Snow White was a huge success. The first of its kind, a full length, fully animated film. Movie goers lapped it up and it has remained one of the all-time favourites amongst children and adults alike. Unfortunately for Walt, the fascination almost stopped there. The uniqueness of the film drew in plenty of people and with them, plenty of money. The films that followed carried a similar expense, but didn’t bring in the same money. Something needed to change. The world was entering a war, with some areas fully involved. Dumbo provided the scaled back but equally charming new format of the Disney Animated Feature.
Dumbo started life as a picture book for children written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl. It was the prototype for a novelty toy called a ‘Roll-a-book’. The book itself is a simple design with pictures attached to a small wheel, by turning the wheel the user would move to the next picture and part of the story. Although the design and story was clear, the rest of this part of Dumbo’s history isn’t. Seven years his elder, Aberson married Pearl in 1939 in secret. The marriage was very short lived and the two were shortly divorced. It is then that the role in which each of them played becomes muddied. Aberson stated that she wrote the story and Pearl illustrated it but there was no proof that this was not true, nor was there proof it was. Pearl died in 1975, and with him, his side of the events. Aberson continued to say she was the only author until her death in the early 2000s.
A conflicting side of events has two screenwriters claim they saw the story elsewhere. Joe Grant and Dick Huemer both state that the other one saw the story as a short comic strip on the back of a cereal packet or the like. As Aberson and Pearl get the credit, it should be assumed that this is a mis-remembered account.
After securing the rights, Walt’s introduction to the story came in a way reminiscent of a comic strip. Each morning Grant and Heumer would leave the next section of the script on Walt’s desk resulting in Walt running into the office and exclaiming ‘What’s next?’
With the shorter production time and a budget a third cheaper than Pinocchio, the director had their work cut out to make sure this lived up to the Disney standard but was as cheap as possible. The film was released shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbour and became a positive moment in the gloom of the World War. Even though movies were but on the back seat during this time, the film became a huge success.
Plot
The story of Dumbo starts with the friendly stalks making their deliveries of babies to the animals of a circus. After watching the other animals get their bundles of joy, Mrs Jumbo, one of the elephants, finally gets her wish. The other elephants crowd around and coo over the child, that is until the baby sneezes. The motion of his sneeze reveals his extra-large ears and in their teasing, the elephants change his name from Jumbo Jnr to Dumbo.
Mrs Jumbo gets annoyed and, to defend her child, releases a trap that shuts the others away.
Dumbo struggles with life as a circus elephant, with only his mother for comfort he struggles. IT is during a show that children mock his large ears and Mrs Jumbo once again defends her son. With the force of her anger, the circus tent collapses and she is locked away as a mad elephant. Disney must have drew the line here as in real life, an animal that does this would ordinarily be destroyed.
Befriending a mouse names Timothy, Dumbo is moved to the circus clowns. He tries to do some of the stunts but ultimately is scared.
After a successful show the scared and sad Dumbo is taken by Timothy mouse to see his mother. He is sad upon his return. The clowns, with very little care for the elephant’s welfare, work out a dangerous stunt for Dumbo. Upon their excitement they knock a bottle of alcohol into Dumbo’s water bucket. Dumbo gets drunk and begins to see pink elephants.
The next morning, Dumbo and Timothy are woken by some crows. When Timothy tells them to go back into the trees, the crows take great enjoyment by telling them that they already are. Timothy works out that elephant must have flown.
Struggling to repeat the trick, the crows devise a plan to help Dumbo. They offer him a simple tail feather and tell him it is magic. It does the trick and Dumbo realises he can fly but only when he holds the magic feather.
Back at the circus, the clowns set up Dumbo in an almost perilous stunt. At the top of an extremely high diving board, Dumbo braces himself to fly but drops the feather. He struggles to believe in himself as he is falling but Timothy mouse explains that it was all a lie and that Dumbo never needed the feather. It takes a little while but eventually Dumbo realises it and before he hits the ground, he launches into the air.
