Dumbo 172299 225713539 2008-07-15T01:13:26Z Channel R 4175835 Reverted 1 edit by [[Special:Contributions/74.249.96.10|74.249.96.10]]; The article isn't semi-protected, so don't insert that padlock icon. And there's no need to change ()s into []s either.. {{Plot|date=May 2008}} {{Refimprove|date=April 2008}} {{otheruses}} {{Infobox Film | name = Dumbo | image = Dumbo-1941-poster.jpg | caption = '''''Dumbo'' 1941 release poster''' | director = [[Ben Sharpsteen]] | producer = [[Walt Disney]] | writer = [[Helen Aberson]] (book)<br>[[Harold Perl]] (book)<br>[[Otto Englander]] (story direction)<br>[[Joe Grant]]<br>[[Dick Huemer]] | starring = [[Edward Brophy]]<br />[[Herman Bing]]<br />[[Margaret Wright (actress)|Margaret Wright]]<br />[[Sterling Holloway]]<br />[[Cliff Edwards]] | music = [[Frank Churchill]]<br>[[Lance Husher]] | cinematography = | editing = | distributor = [[RKO Radio Pictures]] | released = [[October 23]], [[1941]] | runtime = 64 minutes | language = [[English language|English]] | budget = $950,000 USD | imdb_id = 0033563}} '''''Dumbo''''' is a 1941 [[animated feature]] [[film]] produced by [[Walt Disney]] and first released on [[October 23]], [[1941]] by [[RKO Radio Pictures]]. The fourth film in the [[Walt Disney Animated Classics]], ''Dumbo'' is based upon a child's book of the same name by [[Helen Aberson]] and illustrated by [[Harold Perl]]. The main character is Jumbo Jr., a semi-[[anthropomorphic]] [[elephant]] who is cruelly nicknamed Dumbo. He is ridiculed for his big [[ear]]s, but in fact he is capable of [[flight|flying]] by using them as [[wing]]s. Throughout some of the film, his only true friend aside from his mother is the [[mouse]] Timothy, parodying the stereotypical animosity between mice and elephants. == Synopsis == On the night before animals from the zoo are transported to the circus (the "Winter Quarters" in Florida is a reference to [[Sarasota, Florida|Sarasota]], the former winter headquarters of [[Ringling Brothers]]), one mother of each species receives a baby to look after and raise as their own, all except for an elephant, Mrs. Jumbo, who is devastated by this. The next day, however, the stork who was supposed to deliver the baby elephant catches up with the train and presents Mrs. Jumbo with her new baby. At first, the baby is well received until his oversized ears are discovered. He is then rudely ridiculed by the other female elephants for his enormous ears, and one of them calls him "Dumbo". The name sticks. Mrs. Jumbo is forced to send the other elephants away violently for their behaviour. The train arrives at the circus grounds, and throughout the night, everyone builds the circus and puts the tents up. The next day proves to be the first of Dumbo's saddest days, as during the promotion parade, Dumbo slips on his big ears, lands in a muddy puddle and is laughed at, much to his dismay. But that wasn't the worst of it, for later, after Mrs. Jumbo washes him in the tents, a group of naughty boys stop by to see the elephants. Unsatisfied with just making faces at Dumbo, one boy crosses the rope and starts playing with Dumbo's big ears, infuriating Mrs. Jumbo so much that she spanks the boy with her trunk and throws things at the others. Unfortunately, the Ringmaster and the circus guards assume Mrs. Jumbo has gone mad, and she is subsequently locked in solitary confinement after they "rescue" Dumbo. Dumbo is left alone and constantly ridiculed by the other elephants, until a friendly little mouse named Timothy (who has been watching Dumbo crying alone for the past few days and feels sorry for him) scares the elephants and befriends Dumbo, determined to make him happy again. His plan of getting the Ringmaster (by "talking" to him during his sleep, pretending to be his subconscious) to make Dumbo the climax of his next elephant act backfires when Dumbo slips on his ears again and literally causes the circus to collapse, injuring all the elephants and getting them sent to a vet for a few days. Dumbo is subsequently made into a clown, and becomes the star attraction of the show. Although he is clearly loved and praised by the audience, he hates his job and misses his mother greatly, with Timothy as his