This is a movie review for "Dumbo", released October 31, 1941. I watched this movie multiple times as a child and rewatched this (via Disney+) on January 24, 2020 after watching the 2019 "Dumbo".
Genre: Animation, Drama, Family
Run Time: 1 Hour and 4 Minutes
Trailer
Official MPAA Rating (According to IMDB.com):
G / General Audiences
PG / Parental Guidance Suggested
PG-13 / Parents Strongly Cautioned
R / Restricted
X
Not Rated
Notable Cast
Herman Bing ... The Ringmaster (voice) (uncredited)
Mel Blanc ... Dumbo (uncredited)
Edward Brophy ... Timothy Q. Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Hall Johnson Choir ... Crows (voice) (uncredited)
Cliff Edwards ... Dandy Crow (uncredited)
Verna Felton ... The Elephant Matriarch / Mrs. Jumbo (voice) (uncredited)
Plot
Mrs. Jumbo is an elephant in a circus. One day, the stork delivers a baby to her. The child ends up being named Dumbo but Dumbo isn't an ordinary baby elephant - he has massively huge ears. The boys at the circus pick on him, as well as other animals within the circus. Mrs. Jumbo gets mad and wants to protect her child, but instead she is locked away and he is put to work as a joke of the circus ("look at those ears..."). Can Dumbo, with the help of his friend Timothy Q. Mouse, find a way to be accepted in the circus? Can he reconnect with his mother?
Rating Criteria
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.
2.5/5 - *SPOILERS*
This is the first time that I have watched this since childhood and the movie really doesn't mean the same now for me like it did then. Of course, your perspective changes as you age and you can pick up more things as an adult than when you were a child.
First off, what the heck were the creators thinking when they said "let's make an elephant pyramid"? It is not logical. Even just two layers of elephants is a dumb idea... And the elephants were going along with the idea?
It is strange to see Dumbo get drunk and have a hallucination afterwards of pink elephants [kinda like Pooh's hephalumps and woolies]. Is this a testament to children that your brain goes fuzzy when you're drunk or high?
Oh, and BEWARE the strobe during the drunk hallucination sequence!
The portrayal of the crows being obnoxious black men could be seen as offensive if you look at it hard enough and get butt hurt over small things but I found them kinda cute.
Per disney.fandom.com:
Dumbo is often criticized as "racist" for the inclusion of the black crows as African-American caricatures; specifically the naming of Jim, which is an ironic and sarcastic reference to the infamous Jim Crow laws with the intent to mock them. However, many critics, pundits and personalities reject these criticisms, noting that the majority of the crows are portrayed by African American actors (with the exception of Cliff Edwards) and their lead animator described them as being spoofs of many black entertainers at the time, with their clothes being based on 1930-40s fashion, such as Jim's derby hat and spats. The crows, however, have been viewed as protagonistic, being sympathetic to Dumbo's tribulations, and work with Timothy to perfect Dumbo's flying ability.
Many times in the movie, I paused and thought "did they do this just to show off skill / for the heck of it" or were the creators just stoned off of their a**es?
Ending was vague with "he's famous and now has his own caboose trailer for him and his mom".
Aside these little points, this is a cute short classical movie by Disney. I don't see the harm of letting children watch this without parent supervision but some may disagree.
Anyways, that's my movie review. Thank you for reading! More reviews to come eventually.
~ Gracie Mae DeLunac
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"Everything Wrong with Dumbo 1941"
Credit: @CinemaSins
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