1941 saw the release of Disney’s fourth animated feature, Dumbo. The film marked a bit of a departure from the studios previous features, with an animation style more in line with the Disney shorts than the more naturalistic looking Pinocchio, and is one of their shortest to date. Even with that short runtime, though, Dumbo manages to be a completely satisfying film, its simple story not forced to stretch over a full 90 minutes.
The creators are able to engender a surprising amount of sympathy in the audience for a character that doesn’t speak a single word in the entire film. Only the most cold hearted person could watch the “Baby Mine” sequence without getting a little chocked up. It really this character beat, and others like it, that Dumbo hangs its hat on. The film itself is little more than a series of character moments tracing the elephant’s young life. The most spectacular sequence in the film is the “Pink Elephants On Parade”, extraordinary and experimental for its time, and it is still breathtaking today.
Dumbo is a film that will play especially well to the youngest viewers, with its bright colours, simple story, and largely wordless first half, but is still very entertaining for adults.
Next: Bambi
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