity and fame, Dumbo hates this job and is now more miserable than ever.
To cheer Dumbo up, Timothy takes him to visit his mother. On the way back Dumbo cries and then starts to hiccup so Timothy decides to take him for a drink of water from a bucket which, unknown to him, has accidentally had a bottle of champagne knocked into it. As a result, Dumbo and Timothy both become drunk and see hallucinations of pink elephants (the famous Pink Elephants on Parade sequence).
The next morning, Dumbo and Timothy wake up in a tree. Timothy wonders how they got up in the tree, and concludes that Dumbo flew up there using his large ears as wings. With the help of a group of crows, Timothy is able to get Dumbo to fly again, using a psychological trick of a "magic feather" to boost his confidence.
Back at the circus, Dumbo must perform his stunt of jumping from a high building, this time from a much higher platform. On the way down, Dumbo loses the feather and Timothy tells him that the feather was never magical, and that he is still able to fly. Dumbo is able to pull out of the dive and flies around the circus, finally striking back at his tormentors as the stunned audience looks on in amazement.
After this performance, Dumbo becomes a media sensation, Timothy becomes his manager, and Dumbo and Mrs. Jumbo are given a private car on the circus train.
Production
The film was designed as an economical feature to help generate income for the Disney studio after the financial failures of both
Pinocchio and
Fantasia in 1940. The studio's income had also been negatively impacted due to the war in Europe. Storymen
Dick Huemer and
Joe Grant were the primary figures in developing the plot, based upon the story written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl (the only involvement the authors had with the cartoon industry) that was prepared to demonstrate the prototype of a toy storytelling display device similar in principle to a
panorama. It involved only eight drawings and just a few lines of text. John Clarke Rose, Story Research Director at the Disney Studio during this period, told animation historian
Michael Barrier the story was brought to his attention by Disney's head of merchandise licensing Kay Kamen, who had been shown the prototype that included
Dumbo to illustrate the device. Rose passed along the storyline to Walt Disney who immediately grasped its possibilities.
When the film went into production in early 1941, supervising director Ben Sharpsteen was given orders to keep the film simple and inexpensive. As a result, Dumbo lacks the lavish detail of the previous three Disney animated features (Fantasia, Pinocchio, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs): character designs are simpler, background paintings are less detailed, and a number of held cels (or frames) were used in the character animation.
Watercolor paint was used to render the backgrounds. Dumbo and Snow White are the only two classic Disney features to use the technique, which was regularly employed for the various Disney cartoon shorts. The other Disney features used oil paint and gouache. 2002's Lilo & Stitch, which drew influences from Dumbo, also made use of watercolor backgrounds.
The simplicity freed the animators from being overly concerned with detail, and allowed them to focus on the most important element of character animation: acting. Bill Tytla's animation of Dumbo is today considered one of the greatest accomplishments in American traditional animation. The critical reactions were positive, as many critics of the day felt that Dumbo was a return to roots for Disney after growing increasingly "arty" with its predecessors.
On May 29, 1941, during production of Dumbo, much of the Disney studio staff went on the Disney animators' strike. A number of strikers are caricatured in the feature as clowns who go to "hit the big boss for a raise". The strike lasted five weeks, and ended the "family" atmosphere and camaraderie at the studio.
None of the voice actors for Dumbo received screen credit, but Timothy Mouse, who befriended Dumbo even in his darkest days and was instrumental in helping him find greatness within himself, was voiced by Edward Brophy, a character actor known for portraying gangsters. He has no other known animation voice credits. The pompous matriarch of the elephants was voiced by Verna Felton, who also played the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, and Flora of the Three Good Fairies in Sleeping Beauty. Other voice actors include the perennial Sterling Holloway in a cameo role as Mr. Stork, and Cliff Edwards, better known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket, as Jim Crow, the leader of the crows.
Completed in fall 1941, Disney's distributor RKO Radio Pictures initially balked at the film's 64-minute length and wanted Disney to either make it longer, edit it down to a short subject length, or allow them to release it as a B-movie. Disney refused all three options, and RKO reluctantly issued Dumbo, unaltered, as an A-film.
Music
Baby Mine (Betty Noyes)
Casey Junior (The Sportsmen)
Look Out for Mr. Stork (The Sportsmen)
Song of the Roustabouts (The King's Men)
"The Clown Song" (A.K.A."We're gonna hit the big boss for a raise") (Billy Bletcher, Eddie Holden and Billy Sheets)
"Pink Elephants on Parade" (The Sportsmen)
When I See an Elephant Fly (Cliff Edwards and the Hall Johnson Choir)
When I See an Elephant Fly (Reprise)
On , "Pink Elephants on Parade" is included on the , Baby Mine is on the , and When I See an Elephant Fly is on the . On Disney's Greatest Hits, Pink Elephants on Parade is on the red disc.
