Personally, and despite recognizing its legion of admirers and fans, this is one of the classic Disney films that I least appreciate. I don't really know why. As a child, I could have seen it if I wanted to, but it never attracted me, nor did it charm me when I saw it as an adult. Maybe because it's set in a circus (I hate the circus, I always have). However, I recognize that it is a quality work, even if it is not as exquisite and detailed as other films from the same period. After some reading, I discovered that the film was released at a time when the studio needed to make a financial hit, following the box office failures of "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia". That's why the film is less beautiful, it has simpler and cheaper animations. And interestingly, it was a great success, although I feel that, at the moment, it is a little forgotten.
The story of the film is very simple. So simple that it almost can't handle a feature film! It all starts with the birth of a baby elephant, which is brought by a stork to a visibly emotional mother elephant. Everything looks perfect, but the little baby sneezes and his ears immediately take on an immensely large size, turning the baby into a strange creature that everyone makes fun of. Things get even worse when his mother is arrested and separated from him for trying to defend him. Sad, lonely and friendless, transformed into the clown of the circus, he will have to trust a little mouse to figure out how to turn around and win his place and everyone's respect.
The movie is a lot shorter than most Disney movies, and that's a good thing, because, as you can see, it doesn't have a script solid enough to last much longer. The film drags on and makes several musical breaks in order to last at least an hour, and there are a number of songs that seem like real parenthesis, or intervals, in the story told. This happens with the tender song "Baby Mine", in which Dumbo is affectionately snuggled by his imprisoned mother, and with the dreamlike scene of the pink elephants, which provides us with a psychedelic and frenetic visual that only reappears in the film art many decades later. Between pauses and advances, the story works satisfactorily and gives rise to a good soundtrack full of quality songs.
As I've already mentioned, the visual quality of the animations in this film is far from the best ever made by Walt Disney Studios. I appreciated the softness of the colors and the light, but the line is quite blurred and faint, and we don't have drawings as detailed and rich as we have seen in previous and later films. Although the title character is mute, communicating his emotions and thoughts through non-verbal language, the film has a good cast of voices including Sterling Holloway, Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Cliff Edward, Herman Bing, Dorothy Scott and Sarah. Selby, among others.
The story of the film is very simple. So simple that it almost can't handle a feature film! It all starts with the birth of a baby elephant, which is brought by a stork to a visibly emotional mother elephant. Everything looks perfect, but the little baby sneezes and his ears immediately take on an immensely large size, turning the baby into a strange creature that everyone makes fun of. Things get even worse when his mother is arrested and separated from him for trying to defend him. Sad, lonely and friendless, transformed into the clown of the circus, he will have to trust a little mouse to figure out how to turn around and win his place and everyone's respect.
The movie is a lot shorter than most Disney movies, and that's a good thing, because, as you can see, it doesn't have a script solid enough to last much longer. The film drags on and makes several musical breaks in order to last at least an hour, and there are a number of songs that seem like real parenthesis, or intervals, in the story told. This happens with the tender song "Baby Mine", in which Dumbo is affectionately snuggled by his imprisoned mother, and with the dreamlike scene of the pink elephants, which provides us with a psychedelic and frenetic visual that only reappears in the film art many decades later. Between pauses and advances, the story works satisfactorily and gives rise to a good soundtrack full of quality songs.
As I've already mentioned, the visual quality of the animations in this film is far from the best ever made by Walt Disney Studios. I appreciated the softness of the colors and the light, but the line is quite blurred and faint, and we don't have drawings as detailed and rich as we have seen in previous and later films. Although the title character is mute, communicating his emotions and thoughts through non-verbal language, the film has a good cast of voices including Sterling Holloway, Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Cliff Edward, Herman Bing, Dorothy Scott and Sarah. Selby, among others.