Dumbo

1941 Disney cartoon

Rating: 15/20 (Abbey: 20/20)

Plot: Dumbo, a large-eared freak, has to overcome obstacles in order to be accepted by society. His mother is imprisoned, he's relentlessly taunted, and becomes an alcoholic. With the help of a down-on-his-luck mouse (a former drug dealer), he learns to fly and becomes the star of the circus.

This is the movie that taught me where babies come from, that elephants are made from rubber, that female elephants are bitches, and how awesome things get when you drink. I really like the way the background music works with the animated action (i.e. rhythmic puffs of smoke from the anthropomorphized train). This looks a little rougher or less lush/textured than Fantasia or, as I remember it at least, Pinnochio. There are some moments when the vocal music really dates things, but the songs you remember are all pretty good. The best, of course, is "Pink Elephants on Parade" which is a timeless classic that will likely still be performed at weddings five hundred years from now. I just wish the pink elephants scene could have gone on for another half hour. Dumbo's got some nice visual humor, sight gags reminiscent of 20's comedies. I don't like all the characters, some of which are just too mean, and I think the high-flying denouement under the big top is a bit quick, especially after the unnecessarily drawn-out scenes from earlier in the movie. Short and sweet.

Abbey's review: "I'm curious to know whether anybody's analyzed this with race relations in mind. There are black characters although they get no dialogue and are mostly faceless laborers setting up the circus tent. Elephants are African though. Then, of course, you've got the crows (Jim Crow?) who really end up being good guys although their mannerisms and language doesn't seem entirely sensitive now. All those white-faced clowns and the white ring leader making all those plans to oppress the black man behind closed curtains? Could Dumbo represent the embodiment of white's oppression of the blacks? How about that scene where the angry gorilla rattles the bars of his cage hard enough to actually break one loose! Does he escape? No, he puts the bar back and accepts his imprisonment! What's that supposed to symbolize? And what's Timothy the mouse represent? Magic feathers? Is alcohol the only answer? Female characters are only in the movie to advance the plot with gossip and give birth. Is the wash of snow at the opening of the film supposed to be jism? The train's a phallic symbol? Don't get me started on trunks! And speaking of penii, where are the male elephants in this movie? Subtext!

Now that I think about it, what was the first Disney animated feature with speaking black characters? Was it Atlantis? Lilo and Stich had a black character, but that was after Atlantis. I can't think of an earlier example unless you count animals, like Dumbo's crows or the horribly offensive King Louie in The Jungle Book who speak with African American dialect. See, this is exactly why Walt Disney is in hell right now."