After the disappointing box office response to both Fantasia and Pinocchio, Walt Disney needed a new feature to improve his studios fortunes. He pinned his hopes on Dumbo, The Flying Elephant, a children’s story written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl, it served as the basis for Disney’s fourth animated feature. With a running time of just 64 minutes, Dumbo proved to be just thing the struggling studio needed to stay afloat.

DumboAs the film begins, the stork (voiced by Sterling Holloway)   delivers a hefty bundle of joy to Mrs. Jumbo, a doe-eyed circus elephant who seems to have come late to motherhood. As Mrs. Jumbo unwraps her delivery, a peanut gallery of tittering female pachyderms looks on, ready to pass judgment. As it turns out, Jumbo Jr. has the biggest, floppiest set of ears known to elephant-dom, earning him the unfortunate nickname of Dumbo. Forced to endure the constant taunts of other animals, Dumbo has little chance of ever fitting in. The only creature who befriends him is Timothy Q. Mouse (performed by the voice talents of character actor Edward Brophy, who practically steals the show). Together they form a friendship that carries Dumbo through his darkest moments.

The worst of these times is when Dumbo’s mother lashes out at a group of spectators who ridicule her son. The mother is labeled mad and destructive, and she’s chained in a cage. One of the most emotional scenes in the film occurs when Dumbo cuddles up to his mother in her cell, both of them damned as outcasts in an heartless world. Then, returning to their own tent, Dumbo and Timothy come upon a bucket of water accidently spiked with champagne, and both of them get tipsy. After a brief and somewhat strange sequence involving pink elephants, they wind up in a tree being laughed at by a flock of crows. How did they get up there? It seems Dumbo can fly! Once he discovers his unique talent, Dumbo is finally able to carve out a place for himself in the world; he’s also able to get back into his mother’s arms.

It’s interesting to note that supervising director Ben Sharpsteen was given orders to keep the film simple and inexpensive. As a result, Dumbo lacks the lavish detail of previous Disney animated films (Fantasia, Pinocchio, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs): character designs are simpler and background paintings are less detailed. Given the lower budget, this is understandable. However, it would’ve been nice to see how it would have looked with all of Disney’s animation capabilities behind it. Nonetheless, Dumbo remains emotional effective, and it’s easy to see why the film remains a favorite for many, even seventy years after its release.

Presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, this 1080p transfer is another spectacular job from Disney. The transfer is pinpoint sharp. So much so, that at times you can see strokes from a paintbrush. Colors are bright and vibrant throughout, though slight age blemishes occasionally crop up. Blacks are deep and whites are clean.  There are no compression artifacts or other digital anomalies to complain about.

The DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio sound mix is spacious and dynamic. Dialogue sounds clean and clear throughout, with the musical numbers showcasing a level of fidelity never approached on any of the DVD releases.

Portuguese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are included, as are English SDH, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

We get the following special features:

  • Screen-Specific Audio Commentary from Pete Docter, Paula Sigman and Andreas Deja: While these individuals offer some interesting information, it’s nothing special, and I would have preferred the inclusion of John Canemaker’s scholarly commentary from the last DVD release.
  •  Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo (1080p, 28:08) This excellent making-of documentary chronicles how Dumbo‘s streamlined approach to animation and narrative in essence saved the company. Features interviews with Disney historian Didier Ghez, Disney Supervising Animation Editor Eric Goldberg, Jim Capobianco of Pixar, and many others.
  • Cine-Explore In this picture-in-picture commentary, Pixar director Pete Docter, Disney historian Paula Sigman, and Disney animator Andreas Deja offer an informative discussion about all aspects of Dumbo, from its graceful animation and narrative compactness, to historical, behind-the-scenes stories and facts. The track makes great use of its picture-in-picture feature, showing early production artwork, photographs, and interviews with a few Disney employees who worked on the film.
  • DisneyView Presentation If you select this option before viewing the film, the black pillarboxes on the sides of the 1.33:1- framed image are replaced with paintings of sky, planks of wood, tent canvas, and other textures that complement the image. Though I’m perfectly fine with the black bars, this feature works surprisingly well.
  • Deleted Scenes (1080p) Dumbo‘s story went through very few changes during production, but Disney archivists dug up two excised sequences that never got beyond the preliminary artwork stage. Here, they’re recreated using still sketches with a little bit of animation thrown in. The Mouse’s Tale (5:37) is Timothy’s story of why elephants are afraid of mice, and Are You a Man or a Mouse? (3:56) is a deleted song about not giving up.
  • The Magic of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage (1080p, 3:09) The Dumbo ride at Disneyland is one of the oldest in the park, so this featurette focuses on the ride’s multi-generation appeal.
  • Sound Design Excerpt from “The Reluctant Dragon” (SD, 5:57) A vintage featurette that takes us inside one of Disney’s foley studios, showing us how various sound effects are actually made.
  • Celebrating Dumbo (SD, 14:53) Film critic Leonard Maltin, Roy E. Disney, and others reflect on Dumbo‘s creation and legacy.
  • Original Walt Disney TV Introduction (SD, 1:05) “It was really a happy picture from the very beginning to the end,” says Disney, who had always claimed that Dumbo was his favorite of his films.
  • Trailers (SD) Includes the Original Theatrical Trailer (2:13) and the Theatrical Rerelease Trailer (1:18).
  • Art Galleries (1080p) Includes galleries for Visual Development, Character Design, Layouts & Backgrounds, Storyboard Art, Production Pictures, Publicity, and even the Original Dumbo Storybook (1941).
  • Disney Family Play (1080p) We have two remote-controlled games. “What Do You See?” is a picture matching game, where you have to quickly guess the subject of a blurred still from the film. “What Do You Know? ” is a trivia game that asks questions about the film, as well as more general questions about elephants, etc.
  • DVD Copy
  • BD-Live Functionality