Mrs. Jumbo, a veteran circus elephant, receives a baby from the stork. He soon becomes the laughing stock of the herd because of his jumbo-sized ears and is cruelly nicknamed “Dumbo”. When Mrs. Jumbo loses her temper, she is locked up as a mad elephant and Dumbo finds himself all alone, except for a self-appointed mentor-protector, Timothy Q. Mouse. After Dumbo and Timothy meet a group of crows, they convince Dumbo that he might be able to fly with a boost of confidence. With his “magic feather,” Dumbo takes flight. When he loses his feather, Dumbo realises that he could fly by himself the entire time. After performing for the circus, Dumbo is a media sensation with Timothy as his manager and his mother by his side.
A Disney “classic” that actually is a classic, Dumbo should be part of your movie collection whether or not you have children. The storytelling was never as lean as in Dumbo, the songs rarely as haunting (or just plain weird), the characters rarely so well defined. The film pits the “cold, cruel, heartless” world that can’t accept abnormality against a plucky, and mute, hero. Jumbo Jr. (Dumbo is a mean-spirited nickname) is ostracised from the circus pack shortly after his delivery by the stork because of his big ears. His mother sticks up for him and is shackled. He’s jeered by children (an insightful scene has one boy poking fun at Dumbo’s ears, even though the youngster’s ears are also ungainly), used by the circus folk, and demoted to appearing with the clowns. Only the decent Timothy Q. Mouse looks out for the little guy. Concerns about the un-PC “Jim Crow” crows, who mock Dumbo with the wonderful “When I See an Elephant Fly”, should be moderated by remembering that the crows are the only social group in the film who act kindly to the little outcast. If you don’t mist up during the “Baby Mine” scene, you may be legally pronounced dead.
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