DUMBO (1941)
dir. Ben Sharpsteen
writer. based on the storyline for a novelty toy "Roll-a-Book" by Helen Aberson
Voice Actors: Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Cliff Edwards and Sterling Holloway

ONE SENTENCE SYNOPSIS: young Jumbo Jr is ostracised in the travelling circus he was born into; but with the support of a Timothy Q. Mouse (Brophy), he will rise to something truly spectacular.

THOUGHTS: when I was young I owned 5 Disney films on VHS (Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, the Rescuers, the Sword in the Stone and Dumbo); I would watch them almost on loop during the summers. Yet while I have great affection for them all, I actually have only recently got round to re-watching them with a (hopefully ) wiser eye, and it's been very interesting. I "remember" so much of the film, yet the details, structure and deeper moments had all been forgotten. I'd never truly understood the situation with Dumbo's mother. I'd forgotten how late in the film he learns to fly. I'd never truly realised who the "villains" of the film were. So this was an eye-opener. Like the Red Shoes (1948), there is one segment in the middle that is truly creative and elevated the entire piece... BUT that sadly doesn't make up for the failings elsewhere. The animation is sloppy at points (proportions are off, and short cuts are taken -- the female elephants turn into coloured cubes when the loft door is shut on them and bounces). And then there are the racist undertones. The leader of the crows is Jim Crow (*groan*), and the only people who put up the circus tent are the animals and black men (a rather distasteful metaphor). But the crows, while very stereotypical in ebonics, are actually one of the very few kind characters to Dumbo (which helps to soften the gut-reaction to the racism). Ultimately though, with everything else put aside, it's just not that great a film. It's solid, it's very cute and occasionally heart-warming (Dumbo holding onto Timothy's tale like he would his mother, and his mother imprisoned, cradling him outside the cage both got a lump in my throat). But nothing more. It's a little empty; making very little comment on anything. I did like how we mostly see humans as shadows, behind curtains, that was an interesting choice. But it's not enough to make it a great film. I think nostalgia is why I've given it a higher grade than it possibly deserves.

OVERALL
A solid animated film, but (outside of the elephant dream sequence) lacks the originality and flare of other early Disney films. The somewhat racist undertones of several segments age the film; but (as one of the shortest Disney films at 68 minutes) it's still extremely watchable, if not as polished.
~ rating: 4 out of 5 [grade: B+]