Dumbo is the classic tale of a misfit elephant in the circus community and his struggles until discovering the true abilities of the giant pair of ears he has.
Made in 1941, this vivid musical will bring you to a time when animations were plain simple. Train with a life, states labelled map and cubs-delivering storks were childishly fun! You can tell the makers have put in their utmost efforts crafting the protagonist! Every little expression and movement of his was lively! The colors were sharp and sound design rich too.
Although it was an animated motion picture targeted at younger audiences, the celluloid did not shy away from showing how cold, brutal and heartless the world in Dumbo was. Dumbo being bullied by human visitors which caused his mum to be locked up in solitary confinement for protecting him, failing his first big act and turning the whole show into a disaster, forced to be a clown and communicating with his mum behind barred windows were truly impactful!
At almost every point of his journey, he's pushed towards embracing his plus point - the ears. After getting drunk (again, adult element!) with the one of the best mentor characters in a movie; Timothy Q. Mouse (voiced by Edward Brophy), our dear little elephant was finally able to fly, in the sky and out of all his problems! On a side note, the pink elephants on parade sequence overstayed its welcome.
"The very things that held ya down are gonna ya up and up and up."