My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analyses: "Dumbo" - The Little, Comedic, Flying Elephant Picture With Big Ears, But With a Bigger Heart

Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.

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Since this movie is about a kid, I can handle that the movie isn`t named after me :)

Since I`m allergic to rodents,
I`ll just take one :)

There`s always a Disney animated feature that is the first to everyone. The first one that people are ever exposed to and that introduces you to Disney`s Magical World. Whether that feature remains a favorite through adulthood, is another case. But often is that picture a specific, nostalgic memory from your childhood. Or a picture that you would become enamored with and starting your longlife fascination for Disney that would carry you through adulthood.

Since you`re an attraction, we
can wet ourselves here :)

For me, the very first Disney picture that I ever saw was Dumbo. And it was during my years in kindergarden as a toddler. I remember seeing it every day before going to kindergarden and being completely in love with it. The reasons for liking it were superficial ones, though. I was particularly fascinated with the female elephants (since I was a toddler after all, there was no particular reason for that fascination. So please forgive me, haha). So Dumbo remains in my memory of not being only the first Disney movie I ever saw. But the first Disney movie that I became obsessed with. And yes, it made develop a fascination for elephants as a kid.

Dumbo`s Position in Disney`s History

Well, pick the elephant :)
Since I`m less damaging than
a mutant alien :)

Finally turning 80 in the Fall of 2021, Dumbo was Disney`s 4th Full-Length Animated Feature. But Dumbo`s position in the Disney pantheon is somewhat of a remarkable one. It was the first film since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that was a hit. Considering that all of the features of Walt`s first Golden Era have been labeled as masterpieces, most of them were actual flops on their releases. Which is why Dumbo is an oddity among them. But Dumbo was also known for being easy and unexpensive to produce. Costing only $950,000 (equivalent to $16,720,000 in 2020) to produce. And yes, a relevant comparison is Lilo & Stitch, for having a similar fate: Being a low budget movie, using Watercolor render the backgrounds and being a huge hit.

Outta boy, Dumbo :) I`ll give
ya some treat later :)

Made to recoup the financial losses of both Pinocchio and Fantasia, Dumbo was a deliberate pursuit of simplicity and economy for Disney. At 64 minutes, it`s one of Disney's shortest features. Often being labeled for being a comedy first and foremost, it`s easy to see why. Yet Dumbo has still enough pathos, ethos and sentiment to make it equal to it`s counterparts of the First Golden Era. As it also has been labeled for it`s sentiment and heart. Animation historian John Canemaker calls it a perfect movie. And Eric Goldberg (supervising animator of the Genie in Aladdin) is also fond of it as well. As is Don Hahn (producer of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King), citing how many people claims Dumbo as their favorite character.

Dumbo`s Position as Disney`s First Animal Movie and Comparisons to it`s Counterparts

I`m a gift :) Sort of :)

Yes, I wanted to fly as well :)
Don`t blame me :)

In many ways, Dumbo was a first for Disney. It was the first animated movie that Disney made about animals. Considering how animation and animals are perceived as synonymous, it`s remarkable that it took Disney three features before settling about one about animals. But in that regard, Dumbo was preceeding Bambi and frankly was going to influence the latter picture in many ways.

Like Bambi, Dumbo is centered around a mother/child relationship (which for all we know, Bambi takes it a step further and actually kills the mother). Still Dumbo owes a bit to Pinocchio as well. Of having a child protagonist (and yes, while this may be a superficial anecdote, some of the circus scenes resemble those scenes from Pleasure Island). Yet unlike Bambi, Dumbo is a blend of both naturalistic and anthrophomorized animals. And also a blend of both humans and animals (yes, let`s face the fact that the humans in Bambi are never shown).

Yes, even I can be a
bag :) Blame the
merchandisers, not me
:)

Yet what`s truly remarkable about Dumbo is how our titular character (animated by Bill Tytla, who based his drawings of his young son and John Loundsbery) never gets to speak. Never a single word is uttered by his mouth. Originally he was supposed to speak, but the storycrew realized that he was more compelling as "mute". Still Dumbo himself manages to carry the audience`s sympathy and become a compelling character. And just like Pinocchio and Bambi, Dumbo is adorable and endearing.

