Why, yes, despite my busy week, we did watch Dumbo. I know I haven’t finished the Fantasia conversation yet, but I will soon.
The shortest of the Disney Animated Features, Dumbo clocks in at sixty four minutes. Knowing that as I watched it this time (with the kids – more on that in a few minutes) it actually seemed short to me. It also was thin on plot and because the beauty in how they tell the story, as an adult, one can let it slide.
I remembered that there were babies in the beginning and knowing that it was short, we watched this as a family. My daughter, loved the storks and the circus babies. (“Ah, they are so cute.”) My son seemed to pay attention when the circus train was in action, but didn’t really care much after that. My daughter really tuned out quite a bit (I thought that she would stick with it a little bit more) but came back around when Dumbo visits his mother and they showed the babies.
As for production value of the film, looking at it now, one would never know that this film was done “on the cheap”. The previous two features (Pinocchio and Fantasia) were expensive to make and because at this time foreign markets were unavailable for distribution due to World War II, they did not make their money back on their original release. In order to make this film on a slender budget, less detail is paid to the backgrounds and the focus is on Dumbo and Timothy. Even the human characters are not as rounded and out of all of the humans in the picture; the only ones with true detail are the child that teases Dumbo and the Ringmaster. All of the backgrounds were done in watercolor, something that was done in Snow White and would not be repeated again until Lilo & Stitch.
I know that I previously said that Dopey was one of the most well developed characters in film. Dumbo currently comes in as a close second because he doesn’t speak. He reminded me of my son, who also is not much for words. It’s also amazing to me that the animators managed to convey though this speechless lead that he didn’t understand why he was treated the way he was his sheer innocence. I also appreciate that when he does become appreciated for his differences, he doesn’t mistreat anyone (for the most part) that may have been cruel to him. I also admit that I cried during the “Baby Mine” segment where Mrs. Jumbo rocks Dumbo with her trunk.
I also want to mention that the “Elephants on Parade” sequence was very intense to me – only because as an adult, I get the reference and as a parent I was concerned that it might frighten my kids. Neither one seemed to notice it or care. As for the artwork, it really was outstanding and is and another example that animation can lead one to think outside of the box.
There was a little segment (documentary like) about the film right after the movie. (I managed to upgrade this title to DVD from eBay, but it’s the “Big Top” edition and not as robust as the newest version available). No one has a bad thing to say (of course, this is a Disney film) however I was surprised at the levels of gushing over it. Someone on the segment mentioned that the film is just the right length and it tells the story that it needs to tell and nothing more. I don’t know about that because it seems like there was so much more that could have been done. I recognize that by adding more detail or taking away existing segments, it would have changed the essence of what makes Dumbo the film it is.
A few random pieces of trivia: this movie is not subject to the “Disney Vault” and in fact has been in release since the home video format was available. Secondly, animation cels from this film are some of the rarest to find. The reason is that many of the animators destroyed them after use because the paint on the cels would make a fantastic popping noise when the cel was flexed. There was a direct to video sequel planned that was shelved indefinitely when John Lasseter became the Chief Creative Officer at Disney.
Overall, this film is charming and it does speak to people on several levels which it is one of the most recognizable character and films of the Disney features.
UPDATE: My daughter has since watched this movie four times. She has since been more aware of the action, asking who were clowns and who are not. She also asked about the “Elephants on Parade” sequence. I told her the bubbles came from a fizzy drink like soda. No further questions about it… yet.