In 1940, Disney released one of their riskiest movies ever made, a cinematic experiment to mix classical music with animation that would be known as "Fantasia". It was a break from the norm for Disney, and wouldn't be replicated until their package film era, the reason for that is often a subject for debate, but after the release of Fantasia, Disney returned to their classic story based, character narrative with their fourth ever theatrical animated motion picture, "Dumbo". Also, with the remake coming out soon, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at this film. Can't blame the opportunist, can you?
Dumbo mostly follows the titular baby elephant as he gets pushed around the circus and made fun of for his large ears. After his mother gets taken away for harming a patron in attempt to protect her child, Dumbo befriends a circus mouse that tries to make him more loved at the circus. After a disastrous performance, Dumbo gets put with the clowns, which leads to more misery for the young elephant. After accidentally ingesting alcohol and ending up in a tree, a group of crows give Dumbo a magic feather which convinces him he's able to fly. Story wise, it's a cohesive narrative, at no point do I ever question how one scene lead to another, and by the end I had few questions concerning the film's narrative.
Character wise, there really only are two characters the movie focuses on, Dumbo and the Circus Mouse. As a character, Dumbo is great, he's playful and has his moments of joy, but he's also emotional. The animation gives him great expressions that almost perfectly communicate what he's feeling, which keeps him from becoming a blank slate. The Circus Mouse is also a good character, as he tries to help Dumbo in whatever ways he can. He's gentle and kind, but when he gets angry he will set things right, whether it's spooking some bully elephants, or talking some sense into some crows.
Side characters are abundant in this film, and all are mostly memorable. The other elephants are stuck-up and snooty, to the perfect level of dislikable. The clowns are all energetic, and it's interesting how we never see them outside of their outfits, only in silhouettes.
And yeah, it is time we discuss the elephant in the room (Come on, you knew that pun was coming), the crows. In some respects, yes, the crows can be seen as racist, and they kind of are. They use a lot of slang and are based off of black stereotypes. It can be seen as kind of racist, and yeah, I am glad that we've moved ahead from characters like this. That being said, the characters aren't stigmatized or vilified in any way. When they get scolded by the Circus Mouse, they immediately try to right their wrongs. I can see how they might come off as a little racist, but I wouldn't put this movie up their with the likes of "Birth of a Nation".
The audio of the film is mixed. On one hand, the background music is great, often fitting the mood and setting perfectly, but then again, not a lot of the music is very memorable. I really only remember two songs in the entire movie. In fact, when I wrote the first draft of this review, I forgot to write anything about the music, that's how forgettable it was. I also can't help but notice that some sound effects seemed to be missing, or at least, not used when they could've been. I also couldn't help but notice an odd moment where the Circus master was turning red and getting angrier, and the sound they played did not match the visuals at all. I don't think Dumbo is really one of Disney's best films when it comes to the audio department.
When it comes to the animation however, this movie looks spectacular. Disney animators really knew how to capture size and weight. Objects get morphed and squashed under the weight of the elephants, it's actually really neat to see how the art of animation can capture things like this, even in a time like the 40s. I also must applaud the use of shadows in this movie, making things more surreal, more disturbing and more atmospheric. The Pink Elephants scene is a standout example of this, as the black backgrounds not only emphasizes the colours, but also the surrealism of the scene. I'd also be scolded for not bringing up the scene where Dumbo get's to hug his mother, and how the shadows really help make this scene more powerful. I think this is one of Disney's best animated movies to date.
While I can't say Dumbo is one of Disney's better classics, I think it's still a decent movie. The story was cohesive, the characters were great, and the animation and artistry were top-notch. With that said, the movie isn't particularly funny, and while it has its sad and depressing moments, I don't think it has enough humour to really balance it out. The music is forgettable, some of the audio editing was weird and the movie does have some kinda racist tones to it. Still though, I think Dumbo has enough good elements in it to make it more than a slight recommendation, but I don't think it's good enough to be a high recommendation.
Dumbo mostly follows the titular baby elephant as he gets pushed around the circus and made fun of for his large ears. After his mother gets taken away for harming a patron in attempt to protect her child, Dumbo befriends a circus mouse that tries to make him more loved at the circus. After a disastrous performance, Dumbo gets put with the clowns, which leads to more misery for the young elephant. After accidentally ingesting alcohol and ending up in a tree, a group of crows give Dumbo a magic feather which convinces him he's able to fly. Story wise, it's a cohesive narrative, at no point do I ever question how one scene lead to another, and by the end I had few questions concerning the film's narrative.
Character wise, there really only are two characters the movie focuses on, Dumbo and the Circus Mouse. As a character, Dumbo is great, he's playful and has his moments of joy, but he's also emotional. The animation gives him great expressions that almost perfectly communicate what he's feeling, which keeps him from becoming a blank slate. The Circus Mouse is also a good character, as he tries to help Dumbo in whatever ways he can. He's gentle and kind, but when he gets angry he will set things right, whether it's spooking some bully elephants, or talking some sense into some crows.
Side characters are abundant in this film, and all are mostly memorable. The other elephants are stuck-up and snooty, to the perfect level of dislikable. The clowns are all energetic, and it's interesting how we never see them outside of their outfits, only in silhouettes.
And yeah, it is time we discuss the elephant in the room (Come on, you knew that pun was coming), the crows. In some respects, yes, the crows can be seen as racist, and they kind of are. They use a lot of slang and are based off of black stereotypes. It can be seen as kind of racist, and yeah, I am glad that we've moved ahead from characters like this. That being said, the characters aren't stigmatized or vilified in any way. When they get scolded by the Circus Mouse, they immediately try to right their wrongs. I can see how they might come off as a little racist, but I wouldn't put this movie up their with the likes of "Birth of a Nation".
The audio of the film is mixed. On one hand, the background music is great, often fitting the mood and setting perfectly, but then again, not a lot of the music is very memorable. I really only remember two songs in the entire movie. In fact, when I wrote the first draft of this review, I forgot to write anything about the music, that's how forgettable it was. I also can't help but notice that some sound effects seemed to be missing, or at least, not used when they could've been. I also couldn't help but notice an odd moment where the Circus master was turning red and getting angrier, and the sound they played did not match the visuals at all. I don't think Dumbo is really one of Disney's best films when it comes to the audio department.
When it comes to the animation however, this movie looks spectacular. Disney animators really knew how to capture size and weight. Objects get morphed and squashed under the weight of the elephants, it's actually really neat to see how the art of animation can capture things like this, even in a time like the 40s. I also must applaud the use of shadows in this movie, making things more surreal, more disturbing and more atmospheric. The Pink Elephants scene is a standout example of this, as the black backgrounds not only emphasizes the colours, but also the surrealism of the scene. I'd also be scolded for not bringing up the scene where Dumbo get's to hug his mother, and how the shadows really help make this scene more powerful. I think this is one of Disney's best animated movies to date.
While I can't say Dumbo is one of Disney's better classics, I think it's still a decent movie. The story was cohesive, the characters were great, and the animation and artistry were top-notch. With that said, the movie isn't particularly funny, and while it has its sad and depressing moments, I don't think it has enough humour to really balance it out. The music is forgettable, some of the audio editing was weird and the movie does have some kinda racist tones to it. Still though, I think Dumbo has enough good elements in it to make it more than a slight recommendation, but I don't think it's good enough to be a high recommendation.
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