It’s time for another post in my Disney Classics series! I’ve got a bit behind on these recently with everything that’s been going on, but I’m determined to catch up. You might see some films coming in kind of batches of mini reviews grouped together into one post, but for some of them, there’s not a lot I can really write about them.
But for this one, I clearly had a lot to say! I went back to my notes and realised I’d written a whole page about it. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on the film about everyone’s favourite flying elephant, Dumbo.
If you want to see the full list of films and links to all of my reviews so far, head to the Disney Animated Classics tab on my A-Z Index page. I also have an Instagram for this challenge where I’ll be posting little snippet reviews as I watch the films, so go follow me there @charlottesdisneyreviews!
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“Just look at ’em, Dumbo! Why, they’re perfect wings! The very things that held you down are gonna carry you up, and up, and up!”
Experience the daring adventures of the world’s only flying elephant. The inspirational tale of Dumbo, the the courageous baby elephant who uses his sensational ears to soar to fame with the help of his clever best friend Timothy Q. Mouse, will thrill and delight audiences of all ages. – Description from Disney+
Title: Dumbo
Year: 1941
Duration: 1hr 3m
Director: Ben Sharpsteen
Starring: Edward Brophy, Herman Bing, Cliff Edwards, Sterling Holloway, Verna Felton
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Seen before: Yes, definitely. This was one I watched as a child and I did remember a lot of the film when I watched it this time around. It had been years since I saw it, though.
Date watched: March 28, 2020
Review
As I mentioned above, I clearly remembered a lot about this film. That doesn’t mean though that I was any more prepared for the emotional turmoil I was about to face. I often forget just how sad this film is, but it also has prominent elements of humour and hope.
(A good example of the humour is the stork who brings Dumbo at the beginning. I love him.)
Dumbo has some similar themes to Pinocchio (I actually mentioned Dumbo in my Pinocchio review): the idea of being different and knowing you don’t fit in, and people bullying the main character and taking advantage of them for being obviously different. Dumbo, even though he’s just a baby, is cast aside by the other elephants, and his mum is put into solitary confinement just for protecting him. It’s horrifying.
Another theme it kind of has in common with Pinocchio is the theme of the circus and the dark side of it behind the scenes. Dumbo especially shows the bad treatment of animals within the circus, which I think could potentially have been quite progressive for its time. It almost feels like an exaggerated view of how big of a part the animals play in keeping the circus afloat – we even see them helping to put up the tent, carrying metal bars and ropes on their backs.
Tonally, Dumbo a funny one because the mood is all over the place! We see mothers rejoicing as storks bring their children to them, and then it changes to the animals building the Big Top in the pouring rain; then we have a happy parade of animals to jolly music, which quickly turns into Dumbo being abused by circus guests and the whole circus goes into meltdown as Dumbo’s mother flips out to protect her child; and then comes the sadness of Mrs Jumbo being locked away in solitary confinement, unable to see her baby, while the other elephants basically bitch about her behind her back.
Enter Timothy Q. Mouse, who becomes Dumbo’s friend and teaches us the lesson of the story: that being different is good, and you can use your unique qualities to shine. I appreciate that it has a glimmer of hope and happiness, like a light at the end of the very dismal tunnel, despite it being a very sad film.
This film still has the same charming weirdness as previous films. I of course have to mention the famous trippy scenes – I’ll never forget the pink elephants on parade after Timothy and Dumbo get smashed. It’s pretty terrifying.
The final thing to note is that there is substantially less story than I thought there was! I think I had the live action remake in my head where they extended the story a lot more, so when in this film, Dumbo visited his mum once, learned the fly, and then “The End” displayed on the screen, I was a bit confused. With it only being just slightly longer than an hour, I don’t know what I was expecting – but I didn’t think it’d end so quickly.
Generally, Dumbo is as enjoyable as it can be, watching animals being used as entertainment – but with its strong message and light moments, it’s not entirely as harrowing as I remember it being.
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Enjoyment rating: 2.5 / 5
Would watch again: Sure, I guess.