only friend. To cheer Dumbo up, Timothy takes him to visit his imprisoned mother, although all she can do is gently rock him side to side with her trunk, as she cannot reach him due to her chains. In what [[Pixar]]'s [[John Lasseter]] describes as "one of the most emotional scenes that Disney ever made,"<ref>{{cite news | last = King | first = Susan | title = Pixar's John Lasseter was inspired by 'Dumbo' | publisher = Los Angeles Times | date = [[2008-04-17]] | url = http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/theguide/la-gd-movies17apr17,0,4297025.story | accessdate = 2008-05-22 }}</ref> Timothy sees all the other baby animals happy with their mothers, and reflects on how the boy who bullied Dumbo was not punished. He sheds a tear as the time comes for them to leave, and Dumbo starts crying again, so much that he gets the hiccups. To cure the hiccups, Timothy takes Dumbo for a drink of water from a bucket, not knowing that the clowns, during their celebration, accidentally knocked a bottle of beer in it. Within seconds, Dumbo and Timothy are both drunk. The next morning, Dumbo and Timothy are woken up by a group of crows, and the leader of them, Jim Crow, while laughing his head off, reveals to them that they are somehow in their tree. In shock, Dumbo loses his balance, and they fall to the ground in a puddle. As they walk back to the circus, Timothy wonders how they ended up in the tree, and Jim Crow jokingly suggests that they must have flown up. Timothy takes this seriously and gets excited, and the crows start bullying Dumbo about his flying ears by singing the song "When I See An Elephant Fly". Enraged, Timothy lashes out at the crows for picking on Dumbo, and tells them Dumbo's tragic story. The crows are shocked to hear this, and even start crying for Dumbo. Jim Crow, clearly feeling guilty, suggests a way to make Dumbo happy again, thinking that Dumbo ''might'' be able to fly if his confidence is boosted. Timothy and the crows present Dumbo with a feather which they claim to be magical. The crows then persuade Dumbo to flap his ears and leap off a cliff. Armed with the "magic feather", Dumbo is able to fly with ease. During a particularly daring circus stunt, Dumbo loses the feather and nearly plummets to his death - until Timothy reveals that the feather was never magical, and that Dumbo's ability to fly was his own. At the last second, Dumbo pulls out of his dive and stuns the entire circus and audience at the astounding sight of an elephant flying. Now finally in command of the situation, Dumbo is able to indulge in a little revenge on his tormentors. After that performance, Dumbo is a media sensation with Timothy as his manager. The film ends with the circus train having a luxury private car for Mrs. Jumbo and her child, the star of the circus. The Crows bid farewell after one last flight with Dumbo as the train moves on to the next destination. == Critical reaction == ''Dumbo'' was completed and delivered to Disney's distributor, [[RKO Radio Pictures]], in fall 1941. RKO balked at the fact that the film only ran 64 minutes, and demanded that Walt Disney either (a) expand it to at least 70 minutes, (b) edit it to [[short subject]] length, or (c) allow RKO to release it as a [[b-movie]]. Disney refused all three options, and RKO reluctantly issued ''Dumbo'', unaltered, as an A-film. After its [[October 23]] release, ''Dumbo'' proved to be a financial miracle compared to other Disney movies. The simple film only cost $813,000 to produce, half the cost of ''Snow White'' and less than a third of the cost of ''[[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]''. ''Dumbo'' eventually grossed $1.6 million during its original release; it and ''Snow White'' were the only two pre-1943 Disney features to turn a profit (Barrier, 318). It was intended for Dumbo to be on the cover of the December 1941 issue of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', but the idea was dropped when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, resulting in the [[United States]] entering [[World War II]] and reducing the box office draw of the film. ''Dumbo'' won the 1941 [[Academy Award for Original Music Score]], awarded