Written by: Joe Grant & Dick Huemer
Starring: Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Cliff Edwards, Herman Bing, Sterling Holloway
Rating: [3/5]
Being ridiculed for physical attributes that make you different from others has served as the source for many stories. From the basic human experience we have all witnessed, this also extends to stories like “The Ugly Duckling,” where the ire appears with animals as they shun in their own way. Dumbo serves as one of the most endearing tales of this story idea, as it demonstrates how an elephant can learn to love what makes him different.
Long awaiting a baby of her own, Dumbo gets delivered by a stork to his mother, Mrs. Jumbo. She’s so happy to have him and voraciously defends him when others mock him for his large ears. With them living within a circus, they encounter hardships as Dumbo continues to be placed in acts that humiliate the poor elephant.
There’s a distinct beauty in Dumbo that reaches different depths of emotion as you age. This begins at the very start where Mrs. Jumbo waits for a stork to bring her a baby she so desperately seeks. That scene hits especially hard for anyone who has felt the impact of fertility issues, as Mrs. Jumbo watches as other animals receive their babies and she just has to wait. It’s what makes her receiving Dumbo so impactful and why she will fight to the death to protect him.
Dumbo’s abnormally large ears not only make him look different from the other elephants but also understandably make him clumsy. Walking is extra difficult for the young elephant, seeing as his ears get in the way. The ridicule he receives is certainly mean-spirited, but the most harmful element of it stems from it coming from within his own community. It would be one thing for humans to mock him, but other elephants within the same community shun him. If anyone should be protective of him, it should be the elephants, but it highlights a reality of the animal kingdom. In the wild, animals with deformities are seen as a liability and oftentimes are left for dead. At the very least this film displays him as persona non grata amongst the elephants, but that does not make it hurt any less.
Given Dumbo lives in a circus, he needs to find purpose in some sort of performance, and the way he ends up with the clowns makes for quite the combination. These clowns are both terrifying and hilarious to watch in their performance. They utilize the little elephant in these death-defying trials where he must jump from a ledge in order to bring entertainment. His success with the clowns only further has the other elephants reject him, given how they look down on him for performing with these clowns. The poor little elephant cannot win in impressing anyone around him except his mother, who unfortunately gets taken away after her ardent defense of her son.
While Dumbo does not speak throughout the film, much of the humor in addition to the clowns comes from Timothy Q. Mouse (Edward Brophy), who befriends the titular character and somehow becomes his biggest advocate. He’s the biggest shaker and mover throughout the film, as he makes things happen for Dumbo both in the attempt to have him perform with the other elephants and also in helping the young lad learn his true potential with the eventual reveal of his ability to fly. Quite often elephants are portrayed as having fear of mice, which makes their pairing together all that more perfect and meaningful for the message this story seeks to tell.
A lovely and evergreen tale, Dumbo has a little special place in my heart because my cousins teased me when I was younger for having relatively large ears. I have since grown into them, but it’s the first thing I always think about when this character comes to mind. While displaying some beautiful animation, it also tells a lovely tale about accepting what makes him different and how it represents a blessing in truth. It all comes together in something that even in the early stages of Disney animation sought to bring thrills and entertainment. From all of the acts Dumbo participates in and the eventual reveal of his flying ability, it meets those expectations.