His triumphant flight includes slight revenge on the other elephants and the clowns.
The news of a flying elephants spreads and reaches all of the papers. It makes a huge amount of money and Dumbo becomes the star attraction.
The film ends with Dumbo being reunited with his mother, who rides in Dumbo’s personalised train carriage.
Behind the Characters
There are very little voice artists in Dumbo, none of which are credited on screen. The film is notable for introducing Both Verna Felton and Sterling Holloway to the Disney Animated Classics. Both would go on to voice other characters in further films and would become two of the mainstays for this era of Disney.
Edward Brophy provided the voice of Timothy Mouse, although he never went on to voice any other animated characters, he was known at the time as a character actor and comedian. In 1928 he came to attention when he starred in a scene with Buster Heaton. In the 1930s he starred in over 80 movies throughout the decade and Dumbo was one of 9 film appearances in 1941. Brophy died in 1960.
As mentioned, Verna Felton made her Disney debut in Dumbo. Her voice work is associated with this era of Disney appearing as The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Aunt Sarah in Lady and the Tramp, Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, Flora in Sleeping Beauty and Winifred in The Jungle Book. Her husband was also the voice of Pluto. Felton was also known as a character actress and appeared in many television shows at the time, also appearing as Wilma Flintstone’s mother in The Flintstones. She passed away the day before Walt Disney.
Sterling Holloway’s first appearance in a Disney Animated Classic could have been as Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. As it was, Holloway’s debut would be as the Stork in Dumbo. Although he went on to appear in Bambi as Adult Flower, a narrator in The Three Caballeros and Make Mine Music, The Cheshire Cat in Alice and Wonderland, Kaa in The Jungle Book and Roquefort in The Aristocats, he would be best remembered and loved as the voice of Winnie the Pooh. He was the first person to be honoured as a Disney Legend in the category of Voice Artists in 1991, a year before his passing.
Cliff Edwards will always be remembered as the voice of Jiminy Cricket and the song ‘When you wish upon a star’. In Dumbo he also had a beloved song but due to the controversy around his character, it isn’t often played. As the lead crow, white actor Edwards would voice a stereotypical black character and perform the song ‘When I see an elephant fly’. His work with the studio was limited after Dumbo but did star in Fun and Fancy Free and continued to voice Jiminy Cricket in The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse television show. Known as Ukulele Ike outside of Disney, he was a well praised musician in his day, however he was poor with money and paid alimony to three ex-wives. Before Dumbo he has declared himself bankrupt three times. In his later years he would hang around the Disney Studios to see what work he could get and would often be taken to lunch by the animators. It was revealed that the studios paid his medical bills as the time of his death. His body was unclaimed at the time and donated to medical science, upon hearing of this, Walt Disney Productions offered to purchase his remains and pay for a burial. Instead, the Actor’s Fund of America and the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund paid for this, the former had also helped Edwards with his medical costs. Disney paid for his grave marker.
James Baskett would voice another of the crows. Baskett is most famous for his role as Uncle Remus in Song of the South. He became the first black male performer to receive an Oscar, although he was not considered for an Academy Award. Outside of Disney, he was known as a primary black performer, working with Louis Armstrong and Nina Mae McKinney. Baskett would also voice Brer fox and Brer Rabbit in Song of the South but was not allowed to attend the premiere in Atlanta due to racist laws at the time. Walt openly stated that the actor deserved an Academy Award to which he finally gained an Honorary Award in 1948. Baskett died in 1948 mere months after.
Backgrounds and Animation techniques
The animation needed to be cheap; this should be a cheaper film that could recoup some of the losses from Pinocchio and then Fantasia. At the time, it was one of the shortest films to produce and its entire process took place in the time it took to make Bambi. The backgrounds were made with watercolours and the film remains one of the few films to be done this way, Lilo and Stitch pays homage to this style.
