Disney’s Dumbo: Big Ears. Bigger Lessons.

I watched Disney’s Dumbo again last week. It was a decision prompted partly by the upcoming live-action remake and partly by my children’s lack of Dumbo knowledge while playing Disney Code Names over the holiday break. “Is this mouse from Cinderella?” my son asked politely while holding up a card of Timothy Q. Mouse. “Um, no honey,” I replied while secretly wondering if we had Dumbo on DVD somewhere, “he’s Dumbo’s faithful friend.” A few days later armed with a Dumbo DVD from the library (the answer to my previous mental question was “no”) and a huge bowl of popcorn we watched the classic film together. It was a surprisingly inspiring hour. Today’s post takes a look at the lessons of Disney’s Dumbo.

History

Let’s start with a little history, just to put the story into context. Disney released Dumbo in 1941, before the United States joined World War II abroad or the Disney animators went on strike at home. The film is based on a story by Helen Abramson and represents Disney’s fourth full length animated film. According to the accompanying documentary on the DVD disc, Disney studios desperately needed Dumbo to succeed after disappointing box office performances from Pinocchio and Fantasia.

This background is important for a few reasons. First, the studio’s need for a win is mirrored in the film’s storyline about a young elephant struggling to find his place in the world. Second, the animation in the film beautifully demonstrates the vast changes in the medium in the thirteen short years since Steamboat Willie. And finally, the history is important because circuses were viewed differently in 1941 then they are today. The circus was simply entertainment, that rolled into town on a train, dazzled the masses and provided a brief escape from everyday life. I realize circuses evoke mixed feelings today, but I chose to adapt this historical mindset and enjoy the film for the lessons it offers.

Plus, a brief escape to an animated circus felt like a welcome break from my own little holiday three ring circus at home.

Storyline

The film begins with a series of storks delivering babies to animals at the circus. After waiting longer than the other mothers, Mrs. Jumbo receives her adorable little elephant and quickly names him Jumbo Junior. (A nod to a real elephant in Barnum & Bailey’s circus according to Disney’s Who’s Who.) Mrs. Jumbo’s female co-stars briefly admire Junior until he sneezes and reveals his very large ears. At this point they start mocking him and choose to call him “Dumbo” as in “dumb” instead.

It’s an interesting choice for the story, don’t you think? To name the film and the story’s main character after his derogatory nickname? It reminds me of how we’re sometimes tempted to identify ourselves and others by our least favorite attributes.

As the story continues, a group of mean children harass Dumbo so aggressively that Mrs. Jumbo loses her cool. The ringmaster separates her from Dumbo and places her in an isolated railcar for “mad” elephants. Dumbo then meets Timothy Q. Mouse, who is not one of the mice from Cinderella but shares their compassion for friends in need. He stands up for Dumbo against the other elephants, encourages him to stay strong and devises a scheme to turn the little elephant into a star.

The plan involves Dumbo joining the clown act. The first try doesn’t go so well, but the second is a smashing success. Although the clowns celebrate, Dumbo remains sad. Recognizing his friend’s situation, Timothy arranges for Dumbo to meet his mother. In one of the most memorable scenes of the film, Mrs. Jumbo stretches her trunk through the barred window of her railcar to cradle her baby boy while Baby Mine plays in the background. It’s also one of the saddest scenes of any Disney film, and that’s going against some pretty tough competition.

Baby Mine earned an Academy Award nomination that year, perhaps because the song made Oscar voters tear up too.

After visiting his mother, Dumbo returns to the clown tent. He and Timothy drink some water, which was accidentally spiked with champagne by the celebrating clowns, and start hallucinating. The bizarre Elephants on Parade scene that follows starts with an elephant morphing into a camel, then continues into a montage of ballet, ice skating, skiing and other very un-elephant-like activities. It’s a clear departure from the rest of the film, both visually and sequentially. 

Perhaps the animators wanted to take a break and demonstrate their impressive skills? The scene reminds me of the equally odd dream sequence from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day nearly 30 years later. Both leave a mark.

The hallucination scene ends with Dumbo and Timothy asleep in a tall tree surrounded by crows. After wondering a few minutes how they got there, they slip from their branch and fall. Instead of crashing to the ground however, Dumbo discovers he can fly and soars safely through the air.

I suppose drinking too much could make other people feel like flying too, but in Dumbo’s case it was legit.

Although Dumbo flew successfully, he’s reluctant to try it again. The crows he met in the tree give him a magical feather, which is really just a sample from the nearest bird, to bolster Dumbo’s confidence. Dumbo loses the feather during his performance, but learns to face his fear and fly anyway.

The movie quickly concludes with Dumbo rising to fame, getting his own fancy railcar and reuniting with his (finally happy) mother.

Lessons

The main lesson of Disney’s Dumbo, in my opinion, is learning how to turn personal obstacles into triumphs. For Dumbo, it was his incredibly large ears that prompted others to mock him and make him feel ashamed of who he was and what he had to offer the world. “The very things that held you down are going to carry you up and up!” Timothy wisely tells Dumbo near the conclusion of the film.  I love the message of taking something we dislike about ourselves and turning it into something positive. Don’t you? Our obstacles may not be as obvious as oversized ears, but it’s worth exploring.

Another primary lesson of the film is the power of friendship. There are so many layers here, all relating to Dumbo’s relationship with Timothy Q. Mouse. For starters, Timothy is not only a friend to Dumbo he’s the voice of Dumbo too. Dumbo is one of the few Disney lead characters that doesn’t speak the entire film (Bongo is the other!). Yet Timothy learns to know his friend so well he can understand what Dumbo’s thinking without the benefit of words.  It’s an awesome reminder to truly listen to your friends, with your eyes as well as your ears.

Another powerful lesson baked into the larger theme of loyal friendship, involves overcoming fear. In the story, Timothy helps Dumbo face numerous fears like loneliness, heights and attention from others. Maybe you can relate to one of these? Timothy encourages Dumbo on his journey but he also helps Dumbo look at fear in a completely different way. In Abramson’s original tale, Dumbo’s friend was a bird named Red. Disney changed the character to a mouse, an animal usually feared by elephants. It was a brilliant move, in my opinion, because it expanded the theme of facing your fears to encouraging us to view fear as a motivating companion instead.

A final lesson on friendship depicted by Dumbo and Timothy’s relationship involves learning how to be the friend your friend truly needs. Timothy cheers for Dumbo when he’s down and takes him to visit his mother when he’s sad. He stands up for Dumbo against the mocking elephants and crows. Timothy also inspires Dumbo with heartbreaking truths like “your ears are beautiful” while also kicking him in the backside when he knows his friend needs to take action.

That’s a lot of lessons from a mouse, don’t you think?

Then again, we are talking about Disney, so I guess the bar for the accomplishment of mice is pretty high.

Final Thoughts

Watching Disney’s classic film again achieved my goal of strengthening my kids’ knowledge of the original Dumbo. It also provided the benefit of positive lessons like overcoming adversity and being a loyal friend.

I’m not sure watching the original Dumbo helped us prepare for the new live-action remake, however. The trailers for the new film suggest Timothy will be replaced by kids. Maybe the generous mouse will at least get a cameo like Timothy’s kind-hearted counterparts did in the live action Cinderella? I guess we’ll have to wait until March. Until then, here’s hoping at least a few of the beautiful messages from the original make it into Tim Burton’s creative interpretation.

Use your disadvantages to fly this week my friends!

Add a little magic to your world.