to musical directors [[Frank Churchill]] and Oliver Wallace. Churchill and lyricist [[Ned Washington]] were also nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Song]] for "[[Baby Mine]]", the song that plays during Dumbo's visit to his mother's cell. The film also won Best Animation Design at the 1947 [[Cannes]] Film Festival. The crow characters in the film are seen as [[African-American]] caricatures; the leader crow voiced by [[Cliff Edwards]], a white man, was originally named "[[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow]]" for script purposes, and the name stuck. The other crows are all voiced by African-American actors, all members of the [[Hall Johnson Choir]]. Despite suggestions of racism by some, many historians such as Zoe Pritchard reject these claims. For instance, the crows are noted as forming the majority of the characters in the movie who are sympathetic to Dumbo's plight (the others are Timothy Q. Mouse and Mrs Jumbo), are free spirits who serve nobody, and intelligent characters aware of the power of self-confidence, unlike the [[Stepin Fetchit]] stereotype common at that time. Furthermore, their song "When I See An Elephant Fly" is more orientated to mocking Timothy Mouse than Dumbo's large ears. == Theatrical releases and home video == Despite the advent of [[World War II]], ''Dumbo'' was still the most financially successful Disney film of the 1940s, thanks to a 1949 re-release. It was also re-released theatrically in 1959, 1972, and 1976. This film was one of the first of Disney's [[animated film]]s to be broadcast, albeit severely edited, on [[television]], as part of Disney's [[Walt Disney anthology series|anthology series]]. The film then received another distinction of note in 1981, when it was the first of Disney's canon of [[animated film]]s to be released on [[home video]] and also was released in the ''[[Walt Disney Classics]]'' Video Collection in 1985. That release was followed by remastered versions in: 1986, 1989, 1991 (Classics), and 1994 (Masterpiece). In 2001, a 60th Anniversary Special Edition was released. In 2006, a "Big Top Edition" of the film was released on DVD. A UK Special Edition was released in May 2007 and was a successful Disney release. {| cellpadding=5 cellspacing=5 |- |width="50%" valign="top"| === Theatrical release history === {| |width="50%" valign="top"| ==== United States ==== * [[October 23]], [[1941]] (original release) * [[June 22]], [[1949]] * [[December 24]], [[1959]] * [[October 11]], [[1972]] * [[March 26]], [[1976]] |width="50%" valign="top"| ==== Worldwide ==== * '''[[Brazil]]''': [[November 17]], [[1941]] * '''[[Argentina]]''': [[December 24]], [[1941]] * '''[[U.K.]]''': [[February 8]], [[1942]] * '''[[Canada]]''': [[March 31]], [[1942]] * '''[[Australia]]''': [[June 4]], [[1942]] * '''[[Mexico]]''': [[July 9]], [[1942]] * '''[[Portugal]]''': [[January 27]], [[1944]] * '''[[Spain]]''': [[September 25]], [[1944]] ([[Madrid]]) * '''[[Spain]]''': [[December 14]], [[1944]] ([[Barcelona]]) * '''[[Sweden]]''': [[September 16]], [[1946]] * '''[[Netherlands]]''': [[April 25]], [[1947]] * '''[[Belgium]]''': [[April 25]], [[1947]] * '''[[France]]''': [[October 25]], [[1947]] * '''[[Norway]]''': [[December 26]], [[1947]] * '''[[Denmark]]''': [[June 25]], [[1948]] * '''[[Hong Kong]]''': [[August 19]], [[1948]] * '''[[Colombia]]''': [[September 16]], [[1948]] * '''[[Finland]]''': [[October 1]], [[1948]] * '''[[Italy]]''': [[October 2]], [[1948]] * '''[[Poland]]''': [[October 23]], [[1949]] * '''[[West Germany]]''': [[April 8]], [[1952]] * '''[[Austria]]''': [[May 22]], [[1953]] * '''[[Japan]]''': [[March 13]], [[1954]] * '''[[Philippines]]''': [[September 28]], [[1955]] * '''[[Israel]]''': [[January 21]], [[1967]] * '''[[Lebanon]]''': [[May 14]], [[1968]] * '''[[Iraq]]''': [[October 18]], [[1979]] * '''[[Kuwait]]''': [[October 14]], [[1986]] * '''[[Chad]]''': [[January 12]], [[1989]] * '''[[China]]''': [[July 12]], [[1989]] ([[Beijing]]) |} === Home video release history === * [[June 26]], [[1981]] ([[VHS]] and [[Betamax]]) * June 1982 ([[Laserdisc]]) * [[December 3]], [[1985]] ([[VHS]] and [[Betamax]] - [[Walt Disney Classics]]) * [[October 14]], [[1986]] ([[VHS]] and [[Betamax]] - [[Walt Disney Classics]]) * [[September 28]], [[1989]] ([[VHS]] and [[Betamax]] - [[Walt Disney Classics]]) * [[May 3]], [[1991]] ([[VHS]] and [[Laserdisc]] - 50th Anniversary Edition - [[Walt Disney Classics]]) * [[October 28]], [[1994]] ([[VHS]] and [[Laserdisc]] - [[Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection]]) * [[October 23]], [[2001]] ([[VHS]] and [[DVD]] - 60th Anniversary Edition) * [[June 6]], [[2006]] ([[DVD]] - Big Top Edition) == Soundtrack listing == # Main Title (01:47) # Look Out For Mister [[Stork]] (02:16) # Loading The Train / Casey Junior / Stork On A Cloud / Straight From Heaven / Mother And Baby (04:58) # Song Of The Roustabouts (02:38) # Circus Parade (01:28) # Bathtime / Hide And Seek (01:31) # Ain't That The Funniest Thing / Berserk / Dumbo Shunned / A Mouse! / Dumbo And Timothy (03:23) # The Pyramid Of Pachyderms (01:58) # No Longer An Elephant / Dumbo's Sadness / A Visit In The Night / Baby Mine (03:34) # Clown Song (01:00) # Hiccups / Firewater / Bubbles / Did You See That? / [[Pink Elephants On Parade]] (06:07) # Up A Tree / The Fall / Timothy's Theory (01:32) # When I See An Elephant Fly (01:48) # You Oughta Be Ashamed (01:10) # The Flight Test / When I See An Elephant Fly (Reprise) (00:57) # Save My Child / The Threshold Of Success / Dumbo's Triumph / Making History / Finale (02:14) # Spread Your Wing (Demo Recording) (01:08) == Cast and crew == * [[Edward Brophy]]: Timothy Q. Mouse * [[Herman Bing]]: The Ringmaster * [[Margaret Wright (actress)|Margaret Wright]]: [[Casey Junior]] * [[Sterling Holloway]]: Mr. Stork * [[Cliff Edwards]]: Jim Crow * [[Hall Johnson Choir]]: Crow Chorus * [[Verna Felton]]: Elephant Matriarch, Mrs. Jumbo (uncredited) * [[Noreen Gammill]]: Elephant Catty * [[Dorothy Scott]]: Elephant Giddy * [[Sarah Selby]]: Elephant Prissy * [[Billy Bletcher]]: Clown #1 * [[Eddie Holden]]: Clown #2 * [[Billy Sheets]]: Clown #3, Joe * [[Malcolm Hutton]]: Skinny * [[Harold Manley]]: Boy #1 * [[Tony Neil]]: Boy #2 * [[Chuck Stubbs]]: Boy #3 * [[John McLeish]]: Narrator * The Sportsmen: Themselves * Based on the Book by: [[Helen Aberson]] & [[Harold Pearl]] * Supervising Director: [[Ben Sharpsteen]] * Screen Story by: [[Joe Grant]] & [[Dick Huemer]] * Story Direction: [[Otto Englander]] * Sequence Directors: [[Norman Ferguson]], [[Wilfred Jackson]], [[Bill Roberts]], [[Jack Kinney]], [[Sam Armstrong]] * Animation Directors: [[Vladimir Tytla]], [[Fred Moore]], [[Ward Kimball]], [[John Lounsbery]], [[Art Babbitt]], [[Wolfgang Reitherman|Woolie Reitherman]] * Story Development: [[Bill Peet]], [[Aurie Battaglia]], [[Joe Rinaldi]], [[George Stallings]], [[Webb Smith]] * Character Designs: [[John P. Miller]], [[Martin Provenson]], [[John Walbridge]], [[James Bodrero]], [[Maurice Noble]], [[Elmer Plummer]] * Music: [[Oliver Wallace]] and [[Frank Churchill]] * Lyrics: [[Ned Washington]] * Orchestration: [[Edward Plumb]] * Art Direction: [[Herb Ryman]], [[Ken O'Conner]], [[Terrell Stapp]], [[Don Da Gradi]], [[Al Zinnen]], [[Ernest Nordli]], [[Dick Kelsey]], [[Charles Payzant]] * Backgrounds: [[Claude Coats]], [[Al Dempster]], [[John Hench]], [[Gerald Nevius]], [[Ray Lockrem]], [[Joe Stahley]] * Animation: [[Hugh Fraiser]], [[Harvey Toombs]], [[Milt Neil]], [[Hicks Lokey]], [[Howard Swift]], [[Don Towsley]], [[Les Clark]], [[Claude Smith]], [[Berny Wolf]], [[Jack Campbell]], [[Walt Kelly]], [[Don Patterson]], [[Cy Young]], [[Ray Patterson (animator)|Ray Patterson]], [[Grant Simmons]], [[Josh Meador]], [[Bill Shull]], [[Art Palmer]] Uncredited: * Story: [[Vernon Stallings]] * Art Direction: [[John Hubley]] * Cel Painter: [[Phyllis Bounds Detiege]] * Animators: [[Eric Larson]], [[Retta Scott]] * Animation Director: [[Frank Thomas]] * Singing Voice for "Look Out for Mr. Stork": [[Thurl Ravenscroft]] == Songs == * Look Out for Mr. Stork (The Sportsmen) * [[Casey Junior]] (The Sportsmen) * [[Song of the Roustabouts]] (The King's Men) * [[Baby Mine]] (Betty Noyes) * The Clown Song (Billy Bletcher, Eddie Holden and Billy Sheets) * [[Pink Elephants on Parade]] (The Sportsmen) * [[When I See an Elephant Fly]] (Cliff Edwards and the Hall Johnson Choir) * When I See an Elephant Fly (Reprise) On [[Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic]], this includes ''[[Pink Elephants on Parade]]'' on the [[Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic#Disc three|green disc]], ''[[Baby Mine]]'' on the [[Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic#Disc four|purple disc]], and ''[[When I See an Elephant Fly]]'' on the [[Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic#Disc five|orange disc]]. And on [[Disney's Greatest Hits]], this also includes ''[[Pink Elephants on Parade]]'' on the [[Disney's Greatest Hits#Volume 3|red disc]]. == Directing animators == * [[Bill Tytla|Vladimir Tytla]] (The elephants) * [[Fred Moore (animator)|Fred Moore]] (The boys) * [[Ward Kimball]] (The Young Orphaned Crows) * [[John Lounsbery]] (Timothy Mouse) * [[Art Babbitt]] (Mr. Stork) * [[Wolfgang Reitherman]] (Timothy Mouse) * [[Frank Thomas (animator)|Frank Thomas]] (Pink Elephants) (All directing animators were credited on supervising these characters; however, Thomas was uncredited) == Sequence directors == * [[Norman Ferguson]] (The elephants) * [[Wilfred Jackson]] (The Young Orphaned Crows) * [[Bill Roberts]] (Timothy Mouse) * [[Jack Kinney]] (The boys) * [[Sam Armstrong]] (Mr. Stork) == Dumbo's Circus == {{main|Dumbo's Circus}} ''Dumbo's Circus'' was a [[live-action]]/[[puppet]] [[television series]] for preschool audiences that aired on [[The Disney Channel]] in the 1980s. Unlike in the film, Dumbo spoke on the show. Each character would perform a special act, which ranged from dancing and singing to telling [[Knock-knock joke|knock knock joke]]s. == Books == ; Walt Disney's Dumbo: Happy to Help: (ISBN 0-7364-1129-1) A picture book [[Disney Press]] by [[Random House Disney]], written by [[Liane Onish]], illustrated by [[Peter Emslie]]. It was published [[January 23]], [[2001]], this paperback is for children age 4-8. Twenty-four pages long, its 0.08 inches thick, and with cover dimensions of 7.88 x 7.88 inches. ; Walt Disney's Dumbo Book of Opposites: (ISBN 0-307-06149-3) A book published in August of 1997 by [[Golden Books]] under the [[Golden Board Book]] brand. It was written by [[Alan Benjamin]], illustrated by [[Peter Emslie]], and edited by [[Heather Lowenberg]]. Twelve pages long and a quarter of an inch thick, this board edition book had dimensions of 7.25 x 6.00 inches. ; Walt Disney's Dumbo the Circus Baby: (ISBN 0-307-12397-9) A book published in September of 1993 by [[Golden Press]] under the [[A Golden Sturdy Shape Book]] brand. Illustrated by [[Peter Emslie]] and written by Diane Muldrow, this book is meant for babies and preschoolers. Twelve pages long and half an inch thick, this book's cover size is 9.75 x 6.25 inches. * [[Walt Disney's Dumbo]] * [[Dumbo (My First Disney Story)]] * [[Fly, Dumbo, Fly!]] * [[I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem]] == See also == * [[Disney animators' strike]] * [[List of animated feature films]] * [[Dumbo the Flying Elephant (ride)]] == References == * Barrier, Michael (1999). Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-503759-6. * [[Leonard Maltin|Maltin, Leonard]] (1980, updated 1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-452-25993-2. == Notes == {{reflist}} == External links == {{Wikiquote}} * [http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/dumbo/ ''Dumbo''] - Disney's Official ''Dumbo'' (Big Top Edition) DVD site * {{imdb title|id=0033563}} * {{bcdb title|id=17}} {{Disney theatrical animated features}} [[Category:1941 films]] [[Category:Disney animated features canon]] [[Category:English-language films]] [[Category:Films about animals]] [[Category:Films based on children's books]] [[Category:Films shot in Technicolor]] [[Category:Children's fantasy films]] [[Category:Musical films]] [[Category:Fantasy films]] [[Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters]] [[Category:Circus films]] [[Category:Dance animation]] [[Category:Fictional elephants]] [[cy:Dumbo]] [[da:Dumbo]] [[de:Dumbo]] [[es:Dumbo]] [[fr:Dumbo (Disney)]] [[ga:Dumbo]] [[it:Dumbo]] [[he:דמבו הפיל המעופף]] [[nl:Dombo]] [[ja:ダンボ]] [[no:Dumbo]] [[pl:Dumbo]] [[pt:Dumbo]] [[ru:Дамбо (мультфильм)]] [[simple:Dumbo]] [[fi:Dumbo]] [[sv:Dumbo]] [[zh:小飞象]]