Cast
The title character is Dumbo, the nickname given to Jumbo Jr. He is an elephant who has huge ears and is able to use them to fly, carrying what he thinks of as a magic feather. Much like Dopey in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo has no spoken dialogue. However, in the live-action/puppet television series Dumbo's Circus, Dumbo was voiced by Katie Leigh.
Edward Brophy, and later Corey Burton as Timothy Q. Mouse, an anthropomorphic mouse who becomes the only friend of Dumbo and his mother Mrs. Jumbo. He teaches Dumbo how to become the "ninth wonder of the universe", and the only flying elephant in the whole world. He is never mentioned by name in the film, but his signature can be read on the contract in a newspaper photograph at the finale.
Verna Felton (uncredited) as Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo's mother, who speaks only once to call Dumbo by his given name, "Jumbo, Jr." Mrs. Jumbo had more spoken dialogue in the video game, Disney's Villains' Revenge, where she was voiced by Tress MacNeille. Felton also voiced the Elephant Matriarch, the female leader of the circus elephants.
Herman Bing and later Corey Burton as The Ringmaster, The antagonist of the film. He is not truly evil, but is a strict and occasionally arrogant man. He later appears as a villain in the video game Disney's Villains' Revenge
Margaret Wright and later Cathy Cavadini as Casey Junior, the tender engine hauling the circus train. Casey Junior has a 2-4-0 wheel arrangement, a small four-wheeled tender at the back, a big tall funnel, a little lamp hat, a short stumpy boiler, a short stumpy dome with a whistle on the top and a small cowcatcher at his front.
Sterling Holloway and later Jim Cummings as Mr. Stork
Cliff Edwards as Jim Crow
Hall Johnson Choir as Crow Chorus
Noreen Gammill as Elephant Catty
Dorothy Scott as Elephant Giddy
Sarah Selby as Elephant Prissy
Billy Bletcher as Clown #1
Eddie Holden as Clown #2
Billy Sheets as Clown #3, Joe
Malcolm Hutton as Skinny
Harold Manley as Boy #1
Tony Neil as Boy #2
Chuck Stubbs as Boy #3
John McLeish as the narrator
Release
Despite the advent of
World War II,
Dumbo was still the most financially successful Disney film of the 1940s. This was one of the first of Disney's
animated films to be broadcast, albeit severely edited, on
television, as part of Disney's
anthology series. The film then received another distinction of note in 1981, when it was the first of Disney's canon of
animated films to be released on
home video.
Reception
After its October 23 release,
Dumbo proved to be a financial miracle compared to other Disney films. The simple film only cost $813,000 to produce, half the cost of
Snow White, less than a third of the cost of
Pinocchio, and certainly less than the expensive
Fantasia.
Dumbo eventually grossed $1.6 million during its original release; it and
Snow White were the only two pre-1943 Disney features to turn a profit. It was intended for Dumbo to be on the cover of the December 1941 issue of
Time, but the idea was dropped when the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, resulting in the
United States entering
World War II and reducing the box office draw of the film.
Dumbo won the 1941 Academy Award for Original Music Score, awarded to musical directors Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace. Churchill and lyricist Ned Washington were also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song for "Baby Mine" (the song that plays during Dumbo's visit to his mother's cell), but did not win for this category. The film also won Best Animation Design at the 1947 Cannes Film Festival. Reviews for the film were generally positive and the film did well at the box office despite being released less than two months before the US entered World War II. The film was re-released in theaters in 1949, 1959, 1972, and 1976.
Now considered a Disney classic (movie critic Leonard Maltin described it as "One of Walt Disney's most charming animated films"), it has received a Special Edition 60th Anniversary Disney DVD on October 23, 2001, exactly 60 years after its first release. That release featured a sneak peek of a direct-to-video sequel, Dumbo II. The preview showed sketches and storyboard ideas. The main story has to do with Dumbo and his new friends getting separated from the rest of the circus as they wander into the big city. Dumbo's new friends are Claude and Lolly the twin bears who leave chaos everywhere they go, Dot the curious zebra, Godfrey the hippo who is older and wants to do things for himself, and Penny the adventurous ostrich. Timothy returns as well. The story was supposed to be set on the day immediately following the end of the first Dumbo story. However, no further announcements have been made since. The project seems to have been canceled, as , Tinker Bell, and its sequels were the last projects for DisneyToon Studios. However, some of the backgrounds for the canceled sequel were recycled for The Fox and the Hound 2.
