Monday, July 16, 2007

The One...The Only... Dumbo!

One of the true Disney masterpieces... the poignant animated Classic about Dumbo, a baby elephant born with oversized ears. Snubbed and ridiculed by all the other circus folks, he is befriended by a jocular mouse named Timothy. With luck, determination and an amazing amount of courage, Dumbo learns to soar as the high-flying star of the circus. Delightful, enchanting and touching. Dumbo remains one of the most popular, loveliest films from the mast of animated entertainment.

Title: Dumbo
Release: October 23, 1941
Genre: Animated-Family
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Based On: Dumbo the Flying Elephant by Helen Aberson & Harold Pearl
Writer: Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, Otto Englander, Bill Peet, Joe Rinaldi, Vernon Stallings, & Webb Smith
Director: Ben Sharpsteen
Music By: Frank Churchill & Oliver Wallace
Produced By: Walt Disney
Distributed By: RKO Radio Pictures & Walt Disney Productions
Run Time: 64 minutes

Dumbo may be the shortest animated Disney movie ever made but it is still one of the most beloved. It even saved the Walt Disney studios from going bankrupt. The film was made during the Disney strike (notice the clowns that sing about going to “hit the big boss for a raise”?) and a couple of weeks before Pearl Harbor but it still made a good bit of money for Disney. It’s not hard to see why because it’s ultimately a story of the underdog and his eventual triumph. There are a couple of beautiful songs in the movie as well (the music score won an Oscar and the song "Baby Mine" was nominated for Best Song).

I have many favorite Disney movies but very few will make me cry when I watch them like Dumbo does. The animators made it seem less artistic than the previous animated films and much more like the characters are actually acting. So even though cost was a major issue while this was in the making, it doesn’t show at all. If anything, I think it made Dumbo even better!

~ I refuse to buy the DVD until they come out with a 2-disc.

Find Dumbo Online

Covering the Mouse (covers of the songs)

Trailer:


Walt Disney Introduction:

Related Reviews
Cliff Edwards- Jim Crow
Fun and Fancy Free (1947)- Jiminy Cricket
Pinocchio (1940)- Jiminy Cricket
His Girl Friday (1940)- Endicott
Verna Felton- The Elephant Matriarch / Mrs. Jumbo
The Jungle Book (1967)- Winifred (the elephant)
Sleeping Beauty (1959)- Flora
Alice in Wonderland (1951)- Queen of Hearts
Cinderella (1950)- Fairy Godmother
Sterling Holloway- Mr. Stork
The Jungle Book (1967)- 'Kaa' the Snake
Alice in Wonderland (1951)- Cheshire Cat
Mickey and the Beanstalk aka Fun and Fancy Free (1947)- Narrator
Make Mine Music (1946)- Narrator (segment "Peter and the Wolf")
The Three Caballeros (1944)- Narrator for 'The Cold-Blooded Penguin'/Professor Holloway
Bambi (1942)- Adult Thumper
Alice in Wonderland (1933)- Frog

2 comments:

  1. I loved Dumbo as a kid. It was probably my favorite movie (other than cinderella). But! When I grew up I realized that the crows were a racist representation of black people! "I be done seen about everything..." Be done?? lol

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  2. Few movies make me cry but Disney films can always make me shed a tear. The Little Mermaid - when Ariel parted ways at the end. Cinderella - when her dress got torn. Bambi - when his mother died. Dumbo - all the way during "Baby Mine".

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