I wanted to rest for
the purpose of this
picture :)

And yes, just like Bambi, Dumbo has become synonymous with it`s kind of species, with the word elephant (let`s face it guys). What also differentiates Dumbo from it`s predecessors is it`s setting and timeline. It clearly takes place in Florida and it`s timeline was apparently current (but still not in a way that would heavily date the film). But it`s also a story with many antagonists, but without one and define villain. Even the climax is rather about how Dumbo redeems himself and not conquers some external force outside on him.

Dumbo`s Story and Character Arc

I`m an elephant of the
rainbow :)

Despite how much people try to deny it, there`s a clear difference between the features made in Walt`s time and those made afterwards. Mainly because of the simple reason that each period is a product of their times, despite how some hates to admit it. But regarding the plot of Dumbo, it`s a slight and conventional story. And yes, it may be executed for it`s time, as the storytelling is somewhat cluttered and semi-episodic. Yet Dumbo would essentially be a first of it`s kind. As being the first movie to portray it`s titular lead as an outcast (a trope that Disney would heavily reuse, especially in the 1990`s).

Don`t ask where the
bubbles come from :)

Yet for all it`s familiarity, Dumbo`s final arc is a compelling one. While he learns about his talent at the end, it`s pretty satisfying how he learns that the "magical" feather (which was originally going to be golden) is simply not needed. And how he`s able to fly without it. Of course the final conlcusion is presented at the very end, which makes it somewhat rushed (from a modern point of view). But it`s still inmensingly gratifying. Of course Dumbo plays with certain logics, about how an elephant manages to have so huge ears. But hey, it`s a Disney feature after all. And Disney allows for such extraordinary elements.

Timothy Mouse

This feather
makes me taller
:)

I`ll never
paint myself
again :)

Regarding the major comic sidekick of this picture, Timothy Mouse, I was struck about how much he resembles Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio. While this is a personal observation of mine, of course, it`s striking how they resemble each other, both in characterization and size. And yes, Timothy was replaced by a robin from the original novel. Regarding his position in the pantheon of Disney sidekicks, it would be fair to state that Timothy isn`t regarded as one of the most famous sidekicks. But he`s still an effective one, regardless of what opinions there are around him. And he`s still one who both advances the plot and Dumbo`s arc. Timothy was supervised by both Woolie Reitherman and Freddie Moore. While it`s confirmemd that Disney were planning a feature with Timothy alone, it was never produced.

Dumbo`s Iconic Moments, Controversy & Music

Don`t worry, it doesn`t sound
professional at all :)

As with most of Walt`s features, Dumbo has been known for it`s
iconic moments. The Look Out For Mr. Stork, Casey Jr. and Dumbo`s flying. But especially the anthrophomorphic Pink Elephants on Parade, which truly stretches the boundaries for animation (which was only made within a few minutes. And yes, it was suggested as a joke between the storyguys that they were the only elephants they wanted to see). But it`s also known for it`s harrowing and heart-tugging moments. Baby Mine is a definitively tearjerker and certainly been labeled as one of Disney`s most poignant songs and moments.

We`ve been influenced by
the laughing gas in Ice Age 3 :)

But of course regarding Dumbo, we can`t escape that it`s faced racial scrutiny. Of course I`m talking about the moment with the crows (which were expanded from only one crow, animated by Ward Kimball and were originally going to be a variety of birds). Which were voiced by African American actors singers of the popular all-black Hall Johnson Choir, including actors James Baskett (Song of the South) and Nick Stewart (The Amos 'n' Andy Show). With the exception by white Cliff Edwards (Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio) as Jim Crow.

Don`t worry, I`ve never
actually smoked :)
They just put a cigar on
me for this purpose :)

Who was renamed Dandy Crow due to controversy (since it was a racial segregation term). The crows were inspired by the backchat of Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong`s records. While there`s been various opinions about whether they`re offensive, they`ve had their defenders. By both Whoopi Goldberg, who wanted them to be more promoted and Floyd Norman. But truth to be told, it`s a pity how they`ve faced with such scrutiny. Because they are good compelling characters (despite how they start out as being callous and mean towards our titular elephant).

As for the position of Dumbo`s songs in the Disney canon, they`ve been regarded as somewhat in between. They`ve not been perceived as being the most memorable. But haven`t been completely dismissed either. Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace scored the film, while Ned Washington wrote the lyrics to the songs. For their work on the score, Churchill and Wallace won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Baby Mine was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The film also won Best Animation Design at the 1947 Cannes Film Festival.