Allegations of racial stereotyping
The crow characters in the film can be seen as
African-American stereotypes. The leader crow was originally named "
Jim Crow" for script purposes, and the name stuck. The other crows are all voiced by African-American actors, all members of the Hall Johnson Choir. Despite suggestions of racism by critics such as
Richard Schickel who have criticized the portrayal as racist, others reject these claims. Defenders note that the crows form the majority of the characters in the movie who are sympathetic to Dumbo's plight, are free spirits who serve nobody, and intelligent characters aware of the power of self-confidence, unlike the
Stepin Fetchit stereotype common at that time. Furthermore, their song "When I See An Elephant Fly", which uses intricate wordplay in the lyrics, is more oriented to mocking Timothy Mouse than Dumbo's large ears.
Home video release
Dumbo was the first of Disney's canon of
animated films to be released on
home video and also was released in the
Walt Disney Classics Video Collection in 1985. That release was followed by remastered versions in: 1986, 1989, 1991 (Classics), and 1994 (Masterpiece). In 2001, a 60th Anniversary Special Edition was released. In 2006, a "Big Top Edition" of the film was released on DVD. A UK Special Edition was released in May 2007. Blu-ray version was released in 2010 in region
2/
B. Region 1/A version is scheduled for 2011.
June 26, 1981 (VHS and Betamax)
June 1982 (Laserdisc)
December 3, 1985 (VHS and Betamax - Walt Disney Classics)
July 12, 1991 (VHS and Laserdisc - 50th Anniversary Edition)
October 28, 1994 (VHS and Laserdisc - Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection)
October 23, 2001 (VHS and DVD - 60th Anniversary Edition)
October 17, 2006 (DVD - Big Top Edition)
March 2007 (DVD - Special Edition)
February 10, 2010 (
Blu-ray Disc & DVD - 70th Anniversary Special Edition - Region 4/A)
March 22, 2010 (
Blu-ray Disc & DVD - 70th Anniversary Special Edition - Region 2/B)
February 2011 (Blu-ray Disc & DVD - 70th Anniversary Special Edition - Region 1/A)
Media and merchandise
Dumbo's Circus
Dumbo's Circus was a
live-action/
puppet television series for preschool audiences that aired on
The Disney Channel in the 1980s. Unlike in the film, Dumbo spoke on the show. Each character would perform a special act, which ranged from dancing and singing to telling
knock knock jokes.
Books
Walt Disney's Dumbo: Happy to Help: (ISBN 0-7364-1129-1) A picture book Disney Press by Random House Disney, written by Liane Onish and illustrated by Peter Emslie. It was published January 23, 2001. This paperback is for children age 4-8. Twenty-four pages long, its 0.08 inches thick, and with cover dimensions of 7.88 x 7.88 inches.
Walt Disney's Dumbo Book of Opposites: (ISBN 0-307-06149-3) A book published in August 1997 by Golden Books under the Golden Board Book brand. It was written by Alan Benjamin, illustrated by Peter Emslie, and edited by Heather Lowenberg. Twelve pages long and a quarter of an inch thick, this board edition book had dimensions of 7.25 x 6.00 inches.
Walt Disney's Dumbo the Circus Baby: (ISBN 0-307-12397-9) A book published in September 1993 by Golden Press under the A Golden Sturdy Shape Book brand. Illustrated by Peter Emslie and written by Diane Muldrow, this book is meant for babies and preschoolers. Twelve pages long and half an inch thick, this book's cover size is 9.75 x 6.25 inches.
Theme parks
Dumbo the Flying Elephant is a popular ride that appears in
Walt Disney World’s
Magic Kingdom,
Disneyland,
Tokyo Disneyland,
Disneyland Park (Paris), and
Hong Kong Disneyland.
The Casey Jr. Circus Train is an attraction found at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.
In June 2009, Disneyland introduced a flying Dumbo to their nighttime fireworks show, in which the elephant flies around Sleeping Beauty Castle while fireworks synched to music go off.
Casey Junior is the second float in the Main Street Electrical Parade and its versions. Casey, driven by Goofy, pulls a drum with the parade logo and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.
Video games
Dumbo appears in the popular
PlayStation 2 game
Kingdom Hearts in the form of a summon that the player can call upon in battle for aid.
Sora, the protagonist, flies on him and Dumbo splashes enemies with water from his trunk.
The Ringmaster appears as one of four villains that in Disney's Villains' Revenge. In the game, the Disney Villains alter the happy endings from Jiminy Cricket's book; in particular, the Ringmaster forces Dumbo to endlessly perform humiliating stunts in his circus. In the end, the Ringmaster is defeated when he is knocked unconscious by a well aimed custard pie.
See also
Disney animators' strike
Roles of mothers in Disney media
References
External links
Video of Dumbo flying over castle at Disneyland
Category:1941 films
Category:American children's fantasy films
Category:Circus films
Category:Dance animation
Category:Disney animated features canon
Category:English-language films
Category:Fictional elephants
Category:Films about animals
Category:Films based on children's books
Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters
Category:Films shot in Technicolor
Category:American musical films
Category:Kingdom Hearts characters
