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74 comments in total

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32 out of 33 people found the following comment useful :-
Short and sweet., 8 July 2004
Author: Ben_Cheshire from Oz

All the other elephants shun Dumbo for his gigantic ears, and his mother has been locked up for protecting him, so he's all alone in the world... until Timothy Q Mouse shows up.

A beautiful piece of work. At just 60 mins, it is short and sweet. But it also contains some of Disney's best visual poetry. Dumbo's not saying a single word means his entire character is created through the physical. The entire opening sequence, till the gossipy elephants start talking, plays out without words, and its like the best silent movies. Simply beautiful.

Mrs Jumbo rearing up and destroying the big top to protect Dumbo from taunting kids is an incredible scene. Dumbo's mother spends the movie imprisoned in a carriage labelled "mad elephant" - and surely one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking scenes i've ever seen plays out when Dumbo and his mother have contact only by touching trunks, through the bars in the window of her cell. A beautiful sequence begins: the beautiful song "Baby Mine" plays as she cradles him in her trunk, and when Dumbo leaves she can't see him, and she stretches her trunk as far as she can out the window to try and reach him, and... oh, its too much!

The pink elephants sequence is as close to trippy Disney ever got - and its brilliant. One of the best, most inventive sequences in animation history. Great song, too.

Some terrific songs: Look Out for Mr Stork, Casey Junior (the train song), Pink Elephants, When I see an elephant fly and Baby Mine.

10/10. Timothy Q Mouse is a great character, the animation is so concise and perfect, great songs, the message that if you believe you can overcome your handicaps you will so inspiring and beautiful, and the movie so short and sweet it will forever retain its appeal.

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24 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
A perfect film, 29 December 2003

Author: kintopf432 (kintopf432@hotmail.com) from St. Paul, MN

A perfect film. The design is beautiful and deceptive in its simplicity. While it may lack the overstuffed quality of `Pinocchio' or the abstract one of `Fantasia,' the style of `Dumbo' is elegant, vivid, and occasionally grotesque in ways that recall not only classic circus posters but also Paul Cadmus paintings and vintage `New Yorker' cover art. In fact, the entire production has a hint of nostalgia about it; for all its dark story elements, the film presents a rosy-hued portrait of old America (with Casey Junior cheerfully pulling his traveling circus through green open fields) that must have seemed very comforting as audiences prepared for the unforeseeable terrors of another World War. (A `Dumbombers for Defense' poster in the film's epilogue is the one joking reference to an increasingly unsteady world situation.) In the midst of this cozy landscape, we find a simple, tender story about acceptance and mother love, with the characters of both Dumbo and Mrs. Jumbo finding a wonderful eloquence in their muteness. These performances are true triumphs of animation. The other characters, both good and bad, are painted with broad, memorable strokes. It's become fashionable to look rather harshly upon the Jim Crow sequence and all its uncomfortable associations, and it can be difficult for a modern audience to watch it without cringing slightly. But it should be pointed out that the crows are not only the film's cleverest characters (both in terms of thought and language), they are also the only ones except Timothy to show any sympathy whatsoever to the little elephant; after all, they are outsiders themselves. The sequence is a play on a stereotype, that can't be denied, but I would argue that it is an attempt to revise that stereotype into something positive and sympathetic. The songs and score are flawless, and the show-stopping, nightmarish pink elephant sequence keeps things from getting too artistically conservative--and, just like the rest of the film, it still thrills us no matter how many times we have seen it. 10 out of 10.

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25 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
A wonderful film from Disney's classic era, 23 November 2001

Author: zetes from Saint Paul, MN

As a kid, I would watch over and over several Disney features: Pinnochio, Peter Pan, Bambi, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, and Dumbo. When I come back to those films now, I recognize that they are all marvelous films and gave Walt Disney much deserved success. It's truly sad how far Disney has fallen. All kids' flicks now are awful. I revisited Dumbo, by the way, on the same night that I first watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, destined to be one of the most successful films of all time. It is execrable, and it is simply pathetic how bad films like it are nowadays. I say, bring your kids back to Dumbo, Pinnochio, Bambi, and the like. They may not be as harmless as the kind of movie Disney and others shove out today. You shouldn't be afraid of your children showing emotion. I can remember more than anything being profoundly affected by the "Baby Mine" number from Dumbo, where he visits his imprisoned mother. Films like these will mould your children's emotional stability instead of keeping them at a safe distance and selling them toys.

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18 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
Show me a sweeter movie than "Dumbo"..., 10 November 2000
Author: troy-32 from Chicago, Illinois

Has ever a sweeter, more touching film been made? I can't think of one. "Dumbo" was made in 1941 when cynicism was probably somewhat of a high-brow attitude, and sentiment was still something to be treasured. New movies can't do what this movie did because they would have to go backwards to a time when movies weren't as concerned with being cutting edge and with predicting or reflecting the culture. "Dumbo" is unabashedly sweet. This movie makes me cry more than any other because it's so un-self conscious in its emotion. Dumbo, the sweetest, most trusting and adorable little guy imaginable who makes me want a cartoon baby elephant for myself. He's innocence incarnate (all animals are), and after being exposed to his first show of cruelty, he is able to feel safe again with his mother. This is so basic, and such an unashamed thing that it makes the sophistication of other movies seem childish and pretentious. As a Disney production, it has the inventive pink elephants, which is a visual treat, and the fatty catty elephants are funny. But the innocence of Dumbo is unsurpassed.