Behind the Scenes Information

Don`t worry, I know
this flag won`t make
me fly :)

Dumbo was based on a comic book strip given away on a cereal box. It turned up at Walt`s story department in the spring of 1939 by the studio's head of merchandise licensing Kay Karmen. Written by a man and his wife, Harold Pearl and Helen Aberson the year prior. Being their only published childrens book. It was inspired by the example of Munro Leaf's Ferdinand (yes, the one about the cow). Joe Grant and Dick Huemer were interested in the story, unlike Walt. Who thought the story would be better as a short (which was originally titled Dumbo of the Circus). So to convince him, they presented the treatment episodically, with cliffhangers which made Walt intrigued. Still the Walt Disney Archives had no copy of the Roll-A-Book version, though.

Look at this, Vanilla Ice :)

Ward Kimball recalled how Disney approached him in a parking lot about Dumbo and summarized the entire story in five minutes. And Kimball felt the picture was going to work. Bill Peet also worked on the story. Both the stork (animated by Art Babbit) and elephant Parade sequence were from the get-go.

Don`t ask us why it was titled
tails :)

Originally Mrs. Jumbo was named Mother Ella. One deleted idea would have Dumbo consult an owl who was a psychiatrist, Dr. I. Hoot. Originally Timothy was going to lecture Dumbo about why elephants should be afraid of mice (which was because of how mice used to be bigger than them). Even the ending was different, as the elephant herd made Dumbo a leader and one of them tried to fly. Dumbo would be worshipped by beauties who massaged and manicured him. And his mother would make him a sweater, while the train would go beyond Rocky Mountains and Hollywood.

I`ve spilt the water
out :)

No, this ain`t water. It`s cream
:) Yes, it`s true :)

The clowns' requests to get a raise from their boss was a reference to the animators that went on strike in 1941. demanding higher pay from Walt. And yes, some of them were based on the animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, despite how they didn`t animate on Dumbo. Many of the animators came from New York. The attack from Mrs. Jumbo was animated by Walt Kelly, who went on making Pogo comics. Originally they were going to show more of how Timothy and Dumbo got drunk. And the Pink Elephants on Parade came from an German artist who did sketches of anthropomorphic animals, also ice-skating elephants.

Dumbo required little of the special effects that slowed down production and grew the budgets of Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi. Supervising director Ben Sharpsteen was given orders to keep the film simple and inexpensive (which made it comparable to a Silly Symphony short). But instead of the costumary 10 feet of animation, he insisted on 20 or more. He prowled the animators offices, urging them on and banning any frills.

Yes, I`ve been
given wings :)
There`s nobody
behind me :)

He even riffled through their drawings at night, eliminating any in-between work that might slow down production. The animators brought elephants and other animals to the studio as reference. But unlike Bambi, Dumbo didn`t require such realism. To speed up production, Disney used photostats of story sketches instead of full layout artwork for the film, and had experienced animators to supervise the younger, less experienced animators assigned on the film. RKO asked Disney to add another ten minutes to Dumbo, but Walt refused. Also due to financial reasons.

For the crew the work on Dumbo was an vacation and they enjoyed themselves. The art style was influenced by surrealism. Since it was a circus movie, the colors were brightened, but still needed to be contrasted. Ward Kimball was a train buff and made the models of the train. Disney veterans as Sterling Holloway and Verna Felton lend their voices (Holloway as the stork, Felton as the Matriarch Elephant). But did their work on Bambi before Dumbo.

Yes, this feather
is my secret
weapon :)

We know that Dumbo is
barely on this picture. But
hey, we had to shine, too :)

Dumbo grossed more than $1.3 million ($28,150,000 in 2020) during its release. And returned a profit of $850,000. While a year and a half had been made for production, it required only a year to finish. Due to the simple story and short running time. Dumbo was released frequently on theaters and was the first Disney feature released on both Television (as a edited part of the Disneyland show) and VHS. Dumbo was also met with good reviews

Epilogue

So at the end, Dumbo is a pivotal and beloved entry in Disney`s everlasting canon. While perhaps it`s not one of the most exposed lately, it`s still a compelling and engaging little film. It would be tempting to be biased towards it, due to how I was obsessed with it as a toddler. and how it started my lifelong obsession for Disney (but hey, the same could`ve been with the other Disney movies that defined my childhood). But Dumbo deserves to be cherished in it`s own right. Regardless of it`s trademarks and criticisms, it`s still a charming and sweet film. So at the end, as this entry was written to synergize with it`s 80th Anniversary, there`s nothing left to wish Dumbo Happy 80th Anniversary and may you continue to have many more.