It is often stated that the Pink Elephants on Parade segment is made up out of an unused section of Fantasia or a planned Fantasia update. There is no evidence to support this other than the similarities. It is true that Walt was planning to update segments of Fantasia if it was successful, but as it wasn’t, the idea was abandoned.
The artist behind the Pink Elephant sequence, Howard Swift, would surpass the studio average when he animated 100 feet of the sequence in only one week. The average of the time was just 20 feet. By putting his ideas on paper before progressing on to the next movement allowed him to keep going.
Disney Firsts
The newspaper clippings at the end of the film show that the film is set in 1941, the year of the film’s release. It also shows that the film is set in the USA, resulting in Dumbo to be the first Disney film to be set in the USA and one of the few Disney films to be set the year of release. The newspaper clippings also have news about the war around the main headline and features on Dumbo.
Pop Culture
Most people associate pop culture references with the 1990s, most notably Aladdin and Hercules. The fact is, Dumbo was already doing this nearly half a century earlier. Timothy Mouse tries to comfort Dumbo by saying that ‘lots of people with big ears are famous,’ he is actually referencing Clark Gable who was known for having large ears.
A Special Link
Verna Felton voices the matriarchal elephant in Dumbo, it was her first work for Disney. Her final work was also as an elephant, in the Jungle Book where she plays Winifred. Hathi Jnr (Winifred’s son) should be how a baby Asian elephant looks, not like Dumbo with his three hairs on his head. Instead he resembles a baby African elephant.
Controversy
In recent years, many subjects that were commonplace in the earlier half of the 20th century have been dismissed as wrong. Homophobic, sexist and racist jokes, stereotypes and words are now frowned upon. This poses a difficult situation with older films and television programs and there are contradicting thoughts about what to do with these. The crows in Dumbo are a tricky issue as they are based on stereotypes of black people at the times the film was made. However, there are no racist jokes and the characters are one of the few sympathetic characters towards the flying elephant. Many celebrity voices have defended the film and the crows. What makes it more difficult is the unofficial name of the crows has racial tendencies, although the name is not mentioned in the actual film it often strengthens the reason to ban the film. When Disney+ announced that they would release the entire back catalogue of Disney Animated classics it posed the question of if certain parts of this film should be included or edited down. Although somethings have been removed from other series and films on the streaming service, Dumbo and his crows were left in.
Another part of the film that has drawn attention to itself is the Pink Elephants on Parade segment. The whole part of the film only happens because Dumbo’s water is accidentally spiked with alcohol. The segment and song remains one of the most famous from the era, but the inappropriateness of this part was brought up a lot earlier than the crows. In the live action version, the alcohol is replaced with Dumbo’s wonderment and imagination.
Music
The songs from Dumbo are some of the most well-known and best loved from the era. Baby Mine, a highly emotional Disney song, was nominated for an OSCAR. It lost to a song from Lady Be Good but the film did win an OSCAR for Best Overall Score.
Pink Elephants on Parade is noticed more for the accompanying animation and is often referenced in pop culture, such as Bob’s Burgers, South Park and a Bugs Bunny short ‘The Big Snooze’. The Latter has Elmer Thud dreaming of being surrounded by multiple Rabbits (I will let you guess which one).
Mickey’s House of Mouse also pays homage. The song ‘Heffalumps and Woozles’ from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day bears a strong resemblance.
Oliver Wallace and Frank Churchill wrote the score, this being Wallace’s only OSCAR win. His involvement with Walt Disney didn’t begin or end there. Wallace was the uncredited composer for Pinocchio. He also worked on Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad. In the latter, he even voices Mr Winkie.
Churchill’s story is a little sad, his work with the early Disney films and various cartoons should make his name one of the most important of the era. For the animated classics he contributed to Snow White, Dumbo and a deleted song for Peter Pan. After a disappointment with Walt Disney over Bambi, his suicide has always been linked with Disney. However, it seems more likely that he suffered a depression over losing two close friends within a month of each other.
