Review: Dumbo (DMC #5)
Happy Friday, Disnerds! Last night we watched the original Dumbo, the fifth movie in our Disnerd Movie Challenge. We both watched the 2019 Dumbo when it came out earlier this year, so this was a nice opportunity to compare the two. Read on to hear our thoughts.
Synopsis
Mrs. Jumbo, the elephant, has been eagerly awaiting the stork, and she is overjoyed when she finally meets her baby and names him Jumbo Junior. The other elephants are less receptive, however, and taunt the baby elephant, even calling him Dumbo, when they realize he has enormous ears. Mrs. Jumbo dismisses the other elephants—she loves her baby just the way he is. When Dumbo makes his first public appearance, a human boy taunts him to the point of angering Mrs. Jumbo, who lashes out in an effort to protect her baby. The circus ringmaster and other workers restrain Mrs. Jumbo and lock her up for her behavior, separating her from her baby. Meanwhile, Dumbo is shunned by the other elephants, but makes a friend in a mouse named Timothy. Timothy hatches a plan to free Mrs. Jumbo—Dumbo must become the famous highlight of the circus.
After Dumbo’s ears trip him and cause the destruction of the circus during the big elephant act, Dumbo is instead moved to the clown act. While Dumbo is a hit with the clowns, he is miserable. To cheer him up, Timothy takes him to visit his mother. On the way back, Dumbo and Timothy accidentally drink alcohol-tainted water, and when they wake the next morning they find themselves mysteriously in the top of a tree. Timothy realizes that Dumbo must have flown! After gaining a “magic” feather from some crows to help Dumbo fly, they fly back to the circus. This time during the clown act, Dumbo surprises the audience by flying off the platform. He quickly rises to fame and as the movie closes we see that his mother is free and both of them are getting the star treatment.
Thoughts Before Watching
Megan: I don’t remember loving this movie. I distinctly remember “Baby Mine” making me cry, hating how mean everyone was to Dumbo, and finding a number of scenes to be a bit scary (like the pink elephants). I surprisingly enjoyed the 2019 live action version when I saw it earlier this year, so I’m curious to see if watching the animated original version again as an adult changes anything for me.
Kevin: Maybe I wasn’t really paying attention when I last watched this two years ago, because I remember being indifferent about this film prior to this week’s viewing. I definitely had more feelings about it when I was a kid; like Megan, “Baby Mine” used to make me cry, and I also disliked how everyone treated Dumbo and was somewhat disturbed by the pink elephants. I probably would have said it’s forgettable.
Thoughts After Watching
Megan: Clearly watching Dumbo again as an adult has made me less fond of this movie than I already was as a kid.
So, about that Bechdel test…
Megan: Technically, this movie passes the Bechdel test because two female characters talk to each other about something other than a male character (though if you follow the stricter rule that the characters must be named it then fails). HOWEVER…every time the female elephants don’t talk about Dumbo or another male character they are either gossiping about Mrs. Jumbo or trading insults with each other. With the exception of Mrs. Jumbo (who has so few lines in the movie to begin with), the female elephants spend the entire movie putting down other females. This is women tearing down women, not women supporting women (even when the elephants are literally holding each other up in the pyramid they are still trading insults), so in that sense I feel this movie cannot truly pass the Bechdel test given the spirit of the test’s guidelines.
Women who stand up for what’s right are silenced in this movie.
Mrs. Jumbo is a wonderful mother in how she unconditionally loves and cares for her baby (which, really, shouldn’t we call him Jumbo Junior instead of Dumbo? That is his real name, after all. Dumbo is his insult name. But I digress…). Like any mother, she moves in to protect her baby when others are mean to him. She pulls the shutter on the other elephants when they first mock him, and when a boy starts making fun of him at the circus she carefully guides Dumbo away from the boy. When that boy persists, however, in what is essentially animal abuse, Mrs. Jumbo becomes angry and, to defend her son, lifts the hooligan boy and spanks him. It is the boy’s cries of pain, not Dumbo’s or Mrs. Jumbo’s, that the circus workers respond to. We don’t see what happens to the boy—we presume he is perfectly fine and gets off without any punishment for his actions. Mrs. Jumbo, however, is immediately restrained with ropes and chains and imprisoned in a tiny caravan far away from the rest of the circus, and away from her baby. From this point on we no longer hear a single word or sound from Mrs. Jumbo other than the clink of her chains. She has not only been restrained, but she has been literally silenced.
