Dumbo was Walt Disney’s fourth animated feature film, and in many ways it constituted a landmark for the company. With it, Disney and his animators proved that an animated feature film could pack all of the possible entertainment value consistent with his previous films (humor, drama, terrific music, eye-popping visuals), feature a title character who never utters a word and yet is as expressive and endearing as any Shakespearean character, and all of this could be fit into a concise package that barely runs an hour and could be made for less than a million dollars (something that couldn’t be said for any of his previous three animated features). Dumbo was and is one of the zeniths of feature animation, and its boldly imaginative conception and execution leaves many animated films then and now in the proverbial dust.
Dumbo (Blu-ray Combo Pack)
Directed by Ben Sharpsteen
Studio: Disney
Year: 1941
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 64 minutes
Rating: G
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1; Dolby Digital 2.0 mono English, 5.1 French, Spanish
Subtitles: SDH, French, Spanish
Region: A-B-C
MSRP: $39.99
Release Date: September 20, 2011
Review Date: September 20, 2011
The Film
5/5
Though the stork (Sterling Holloway) is late bringing her bundle of joy to Mrs. Jumbo as the circus is already on its way to its first gig after winter hiatus, she’s enchanted with her new baby elephant. When the other elephants in the pack get a look at the enormous ears on the baby, however, they dub him “Dumbo” and mercilessly berate him. When a group of young circus patrons also harass the young pachyderm, Mrs. Jumbo goes on a rampage causing her to be locked up as a mad elephant and separated from her offspring. Timothy Q. Mouse (Edward Brophy) takes matters into his own hands to rehabilitate the young elephant’s image by making him a star, but every idea he has seems to backfire. Finally, after innocently imbibing some spiked water from a nearby tub, the inebriated Dumbo and Timothy learn of an ability the young elephant has that neither had ever suspected.
The storytelling is straightforward and unvarnished by any sidetracks (some might think it’s too abrupt as a couple of scenes fade out without much warning), but its utter simplicity gives way to an animators’ field day as each sequence offers unforgettable opportunities for dazzling animation often to a delightfully varied score (which won 1941’s Oscar for scoring of a musical picture). You won’t find many jollier ways to get a story jumping than to the jaunty “Casey Junior” as the circus train heads down the tracks, and the “Song of the Roustabouts” shows a sophisticated rhythmic pulse that shows the hard work behind the dazzle and color of the Big Top. Three other scenes, however, really define Dumbo. There aren’t many more iconic scenes in movies than the one where Mrs. Jumbo cradles her child while the enchanting lullaby “Baby Mine” plays on the soundtrack. The facial expressions and body language that the animators imbue their characters with in this sequence goes beyond mere drawing and approaches something much more ethereal and heartfelt. The “Pink Elephants on Parade” sequence, putting drunkenness into animated form in a surreal spectacle of color, shapes, and shadows, is matchless in the Disney archive even when the animators tried similar things in later films like The Three Caballeros and Alice in Wonderland. And the cocky crows' strut to “When I See an Elephant Fly” brings humor and panache to a moment in the movie when it needs some uplift gearing the audience up for the climactic surprises.
As amazing as the voice actors are in the movie (it was Sterling Holloway’s first foray into Disney but definitely not his last; Verna Felton as the leader of the harpy elephants, Cliff Edwards as one of the crows, Edward Brophy’s plucky Brooklyn-esque bravado as Timothy Mouse), what’s more impressive is how much the animators are able to convey with muted looks, facial expressions, and animated posing. These characters are as real as any ever created, and their actions (sometimes mean-spirited, sometimes egocentric, sometimes well meaning) reflect human society about as well as any movie featuring animals ever has. That’s the true genius of Dumbo.
Video Quality
4.5/5
The film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 is preserved (as is the RKO title card for those who are interested) in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Comparing this to the first DVD release (which was the only one I had on hand) is like a night and day difference. Contrast is much more solid, and it doesn’t cause a hazy colored mist to fall over the image as before, colors are truer and more richly delivered without ever going too bright, and sharpness is much better overall. Though there is no obvious banding in those blue skies, there seemed to be just a trace of it late in the film, and some anomalies in the water coloring can occasionally be glimpsed showing how truly sharp and clear the image is. The film has been divided into 17 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The disc offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix from original elements along with a restored Dolby Digital 2.0 mono mix for those who wish a historical audio track experience. The 7.1 mix has not been tricked out with extraneous obviousness. Music occasionally finds its way into the fronts and rears, and the several thunderstorms that happen during the movie provide the most obvious use of the rear channels for the rain and thunder effects. Overall, the audio track has a monaural presence despite the reworked sound, and it fits the unpretentious film just fine that way. No age-related artifacts like hiss or crackle are anywhere to be heard.
Special Features
5/5
The viewer may choose to watch the film with Cine-Explore, Disney’s picture-in-picture video commentary featuring hosts Pete Docter (from Pixar), Disney historian Paula Sigman, and veteran Disney animator Andreas Deja commenting on the movie through a succession of PiP windows showing original artwork, film clips, and other aids to supplement their discussion. Occasionally vintage interviews with Disney artists will also pop up to explain certain sequences.
Disney View allows the viewer to choose colored art panels to take the place of the pillarbox black bars during the viewing of the film.
“Taking Flight – The Making of Dumbo” is a 28-minute documentary on the making of the film where current animators and historians describe what about the film made it so different from Disney’s other animated classics from this period. It’s in 1080p.
“The Magic of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage” is a 3 ¼-minute look at the Dumbo ride at the Disney theme parks showing its evolution over the years. This is in 1080p.
“Celebrating Dumbo” is the vintage 15-minute documentary from previous DVD releases featuring Leonard Maltin and a host of Disney experts extolling the virtues of the movie. It’s in 480i.
The deleted scene “The Mouse’s Tale” recalls a story Timothy tells Dumbo after his upsetting debut as a clown with vocals over some animated storyboards. It runs 5 ½ minutes in 1080p.
The deleted song “Are You a Man or a Mouse?” is sung by Timothy and again uses illustrations and storyboards over the voice track in this 4 minute, 1080i presentation.
An excerpt from The Reluctant Dragon finds Robert Benchley finding out how a sound effects department works as they add effects for a cartoon about a train. This vintage clip runs 6 minutes in 480i.
Walt Disney’s original introduction to Dumbo on his television series is shown in a 1 minute 480i presentation.
Two trailers are offered for viewing: the 2 ¼-minute original and the 1 ¼-minute 1949 reissue trailer.
Eight art galleries for the film covering everything from character conceptions to backgrounds to publicity (and the original Dumbo story) are available for stepping through by the viewer.
Two animated shorts are both presented in 1080p: the 1936 “Elmer Elephant” (8 ½ minutes) and the 1934 “The Flying Mouse” (9 ¼ minutes).
Two family-centered games are available for play. In "What Do You See?" players guess the identity of a character on a time-controlled game. In "What Do You Know?" trivia and facts become important to winning this knowledge-centered game.
The disc contains preview trailers for Spooky Buddies, The Lion King, Chimpanzee, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Lady and the Tramp.
The second disc in the set is the DVD copy of the movie.
In Conclusion
4.5/5 (not an average)
Dumbo is another great Disney classic that comes to Blu-ray in a beautiful transfer featuring quality video and audio encodes and a welcome variety of new and vintage bonus features. Highly recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
this weekend. Thanks for the review!
