Dumbo (1941)

Director:

Ben Sharpsteen

Writers:

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

Release Date:

23 October 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Animation | Musical

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Mrs. Jumbo wishes for a baby, but when the stork finally delivers, the baby has a distinctive enhancement - gigantic ears.

Plot Keywords:

Affection | Suffering | Fable | Misfit | Crow

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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	...	Elephant Matriarch (voice) (uncredited)
Noreen Gammill	...	Fidgity 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)
Dorothy Scott	...	Giddy (Elephant) (voice) (uncredited)
Sarah Selby	...	Prissy (Elephant) (voice) (uncredited)
Billy Sheets	...	Clown / Joe (voice) (uncredited)
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		(story) &
Dick Huemer		(story)
Otto Englander		(story direction)
Vernon Stallings		story (uncredited)

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)

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
Phyllis Bounds Detiege	....	cel painter (uncredited)
Eric Larson	....	animator (uncredited)
Retta Scott	....	animator (uncredited)
Frank Thomas	....	supervising animator (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 Peet	....	story developer
Joe Rinaldi	....	story developer
Bill Roberts	....	sequence director
Webb Smith	....	story developer
George Stallings	....	story developer

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Productions

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1941) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Pictures (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 (2001) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2001) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1955) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Daiei Motion Picture Company (1954) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Gativideo (Argentina) (video)
• Kingdom (2006) (Japan) (DVD)

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 | Portugal:M/4 | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | South Korea:All | USA:Approved (certificate #6809) (original rating) | 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:

In December 1941, Time magazine planned to have Dumbo on its cover to commemorate its success, but it was dropped due to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Goofs:

Continuity: The elephants' "costumes" change between shots during the pyramid stunt.

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:

Referenced in Overboard (1987)

Soundtrack:

Casey Junior

brilliant Disney classic

Disney's flying elephant with the big ears. Timothy Mouse and the peanuts. The pyramid of jumbos in the circus ring. The roustabouts building the big top. Elephants on parade. The heartbreak of Mrs Jumbo. Mr Stork and his stubborn packages up in the clouds. The crows.

The animation is perfect and so are the songs on the soundtrack. Dumbo is an hour of perfection and one of Disney's best.