Ned Washington provided the lyrics to Baby Mine and When I see an Elephant Fly. His contributions to Disney may be short but the songs he wrote lyrics for are fondly remembered today, most notably When You Wish Upon a Star for Pinocchio. The song would become the signature tune for the Animated Classic.
When I See An Elephant Fly has fallen to the backseat due to the racial insensitivity around the crows. Whoopi Goldberg defended the crows as she believed they sang the most crucial song for Dumbo. Lyrics include Rubber Band, House Fly, and Diamond Ring, all of which are word plays.
Releases
First released in 1941, this was the last film to be released before America’s involvement in WW2. The film was re-released in 1949 and became Disney’s most profitable film of the decade. RKO requested that Disney lengthen the movie for a full release but Disney felt it was perfect just the way it is. This could be linked to the need to recoup costs at the time. They then suggested that it should be a short and that it should be cut down, if not it would be listed as a B movie. Walt stood his ground as Dumbo was listed as an A list Movie. It came out just two years after Disney acquired the rights; it was one of the quickest turnovers for an animated film.
A shortened down version was released on Disneyland, Walt’s television programme. This shortened version was also the first Disney Animated Classic to be released on home media. A full length version was released shortly afterwards.
The film was also one of the earliest releases on DVD and Bluray. It also appeared available for streaming on Disney+ on day one. The constant re-releases means that this film is one of the longest known films to never be out of print and the longest Disney film to do so.
Although released in 1941 in America, it’s release dates around the world are more distant than you might think, Whereas it was only a few months between the release in America compared to the second release in the UK, China had to wait a further 45 years.
Hidden Mickeys
For a film that is so well loved, his appearances in other films as a hidden mickey are not as high as other characters. His first appearance is as a bubble toy is Basil, The Great Mouse Detective. Dumbo is a toy on an easel in Lilo and Stitch, which backgrounds pay homage to Dumbo. He is also one of the many character appearances in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
In other films, he appears twice in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a clip appears on Weebo (voiced by Jody Benson) in Flubber, and as a shadow in The Lion King 1 ½.
Within the film, the circus is named WDP which is a hidden nod to Walt Disney Productions. The Clowns are also based on the main staff members at the studios who led a strike during production, even having the line that they will ask the boss for a pay rise. The strike ended the family feel behind the scenes at the studios.
Studio artists do get their names in the picture with nods to Claude Coats, Ray Huffine and Dick Anthony.
Video Games and Other Media
Dumbo features in many different mediums throughout the years, from films, cartoons, books and video games. It is quite difficult to pinpoint a villain for the film, but Disney’s Villain’s Revenge, a 1999 PC game, has the ringmaster as the villain. Within the game, he forces Dumbo to endlessly perform humiliating stunts at his circus. For anyone who has the game, a well-aimed custard pie can defeat the ringmaster as it knocks him unconscious.
Playstation 2’s highly popular game, Kingdom Hearts, also features Dumbo. Released in 2002, Dumbo can be summoned as an aid by the player. The protagonist, Sora, also flies on the elephant’s back whilst Dumbo shoots water from his trunk.
For the Gameboy Advance game, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Dumbo reprises his role as a summoned aid. It was released in 2004.
The Disney Parks
The Casey Junior train at Walt Disney World is inspired by the circus train within the film and sits in a small area almost exclusively dedicated to the film. Along with the train that shoots water, also sits a large shop and, most famously, the Dumbo Ride. Dumbo the Flying Elephant is a carousel style ride located in Fantasyland. Although it opened a month after the opening of Disneyland California in 1955, the ride became an opening day attraction for all of the other parks. The original design had 10 elephants rather than the 16 that are flying in Florida today, and none were meant to be Dumbo. Instead they were to represent the Pink Elephants on Parade, each one different. It was replaced with a rough estimate of the ride we know today. It is an interesting note that the Florida ride turns clockwise whereas the original is counter-clockwise.
In California Adventures Paradise Pear, the Dumbo’s Bucket Brigade Boardwalk Game is inspired by the clowns as firefighter’s scene of the film.
