If ever there was a perfect animated movie it would be this one.

Dumbo has everything from joy at seeing Dumbo triumph over the bully elephants to sadness as he cuddles up to his Mother's trunk.

But I docked half a star as I admit it does have one scene that could offend (the roustabout song) but that is only a small complaint. If you havent seen an animated movie before or want one for small children I reccomend this one.

Dumbo was probably the first Disney film I ever saw. I remember popping my old video tape into the player, sitting through all the previews and copyright warnings, and then smile with joy as the opening credits came up. I loved Dumbo because it was colourful and fun, despite the intense cruelty that our little protagonist and his mother go through.

Of course, there were some things I noticed that I'd been blind to at the age of three. For example, there are a few WWII refernces - I'll leave you to figure them out. Another example is the crows. They sound a lot like the stereotype of black people in America at the time. This might seem a little insensitive, but trust me, there's worse things out there. Dumbo is not racist. Remember that those crows, aside from Timothy Mouse, are the only characters who feel sympathy for Dumbo. I feel that the crows all share a close bond and that they are somewhat outcasts too. And oh yes, they have the most catchy and irresistable song!

Dumbo is such an adorable little elephant. Like similar characters such as Pinocchio and Bambi, he has that round 'pudding like' charm. This gives him the appeal of a human baby. He has adorable little blue eyes which give away all his emotion. He does not speak a single word and yet he moves you to tears. It's the way he acts and his innocent expressions that really talk to you. As well as not being much of a talker, Dumbo isn't much of a thinker either. He just naively follows Timothy mouse, all in his own little world.
The other characters are interesting too. Timothy is a fiesty little rodent with a kind heart. The other elephants remind me of the girls at my school who like nothing more than to gossip. I might also mention the train - Casey Junior. He seems to be alive but he isn't creepy. (Thomas the Tank Engine scared the heck out of me!) He has his own catchy rhythm which is just pure fun to listen to. The Ringmaster has the most funny expressions too!

The soundtrack is a real treat. If you do not tear up during 'Baby Mine,' then please see your doctor for your heart has turned into coal. 'Pink Elephants on Parade' is a funny but slightly disturbing sequence that gets stuck in your head with it's clever lyrics and artistic animation.

Dumbo is a very colourful film, but there are times when life in the circus can be very bleak. In an attempt to protect a her youngster from some harassing boys, Mrs Jumbo is cruelly seperated from her baby and poor Dumbo is ignored by the other elephants. The film expertly conbines the romantic view of the circus - bright lights and colours, animals and clowns with the realities - greed, hard work and animal cruelty. Anyone who thinks that some circuses can be 'humane,' then they'd better see Dumbo as it will change their mind.

Bambi may be at the top for me, but Dumbo is just too good to put down. For a film that's only sixty minutes long, it's a real emotional feast upon the eyes and the mind.

I loved the movie Dumbo it was such a great movie I could watch it over and over again. This movie Dumbo is a movie that anyone could watch and love and I loved it. The reason why i love the movie Dumbo is that the character Dumbo was animated very well and i thought that his ears were really cute and adorable. The movie had showed that people who are different from others get picked on cause of their difference. There is only the one person that see the difference in Dumbo and then trys to help Dumbo to reach his full potential with his ears which was Timothy,the mouse, which had become Dumbo's only friend.

A great story with a lot of heart!

Even though Dumbo doesn't say a word, I feel for him. You'll be rolling on the floor laughing during the 'drinking' scene and crying during the "Baby Mine" sequence. I do each time.

Very endearing! 3 1/2 stars!

It is rare to find an animation fan who hasn't seen "Dumbo", but if you are one, go see this movie. Its story is moving and original, the characters are likeable, the animation is fine. As a matter of fact the only thing wrong with this movie is that it's a bit too short.

Dumbo was made during and after the most bitter, drawn out and historic strike to ever hit an animation studio (unless there was a bigger more bitter one I don't know about). On top of that was the company’s fiscal problems, after the amazing but expensive films that came before it (as well as Bambi which was still being made), coupled with the fact that the profitable European market had understandably been cut off for the time being, in light of all this, it was an achievement that Disney was able to get a film made at all in this period in its history. Disney needed something simpler, something that could recoup the company’s debts.

Dumbo was that thing. Looking somewhat like a elongated Silly Symphony short in overall terms, rather than the expensive to make eye candy of Fantasia and Pinocchio. Here watercolors are used to save money* and the depth of Disney’s Multiplane camera is mostly absent, though it’s abilities do appear a bit during the journey of Casey Junior.