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13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Short, sweet, and a few pink elephants, 26 July 1999

Author: Spleen from Canberra, Australia

Disney had spent vastly more money than he'd planned on "Pinnochio" and "Fantasia", and got little of it back. "Dumbo", next off the rank, was made cheaply, quickly, without fuss. The result is simple but handsome. However handsome "Dumbo" looks, the animation is not very detailed, character design is hardly adventurous, the colours are few but bright, and in an hour it's over. It needn't be more than this, though: the story is far from complicated. It is, I'll admit, a story that has made me cry more than once; and in this instance I don't feel that I've been cheated into crying, because there really is something poignant and heartbreaking about this ugly duckling variant.

Like Hans Andersen, Disney has to pad the outfit a bit to make it fill the space available; yet, with the exception of the introductory bit with the storks, it doesn't feel like padding. In fact the most gratuitous piece of padding is the most necessary. I refer to the pink elephants sequence: a masterpiece of extended unreality (caused by such a tiny quantity of champagne!) which dazzles and sizzles and all but soars out of the screen. It's the sting in Dumbo's tail, and nothing produced since can match its verve.

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Disney's endearing classic, 23 September 2000

Author: goya-4 from PA USA

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

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
brilliant Disney classic, 9 July 2003
Author: didi-5 from United Kingdom

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.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
The One...The Only...The FABULOUS..., 3 April 2006

Author: Jessica Kolk from Brazil

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I first watched ''Dumbo'' when I was very young,and I always remembered of it being a beautiful and sad movie. ''Dumbo'' in a way,is about the rejection of being different from the others and how this can hurt so much the people who are victims of people's prejudice. The main character Dumbo,does not speak a single word and even this way, you can know all the feelings he is passing through. The illustrators did a great job showing all animal's emotions in this way.

A funny thing is that since I was a kid, I always found the scenes were the pink elephants were shown a little bit of creepy. They look like the clowns who were mocking Dumbo, maybe that's why I never felt a good vibe coming from this part of the movie.

This movie is a classic from Disney and everybody should watch, including adults!

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Ahhh, good memories!, 12 October 2007

Author: Salazar from New Zealand

I used to have this on video along with "Alice in Wonderland" (both of them were taped off TV and were on the same video) and I remember watching them all the time with absolute and unshakable content and happiness. Peolpe have written reviews saying that it's pretty dark and creepy, especially the "Pink Elelphants" sequence but I never was (and I'm NOT lying!). I remember the ONLY thing that got to me a LITTLE BIT was when the clowns were chatting after the "Dumbo the Clown" act; the clowns with the high and squeaky voice (some of the clowns have the same voices) creeped me out a little 'cause I thought they sounded evil (Ha! For people who have watched the movie it's the voice that says "This one's on Dumbo!", "We really rolled them in the aisles!" and "Let's make it eighty feet!"). As for the "Pink Elephants" sequence, I found it really funny and I still do. So anyways, absolutely no family should be without this movie 'cause it's a very sweet film with a really important message.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Still in my top ten favorite Disney films, 5 August 2005

Author: Filmjack3 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Dumbo is one of those films that works for all ages- the kids will gleefully follow along with the comic-tragic story of Dumbo and his friend Timothy Mouse; teens and young adults will want to watch it for the strange, surreal animation (and the humor, which is actually at times not quite meant for kids- i.e. the scenes with the crows); adults won't be bored by it in the least when they watch with their children. I would even equate the entertainment value of Dumbo with one of the more recent Pixar films- it's funny, but there are serious elements (in this case fairly dramatic; the animation is lively, detailed, and experimenting with the possibilities; and, its got heart behind its wit. For such a short film, it gives a lot to offer.

Although not quite a fairy tale, Dumbo presents a story that most kids can identify with- the importance of having someone to look after you, fitting in, being the outsider, and accomplishing something over odds with the world. Dumbo, of course, got the name from the gossiping, talkative elephants who are shocked at "Jumbo Jr's" huge ears. This becomes part of the tragedy of the story, as Mrs. Jumbo (in one of the more intense scenes of the film, among others) does everything she can to protect her from the circus crowds. Dumbo is befriended by Timothy the mouse, who helps to trump him as the elephant to give the ringmaster his big "climax" for his act. When it goes disastrously wrong, and Dumbo is made into a clown, it leads to a night of heavy drinking between the two friends (by accident, of course kids), and this leads to one of the virtuoso sequences in any Disney film.

The 'Pink Elephants' sequence, involving massive, perfunctory dream-like images of these creatures doing the strangest, most random things, is an example of something that Disney could do that could be appealing overall to an audience. Even today, there's something about the power, the danger, and the song and lyrics itself behind it that makes it effective. It has a message behind it, I suppose (maybe not to drink champagne and blow bubbles), but more than anything it adds a perfect sense of illusionment in the part of the story that needs it- Dumbo, before this scene, has had an extremely heart-felt connection with his mother (behind bars), and story-wise there has to be something that happens to him that takes him to the next step, the real discovery he and Timothy make about his future (i.e. the crows). Although much of the film is, like the circus itself, fantastical and bigger-than-life, I can't say enough about the pink elephants.

Not to say that the film isn't at all dated (I even knew when I was very young watching the film that it was not of my time- the way the crows speak has an underlying racist quality to it that was acceptable in Hollywood at the time), but there is a lasting power to 'Dumbo' that works more than sixty years later. The themes are clear, the songs are enjoyable, and the tones of the film shift like the best drama/comedies of the time in regular films.

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