Dumbo Special Edition [DVD]

Walt Disney's charming fantasy reminds you of why his movies became so successful over the years, and why they remain in the public consciousness. The classic story of the eponymous pachyderm, rejected at birth due to his enormous (even for an elephant) ears, melds humour, pathos, surrealism (the pink elephants segment in the middle is inspired) and tells a smashing story.

Along with his mouse friend, Timothy, Dumbo learns to put his ears to good use, and ends the film both adored and happy. The animation is simple but effective, and the voice artists are spot-on. My 5 year old can't get enough of this DVD, and at 64 minutes long it never outstays its welcome.

Dumbo was probably the first Disney film I ever saw. I remember popping my old video tape into the player, sitting through all the previews and copyright warnings, and then smile with joy as the opening credits came up. I loved Dumbo because it was colourful and fun, despite the intense cruelty that our little protagonist and his mother go through.

Of course, there were some things I noticed that I'd been blind to at the age of three. For example, there are a few WWII refernces - I'll leave you to figure them out. Another example is the crows. They sound a lot like the stereotype of black people in America at the time. This might seem a little insensitive, but trust me, there's worse things out there. Dumbo is not racist. Remember that those crows, aside from Timothy Mouse, are the only characters who feel sympathy for Dumbo. I feel that the crows all share a close bond and that they are somewhat outcasts too. And oh yes, they have the most catchy and irresistable song!

Dumbo is such an adorable little elephant. Like similar characters such as Pinocchio and Bambi, he has that round 'pudding like' charm. This gives him the appeal of a human baby. He has adorable little blue eyes which give away all his emotion. He does not speak a single word and yet he moves you to tears. It's the way he acts and his innocent expressions that really talk to you. As well as not being much of a talker, Dumbo isn't much of a thinker either. He just naively follows Timothy mouse, all in his own little world.
The other characters are interesting too. Timothy is a fiesty little rodent with a kind heart. The other elephants remind me of the girls at my school who like nothing more than to gossip. I might also mention the train - Casey Junior. He seems to be alive but he isn't creepy. (Thomas the Tank Engine scared the heck out of me!) He has his own catchy rhythm which is just pure fun to listen to. The Ringmaster has the most funny expressions too!

The soundtrack is a real treat. If you do not tear up during 'Baby Mine,' then please see your doctor for your heart has turned into coal. 'Pink Elephants on Parade' is a funny but slightly disturbing sequence that gets stuck in your head with it's clever lyrics and artistic animation.

Dumbo is a very colourful film, but there are times when life in the circus can be very bleak. In an attempt to protect a her youngster from some harassing boys, Mrs Jumbo is cruelly seperated from her baby and poor Dumbo is ignored by the other elephants. The film expertly conbines the romantic view of the circus - bright lights and colours, animals and clowns with the realities - greed, hard work and animal cruelty. Anyone who thinks that some circuses can be 'humane,' then they'd better see Dumbo as it will change their mind.

Bambi may be at the top for me, but Dumbo is just too good to put down. For a film that's only sixty minutes long, it's a real emotional feast upon the eyes and the mind.
However, I'm only giving four stars because Dumbo really needs restoring and remastering. Hope there's a Platinum Edition coming soon.

I am writing this review partially in response to some of the comments below- something which I would not do usually, which shows just how affected I am by them.

I owned the original VHS of this film, and now the DVD. It still remains the only film that has ever brought me close to tears, both as an adult and a child (I now find the scene where his Mrs. Jumbo realises that Dumbo is gone as heart-wrenching as the famous lullaby sequence). I must have watched it dozens and dozens of times, and the reason why I bought it again was because my memories of it were that I was entertained and moved. The mother-child dynamic was perfect, the characters were all memorable, and the message against animal cruelty was not terribly overt, but still effective ("elephants don't have feelings"- as Dumbo walks past with tears in his eyes). This may seem like part of a past era- and it is- but it does not mean that it is not relevant. Do children now never treat animals badly for amusement, not thinking that they could be in pain? No. Is the circus itself a metaphor for the world that I, in the nineties, not the thirties, grew up in- with playground teasing and ritual public humiliation for those who couldn't stand up for themselves or didn't fit it, and parents desperate to protect their children from this? Yes. This time is one that is shown in 'Dumbo' to be both fascinating and repulsive- something that we should not emulate now. And strangely enough, and no point did I ever feel compelled to believe that the only way to get ahead in life was to make myself 'commercially viable' because of this film- I always thought that Dumbo achieved this through gaining friends through compassion, getting confidence and belief that his 'weakness' could be what made him special, and then proving that to people and animals too engrained in their own prejudices to see sense otherwise. Children don't like being lectured to- they gain their own, innocent insights. Just a thought, from someone who remembers this from a child's perspective- and I was moved and enchanted by the story, the characters and the lovely and sometimes ground-breaking animation. You're either quite like it, or you're absolutely love it.