Megan: Now I will concede that if a human mother were to spank another person’s child for taunting her child, that wouldn’t go over well. However, most people would not fault a mother for protecting her child, and if we go into the animal kingdom it is expected that a mother will protect her child (anyone who has ever encountered a mother bear and her cub in the wild knows not to get caught between them). Yet here a mother elephant is severely punished for fighting to protect her child, and labeled as a “danger,” “mad,” and “crazy.” Meanwhile, the boy who initially abused the baby elephant faces zero consequences. The consequence for a woman being violent is restraining, silencing, and isolating that woman. The consequence for a boy being abusive is nothing. Anyone else see the major problem here?
(Okay, yes, no child actually likes that mean boy in the movie because it’s made clear that we should be on Dumbo’s side, but still, it is subtle gendered messages like this that can lead to the gendered problems we face in society.)
There are so few redeemable characters.
Kevin: Soooo…. I really didn’t like this movie. Or at least I don’t enjoy it as much as I might have used to, which is saying something since I was never a big fan to begin with. So many characters in this film are beyond terrible, from the circus clowns and ringmaster to the adult elephants (who go from adoring baby Jumbo Junior to mocking him in less than a few minutes? Ridiculous!). Dumbo, Timothy Mouse, and Mrs. Jumbo are the only good characters here. Even then, I don’t think Dumbo, for all his cuteness, is that interesting as a character, as it’s really Timothy driving the later half of the film. The character stereotypes, however acceptable they may have been in the 1940s, are awful now.
Megan: Ditto to what Kevin said about Dumbo. As a protagonist, Dumbo has zero agency. He is largely dragged along by the plot and Timothy, with his only “decision” being to befriend Timothy (though he was bribed into that decision when Timothy offered him a peanut and a chance to free his mom). Granted, he’s a baby. But still!
Additional offenses
Megan: I won’t go into too much detail, but here’s a short list:
There is so much animal abuse in this movie…forcing the elephants to haul everything and set up the circus tents in the rain, the other elephants and human kids taunting and pulling at Dumbo’s ears, forcing elephants to form an elephant pyramid, forcing a BABY elephant to leap from a burning tower into a tiny pool of foam… Even the clowns are heard saying “Elephants ain’t got feelings—they made of rubber!” In most cases it’s made clear to the viewer that this abuse is a bad thing, but not all.
The songs are largely forgettable. I recognized them on hearing them, but they’re not catchy and I don’t really want to sing them. Does anyone actually know the lyrics to that working song the men sing as they and the elephants set up the circus tents? “Baby Mine” is the most memorable song, and the only one worth repeating.
I didn’t realize this as a kid, but as an adult it is clear that the crows are a racist depiction.
As a kid, this movie did not help me understand the definition of the word “climax.” There are virtually no context clues, and it wasn’t until I was in fourth grade that I learned it was the pinnacle dramatic moment in a story.
There are a few silver linings.
Megan: So despite what my review so far might have you believe, the movie is not completely beyond redemption. I do really appreciate the message the movie sends about incarcerated parents and their children. In fact, I think the “Baby Mine” scene is the most emotionally resonant scene in the entire movie, and the most relatable, even if it is also the saddest part of the movie. That is the part that stuck with me, even as a kid, and I think that scene alone does so much to demonstrate how important it is for incarcerated parents and their children to still have a relationship.
I also appreciate the overall message about embracing what makes you different and turning what others see as a weakness into a strength. And, of course, not making fun of those who are different. I think Dumbo’s “revenge” in the final circus act is one we all cheer for after the mountains of abuse heaped upon him throughout the entire movie.
The animation has its merits.
Kevin: There are a few artistic choices I find interesting. The whole pink elephants scene (though still very bizarre) utilizes the principles of animation - such as squash and stretch, overlapping, exaggeration, and anticipation - so incredibly well I found myself mentally taking notes. The way that scene transitions to the shot of the tree the next morning is also cool. Lastly, the Casey Jr. Train is a wonderful concept from its design to the way it’s animated.
Still, the 2019 version is better.
Kevin: I also recently watched the live action remake and had a more enjoyable experience. Although Dumbo is still abused in that one, there are far more likable characters that, I feel, help drive the story forward. I’ve said it before and might say it again, but many of the older films in the Disney catalog just don’t resonate as well with me. Perhaps they are products of their time and maybe my growing up during the Disney Renaissance might have something to do with it, I’m not sure.
My previous indifference for this film has turned into active dislike. I could watch Dumbo if someone asked me to, but I won’t go out of my way to do so.
Verdict
Kevin: 2
Megan: 3
Final score: 2.5
What did you think upon watching (or rewatching) this movie? If you’ve seen the 2019 version, which did you like better? Tell us in the comments!
