Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars the voices of Edward Brophy, Herman Bing, Cliff Edwards
Verna Felton, Sterling Holloway, John McLeish, Sarah Selby | Written by Joe Grant & Dick Huemer
UK certification U | UK RRP £23.99 | Runtime 64 minutes | Directed by Ben Sharpsteen & Norman Ferguson
One has to wonder whether Disney would get away with producing such as un-PC cartoon as Dumbo is this day and age. Don't get me wrong; Dumbo is one of the greatest (and most underrated) films from the Disney vaults – it was originally released in 1941. But there is so much in it that just wouldn't wash with today's PC brigade.
For a start, there's the obvious one: the black crows that are based on an African-American stereotype (and the leader is even named Jim Crow). But all the way through are little things that just made me think "they wouldn't get away with that today". Take the opening scenes, with all those storks delivering all the baby animals – the bears, hippos, kangaroos, tigers and a giraffe. Today, they'd have to show the animals actually giving birth, to be biologically correct. The movie itself is set in a circus, which these days have all but disappeared because of allegations of animal cruelty. And speaking of cruelty, what about the bullying of Dumbo, just because he's different, thanks to those big ears? (as an aside, I reckon that stork made a delivery mistake – Dumbo, because of his bigger ears, must be an African baby elephant that was wrongly given to an Asian mother).
After she tries to defend her son, Dumbo's mother is chained up and locked in a cage, with a sign saying "Mad Elephant" posted outside; these days, it would have to read "Temperamentally-Challenged Elephant". And the real biggy that would upset the Daily Mail-reading mob is the scene where Dumbo and his little mouse buddy, Timothy, accidentally get drunk and hallucinate dancing pink elephants Underage drinking! Disgusting!
Joking aside, Dumbo is a truly lovely film, although a little dark and depressing at times. Surprisingly, for a talking-animal film, the main character never utters a word! Much of the relationship between Dumbo and his mother is indicated with affectionate looks, and loving touches. And despite the cruelty and the bullying, it's a lovely film with a positive message – everybody has something special to offer; for Dumbo, it's his ability to fly. It's truly one of the all-time-great animated movies – and it clocks in at just 64 minutes, making it a great film for those little 'uns with short attention spans.
EXTRAS ????? The film itself has been beautifully restored, and looks simply stunning in high-definition. And they haven't skimped on the bonus features, either: a deleted scene, called The Mouse’s Tale (the story of why elephants are afraid of mice, which was cut from the final script); the deleted song “Are You a Man or a Mouse”; Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo, a 25-minute featurette; art galleries; Magic of Dumbo: Ride of Passage (the Dumbo ride at Disneyland; Sound Design: Excerpt from The Reluctant Dragon; Celebrating Dumbo featurette (film critic Leonard Maltin and some modern-day Disney animators discuss the film); the original Walt Disney introduction from the TV show Walt Disney's Disneyland, from when they first showed Dumbo on TV; theatrical trailers from the original 1941 release and the 1949 re-release; bonus shorts The Flying Mouse and Elmer Elephant; the games What Do You See? and What Do You Know?; and the features DisneyView and Cine-Explore.