The film is noted as being the shortest of the Disney animated classics although this isn’t the case. At 64 minutes long it definitely is a short film, but Saludos Amigos has the accolade as the shortest at 42 minutes. With this being said, the film is one of Walt’s favourites. It also takes the top spot of John Lassiter’s favourite Disney films. Not bad for the quietest lead of a Disney film. With little more than hiccups and tears, Dumbo utters almost nothing. He does speak, however, in a 1954 album ‘Wilt Disney’s Mickey Mouse’s Birthday Party (voiced by Stan Freberg) and in the TV show ‘Dumbo’s Circus (Voiced by Katie Leigh.)
Differences between film and book
One of the biggest differences between film and book is the character of Timothy Mouse. In the Book he is a robin called Red the Robin. Mrs Jumbo is simply named Ella whilst Dumbo’s real name is simply Jumbo rather than Jumbo Jnr.
The other elephants actually praise Dumbo’s big ears, they are supportive and Mrs Jumbo never attacks them or the children that ultimately brings down the big top. Because of the niceness of the Elephants, it is the Ringmaster and a character called Jack that nickname him Dumbo.
Although these changes and the fact it is an owl, called Professor Hoot Owl, that teaches Dumbo how to fly rather than the crows, the biggest change between the book ant the film is one simple thing – Dumbo Speaks in the book.
Sequels and spin offs
The trend in the early 2000s for the Walt Disney Company was to release direct to video sequels for past releases. Films such as Aladdin, Mulan, Bambi and Lady and the Tramp amongst others all received sequels. Dumbo was to get the same treatment and even had background designs in progress. The sequel was included as a sneak peek on the 60th Anniversary DVD release of Dumbo in 2001.
John Lasseter entered the scene and, although Dumbo was is favourite Disney film, he pulled the plug on all direct to video sequels including Dumbo 2. The backgrounds were then used in Fox and the Hound 2.
Dumbo did get further adventures in the 1980s. Now a talking teenager, a costumed actor portrayed the elephant in Dumbo’s Circus. It is seldom repeated, although it does have a small cult following on Disney Twitter.
Dumbo can be found in multiple cartoon shorts, mainly mickey’s House of Mouse, and the revival Mickey Mouse shorts of the mid-late 2010s.
2019 Live Action
Although the direct to Video sequel never happened in the end, Tim Burton took the story and tried to update it for the modern cinema goer. The story took and adapted the original, it took a more serious and naturalistic approach. The film, although not bad, didn’t live up to the original. It parodied Walt Disney and the Disney parks but cancelled out the surreal aspect of Pink Elephants on Parade. The elephant wasn’t the main focus of the story.
Awards
Aside from the OSCAR Nomination for Best Song, and the win for Best Score, Dumbo has received much praise since its release. In the 1947 Cannes Film Festival it won Best Animation Design.
The American Film Institute also recognises Dumbo in many lists. In 2004, Baby mine was nominated for AFI’s 100 years 100 songs. In 2006, AFI’s 100 Years 100 Cheers and AFI’s Greatest Movie Musicals also saw Dumbo nominated. And Finally in 2008, It was a nominated Animation Film in AFI’s 10 Top 10.
Legacy
Dumbo is nearly 80 years old and yet it still is one of the most magical and most loved films of all time. With one of the most recognisable rides in the park, never being out of home media print, and, having some of the most memorable sequences in cinema history, this film will never go away. It set up so much as to what a Disney film was for up to the next two decades, the tone, the style and the look were all created here and can be seen up until Sleeping Beauty in 1959. It recouped the losses of the previous two releases and has been making money for the Disney Company ever since. Featured on the baby ranges in the Disney Store for some years, the merchandise for this lovable elephant is easy to come by and families have been able to take home their own plush to enjoy and play with over and over again.
He also has a big eared octopus named after him and a district in New York also bears his name (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) proving that this little elephant will always be with us.