DUMBO

Animated Feature

Voices by: Sterling Holloway, Herman Bing, Verna Felton

Walt Disney Pictures; Directed by Ben Sharpsteen

Rated G; 64 minutes; 1941

The stork delivers a baby elephant to Mrs Jumbo, veteran of the circus, but the newborn is ridiculed because of his truly enormous ears and dubbed "Dumbo". Dumbo is relegated to the circus' clown acts; it is up to his only friend, a mouse, to assist Dumbo to achieve his full potential.

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Deceptively simple, beautiful, moving, and hilarious, DUMBO is often overlooked when considering Disney's greatest films because perhaps of its lack of extravagance, its brief running time, and its simple story. Baby elephant Jumbo Jr. is delivered by the stork to his elephant mom with much fanfare but soon receives a cold shoulder from the snobby female pachyderms and the rest of the circus due to his oversize ears. When his mother goes on a rampage in order to protect him from some snickering rubes, she winds up locked away. Dumbo is left without a friend in the world until the street-smart Timothy Mouse decides to become his manager and a telephone line full of delightful jive-talking crows convince him he can fly. Highlights include Dumbo accidentally getting drunk and experiencing the surreal musical sequence "Pink Elephants on Parade" and a soundtrack packed with such priceless songs as the Oscar-winning "Baby Mine" and the crow's soulful number, "When I see an Elephant Fly." There's nary an imperfect moment to be found in this raucous, tender, sublime film, which has been delighting audiences for generations.