Dumbo (1941)

Director:

Ben Sharpsteen

Writers:

Helen Aberson (book) &
Harold Pearl (book) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 October 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Music

Tagline:

Walt Disney's Latest . . . Most Lovable . . . Funable Characters !

Plot:

Ridiculed because of his enormous ears, a young circus elephant is assisted by a mouse to achieve his full potential.

Plot Keywords:

Elephant | Circus | Ear | Mouse | Clown

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

James Baskett	...	Crow (voice) (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Herman Bing	...	The Ringmaster (voice) (uncredited)
Billy Bletcher	...	Clown (voice) (uncredited)
Edward Brophy	...	Timothy Q. Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Jim Carmichael	...	Crow (voice) (uncredited)
Cliff Edwards	...	Jim Crow (voice) (uncredited)
Verna Felton	...	The Elephant Matriarch / Mrs. Jumbo (voice) (uncredited)
Noreen Gammill	...	Catty the Elephant (voice) (uncredited)
Eddie Holden	...	Clown (voice) (uncredited)
Sterling Holloway	...	Mr. Stork (voice) (uncredited)
Malcolm Hutton	...	Skinny (voice) (uncredited)
Harold Manley	...	Boy (voice) (uncredited)
John McLeish	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Tony Neil	...	Boy (voice) (uncredited)
Betty Noyes	...	Singer (voice) (uncredited)
Dorothy Scott	...	Giddy the Elephant (voice) (uncredited)
Sarah Selby	...	Prissy the Elephant (voice) (uncredited)
Billy Sheets	...	Clown / Joe (voice) (uncredited)
Nick Stewart	...	Crow (voice) (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Chuck Stubbs	...	Boy (voice) (uncredited)
Margaret Wright	...	Casey Jr. (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ben Sharpsteen		(supervising)

Writing credits
Helen Aberson		(book) &
Harold Pearl		(book)
Joe Grant		(screen story) &
Dick Huemer		(screen story)
Otto Englander		(story direction)
Bill Peet		(story development) &
Joe Rinaldi		(story development) &
Vernon Stallings		(story development) (as George Stallings) &
Webb Smith		(story development)

Produced by
Walt Disney	....	producer

Original Music by
Frank Churchill
Oliver Wallace

Art Direction by
Don DaGradi		(as Don Da Gradi)
Dick Kelsey
Ernie Nordli		(as Ernest Nordli)
Kendall O'Connor		(as Ken O'Connor)
Charles Payzant
Herbert Ryman		(as Herb Ryman)
Terrell Stapp
Al Zinnen
John Hubley		(uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Jerome Brown	....	effects animator (uncredited)
Paul B. Kossoff	....	effects animator (uncredited)
Sandy Strother	....	effects animator (uncredited)
Don Tobin	....	effects animator (uncredited)

Animation Department
Art Babbitt	....	animation director
James Bodrero	....	character designer
Jack Campbell	....	animator
Les Clark	....	animator
Claude Coats	....	background artist
Al Dempster	....	background artist
Hugh Fraser	....	animator
John Hench	....	background artist
Walt Kelly	....	animator
Ward Kimball	....	animation director
Ray Lockrem	....	background artist
Hicks Lokey	....	animator
John Lounsbery	....	animation director
Joshua Meador	....	animator (as Josh Meador)
John P. Miller	....	character designer
Fred Moore	....	animation director
Milt Neil	....	animator
Gerald Nevius	....	background artist
Maurice Noble	....	character designer
Art Palmer	....	animator
Don Patterson	....	animator
Ray Patterson	....	animator
Elmer Plummer	....	character designer
Martin Provensen	....	character designer (as Martin Provenson)
Wolfgang Reitherman	....	animation director (as Woolie Reitherman)
William Shull	....	animator (as Bill Shull)
Grant Simmons	....	animator
Claude Smith	....	animator
Joe Stahley	....	background artist
Howard Swift	....	animator
Harvey Toombs	....	animator
Don Towsley	....	animator
Bill Tytla	....	animation director (as Vladimir Tytla)
John Walbridge	....	character designer
Bernard Wolf	....	animator (as Berny Wolf)
Cy Young	....	animator
Stephen Bosustow	....	animator (uncredited)
Phyllis Bounds Detiege	....	painter (uncredited)
Ed Fourcher	....	animator (uncredited)
Franklin Grundeen	....	animator (uncredited)
Eric Larson	....	animator (uncredited)
Paul Murry	....	animator (uncredited)
Warren Schloat	....	animator (uncredited)
Retta Scott	....	animator (uncredited)
Frank Thomas	....	animation director (uncredited)

Music Department
Edward H. Plumb	....	orchestrator (as Edward Plumb)
Thurl Ravenscroft	....	singing voice: "Look Out For Mr. Stork" (uncredited)

Other crew
Samuel Armstrong	....	sequence director (as Sam Armstrong)
Aurelius Battaglia	....	story developer (as Aurie Battaglia)
Walt Disney	....	presenter
Norman Ferguson	....	sequence director
Wilfred Jackson	....	sequence director
Jack Kinney	....	sequence director
Bill Roberts	....	sequence director

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Productions

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1941) (USA) (theatrical)
• Daiei Motion Picture Company (1954) (Japan) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical) (re-releases)
• Walt Disney Home Video (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Encore Entertainment (1997) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Walt Disney Home Video (1999) (UK) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Home Video (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2001) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2001) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Kingdom (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Gativideo (Argentina) (video)

Other Companies

• Sonovox  special sound effects

Also Known As:

Dumbo the Flying Elephant (USA) (working title)
Walt Disney's Dumbo (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

64 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Portugal:M/4 | USA:Approved (certificate #6809) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | Peru:PT | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Denmark:A | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. (cut) | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | Australia:G

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

This film and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) are the only classic Disney films to use watercolored backgrounds (they were used in this film because they were cheaper than the gouache and oils used for Pinocchio (1940) and Bambi (1942)) and the last time they were used until Fantasia/2000 (1999).

Goofs:

Continuity: Timothy is standing in front of Dumbo's face when he wakes him up after finding out that they are up on a tree. When Dumbo falls off the tree in the very next shot, Timothy is gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Through the snow, and sleet, and hail / Through the blizzard, through the gale / Through the wind and through the rain / Over mountain, over plain / Through the blinding lightning flash / And the mighty thunder crash / Ever faithful, ever true / Nothing stops him, he'll get through.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Disneyland: Dumbo (#2.1)" (1955)

Soundtrack:

When I See an Elephant Fly

Disney's endearing classic

One of Disney's best known and loved films. About a baby elephant born in the tough world of the circus who is ridiculed and shut out because of his large ears. Comforted by his mother until she attacks a trainer and is penned up in a jaillike wagon, Dumbo eventually learns that he can fly and becomes a star. A great film that deals with discrimination, self esteem, the importance of family and friendship. Features a great score which it won an oscar for and a nomination for song, the beautiful "Baby Mine" . The pink elephants scene is a classic. Wonderfully done, arguably Disney's best on a scale of one to ten...10