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With: Edward Brophy, Herman Bing, Hall Johnson Choir, Billy Bletcher, Sterling Holloway (voices)
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Written by: Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, Otto Englander, Bill Peet, Aurelius Battaglia, Joe Rinaldi, Vernon Stallings, Webb Smith, based on a book by Helen Aberson, Harold Pearl
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Directed by: Ben Sharpsteen
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MPAA Rating: G
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Running Time: 64
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Date: 10/23/1941
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Tears for Ears
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
One of the earliest masterpieces made by Walt Disney, Dumbo (1941) is also one of the wildest, weirdest, funniest, and most touching of all animated films. Telling the story of a young elephant with extra-large ears who comes to believe in himself, it contains a number of mind-blowing sequences. In one, Dumbo and his mentor Timothy Q. Mouse accidentally drink champagne, get drunk and see "Pink Elephants on Parade." In another, Dumbo learns to fly with the help of several black crows, who sing a terrific song ("When I See an Elephant Fly") and dance on the edge of cultural stereotyping. Or, most heartbreaking, when Dumbo tries to visit his mother, caged up after a rampage while trying to protect her son. Guided by supervising director Ben Sharpsteen, all of this comes packed into a swift-moving 64-minute package, filled with gorgeous, fluid, colorful animation that continually suggests majesty and wonder.
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