Dumbo Movie Review (1941)

I know I have probably said this with every single previous film, but I love this movie. I adore the early animated movies and Dumbo is no exception. With the cutest elephant around, it definitely ranks high on the list for me. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.

Update: In February 2022, I started a video version of the DFP on Tiktok. You can find the video below. Thoughts expressed in the video may be different than what are expressed in the blog post, due to the time difference in posting.

A Brief Summary

Shortly after a young circus elephant is born, it’s discovered that he has extra large ears, gaining him the nickname Dumbo. Dumbo sticks close to his mom until one day a group of children starts teasing him.  His mom goes on a rampage, getting herself locked up in the process. Dumbo is left by himself, shunned by the rest of the elephant clan, especially after his ears cause an accident that causes injuries to the other elephants. When Dumbo and his friend, Timothy Q. Mouse, discover that his ears are perfect for flying, they return to the circus to make right all that was wrong. Includes storks, bubbles and lots and lots of peanuts.

What works

• I absolutely loved having the opening credits be show cards for the circus. It definitely helps establish the setting of the story, the circus, and gives an idea of what else goes on besides the animals.
• While the movie is about Dumbo himself, having several solid scenes that focus on the circus life (with or without Dumbo) really helps to paint a more vivid picture of this world that Dumbo finds himself in.
  • Highlighted scenes: all of them really, but mainly the Casey Jr. song, Mr. Stork walking across the train to find Mrs. Jumbo, and the Roustabouts setting up the circus with the help of the elephants and camels.
• Mrs. Jumbo’s introduction was so well done. She doesn’t say anything until announcing Dumbo’s birth name yet her silent gazes to the sky in search of the missing stork paint such a strong image of what kind of mother she is.
• There’s a two-part scene about a quarter of the way through the movie. Mrs. Jumbo is giving Dumbo a bath and just enjoying some bonding time with her son. When guests arrive at the tent on their way to the big top, rude children harass Dumbo and Mrs. Jumbo gets deservedly defensive. While the scene itself is bittersweet, it was cool seeing the drastic change that comes about Mrs. Jumbo when her baby is threatened.
• The dialogue in this movie is so important in this film. While visually, the story is there, the dialogue really gives it layers. How the elephants interact with each other, how the clowns talk amongst themselves, Timothy Q. Mouse’s rallying speech to Dumbo and his ‘ghost of Circus future’ (really, the subconscious) speech to the Ringmaster.
• ‘Baby Mine’ is such a tear-jerker. Mrs. Jumbo barely able to cradle Dumbo with her trunk, barely even able to see him, and the scene shows all the other animal families where the moms can snuggle close to their child(ren).
• The ‘final showdown’ at the circus was so rewarding. Dumbo got the best sort of revenge by being successful at flying (and by shooting peanuts and chasing around the clowns). That and the quick sped-through scenes to the end of the film, showing his success outside of the circus and the reunion with his mom, provided such a satisfying ending.

Honorable Mentions

• The arrival of all the new baby animals. Not only are they super cute but each one arrives and acts unique to that breed.
• The gorilla that’s too strong for his cage yet replaces the steel bar so that he doesn’t get in trouble.
• The four sass-queen drama elephants. While they are particularly cruel to Dumbo, watching them criticize each other during the big finale was most entertaining. A la Golden Girls but not quite as nice as the Golden Girls.
• Shout out to the one clown who actually cares about Dumbo.
• One of my favorite songs (and also one of the weirdest scenes EVER): Pink Elephants on Parade. It’s straight up nutty but I love it.
• ‘When I see an Elephant Fly’ also is at the top of my favorite Disney song list, up there with ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’.

Side Questions

• How many elephants are in the entire movie, including (especially including) all of the elephants in ‘Pink Elephants on Parade’?
• How hard to the other elephants have to suck up to Dumbo and his mother now that he’s a big hero?
• Of all the circus people, the only one that I’m not sure if I like or not is the Ringmaster. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? While locking up Mrs. Jumbo wasn’t very nice, he hadn’t seen what happened and he was trying to protect the guests. He might not have really been looking out for Dumbo but he also wasn’t cruel like the elephants.

What I learned from watching this film

• A story doesn’t have to be super complex to be good. ‘Dumbo’ has a really easy learning curve to it and doesn’t stray too far, if at all, from the storyline.
• Having Dumbo go through a false start to glory was a really nice touch with his attempt to be a climax for the pyramid of pachyderms. It was a mini mountain to an even lower valley. But having that meant that his final reward (which wouldn’t have existed otherwise) was that much greater.
• Something that I noticed throughout watching this movie, at each crucial moment in Dumbo’s life, there is a different primary group talking about him/to him. It actually helped a lot with the story, raising the stakes, creating these mountains for Dumbo to get over and then made the end of the story worthy of the journey.
  • In his pure, childhood innocence, it’s the members of his own race, the elephants, that tear him down first. They had accepted him until he was revealed to be different and from that moment, there were various degrees of shunning and resentment.
  • After his mother was locked up and the other elephants had shunned him, he was placed with the clowns as a form of entertainment. Other than a lone clown, they didn’t care for him or his feelings or his safety: “Elephants don’t have feelings, they’re made of rubber.”
  • Finally, the crows that help bring Dumbo’s hidden talent to life. They start off by teasing him and then after a firm rebuke by Timothy, they ‘see the light’ and try to be friends and help. They even provide Dumbo with the magic feather.

@jocelynnielson

DFP Review No. 5: Dumbo! #mondaymoviereviews #disneymovies #moviereview #disneyfilmproject #dumbo #disneydumbo #filmreview #disneyfilms #disney

♬ original sound – Jocelyn Nielson

If you’ve seen Dumbo, what did you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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