Dumbo (1941)

"Dumbo" is considered one of the Disney classics, but although I watched this film many, many times as a child it was never one that I remembered well, unlike "Snow White" or others from that first golden age. Watching it now I completely understand why I only remember it with vague emotional sensations of fear and sadness and why it never appealed to me as a child, though my views of the film have entirely changed for the better.

There is no doubt that this is a masterpiece of animation and inspiration, but unlike most of the films made, this cartoon holds themes that are dark and at times rather disturbing. It is the story of a little elephant named Jumbo Jr., born to a performing circus elephant. Ostracized because of his abnormally large ears he is taunted and teased until his mother goes on a rampage, causing her to be locked in solitary confinement leaving Jumbo--cruelly nicknamed "Dumbo"--to fend for himself. The baby is shunned or mocked until a mouse named Timothy takes him under his guardianship.

It is a stunning film with an almost unbearably upsetting story about a poor baby boy ripped from the arms of his mother who only ever sought to protect and love him. This is a film for all mothers, and I do believe it was made for them before it was for their children.

It is richly painted, obviously a tremendous labor of love, and done in a style that I have never seen done again in a Disney film. Watching it, there seems something off about the pictures; they are too bright, everything seems a bit gilded, characters bounce and shake as though something were keeping them from flying off into space, there seems to be an inordinate lack of straight lines. It is as though they designed the film with the circus very much in the forefront of their minds, all glitz and glamour, but a bit rickety and dangerous. There are few moments of stillness and quiet beauty.

This finally comes to a climax in a drunken, hallucinatory scene about pink elephants, for which "Dumbo" is probably most famous. It is a fantastically creative scene even by its own standards, which are already pretty high. That song is one of many from an Oscar-winning score which is superb. One notable song is "Baby of Mine", in a scene which had better make you cry if you have any heart at all.

Watching it in our PC world, there are interesting aspects to note, including some very blatant racism and animal cruelty, which also distinguishes it from the plethora of other children's films out there. But I think we should watch it, accept those...dark spots on this movie, and simply enjoy a powerfully emotional story of a mother's heartbreak, illustrated by masters of their craft, and done with a care and precision that we no longer have today.

4/4