Some amazing character animation is rendered on the main character, who's actions speak more words for him than actual talking could ever hope to do. Besides, he’s got Timothy to speak for him and his defense of Dumbo makes him a character that is easy to like; but of course your real sympathies go out to Dumbo and his mother, their brief trunk snuggle both the most potent part of the film and the lowest emotional point.

At this point a part of me feels somewhat stingy about my three star rating, yet that’s there it lies for me, a good film that’s worth seeing, but not one that I would rush to watch over something else to see. If it is meant as a comedy then I can’t see much to laugh at, if it was meant as a poignant tear-jerker, which to me seems more likely, then it works a lot better at that.

Strangely I quite like the Pink Elephant sequence, does it serves no purpose whatsoever? Well apart from lightening the to that point, rather depressing tone that is predominating the film, not really. It acts like a prolonged transition and looks like some sort of freaky escapee from Fantasia. Watching it, it’s no wonder that Salvador Dali once called Disney one of the Great Surrealists.

*In some ways this is an odd concept as watercolor is less forgiving than other mediums like acrylic, oil or gouache; with which you can almost just repaint over mistakes indefinitely.

Disney had hit audiences with the technically groundbreaking 'Pinocchio' and the wildly experimental 'Fantasia' in 1940, and both were commercial flops. Thus 'Dumbo' was produced on a relative shoestring (they used watercolours - the only other time they ever did this was 'Lilo and Stitch' - again, a film that saved them after a couple of flops), and the film was a very much more lightweight affair than its predecessors, or than its successor, 'Bambi'. In fact it was the first and only comedy from the 'Golden Age' of Disney.

The film is nowhere near as technically impressive as 'Pinocchio' or as artistically serious as 'Fantasia', but it saved the studio's butt. Still running in cinemas when Pearl Harbor was bombed, 'Dumbo' was Disney's first big financial success since 'Snow White', and it's probably fair to say that without it, there would have been no 'Bambi'.

But enough history. Does the film still stand up today? Well, for the most part, yes. Warmth, which is what I found lacking in 'Pinocchio', just oozes out of 'Dumbo', and even if it at times it gets just a little sappy from a modern perspective, the 'trunk' scene between Dumbo and his mother, through the bars of the caravan is a damn poignant scene for a comedy.

The film has an old-time look to it, particularly with the human characters (particularly the clowns), but it's all so kind of manic and silly that you find you don't really care that much. Timothy J. Mouse is an excellant buddy character - much more appealing than Jiminy Cricket was in 'Pinocchio' - in fact I really needed this film, after 'Secret of Nimh II' to restore my faith in mice called Timothy. Come to think of it, as a Timothy J. myself, perhaps I just have a soft spot for him.

Up to halfway I was prepared to give this film a much higher score, but something went pear-shaped in the third quarter of the movie - perhaps it was a sign of the lack of care given to the film compared with the earlier features, but the whole 'Pink Elephants' sequence is really quite off-putting, bizarre and completely unnescessary to the story. It was sort of like the production crew dropped some acid and tried to see how weird they could make the movie for five minutes. I understand it eventually did kind of serve a purpose plot-wise, but that purpose could have been achieved by any other number of means. Then there is the racial stereotyping of the crows, which is a bit regrettable from todays POV (even though Ralph Bakshi did exactly the same thing in 'Fritz the Cat', I think he was making a point, not just having a laugh), and the scene with the all-black laborers made me squirm a bit, too.

Still, it's very hard to dislike 'Dumbo' overall. But for a few slips as listed above it could have been a four star film. As it is, I think I'd give it three and a quarter, but since I have to choose between 3 and 3.5... agh, I can't - I'll toss a coin.... well there you are, 3.5.

That may be a little unfair to 'Pinocchio' which I only gave 3.0 despite its far greature stature technically and perhaps aesthetically , but to be blunt, 'Dumbo' is more fun. It's a shame that kids are probably too grown up and jaded for 'Dumbo' today, and the only people who are going to enjoy it are very little kids and adults who remember it, or who have grown old enough to not worry about whether it fits in with the youth culture of whatever decade we're in at the moment.

postscript: my mother was about 8 when this film came out, and the 'trunk sequence' I referred to above seems to have upset her enough that she believes all Disney films involved mothers being seperated from their children (which has more than a grain of truth in it actually)

Dumbo is an enthralling movie, easily one of my top ten animated movies of all time. While the characters look cartoony, the rest of the movie is certainly not. Disney made sure that everything had shadow and depth and that every blade of grass rippled and swayed. Not only was the animation alive and colorful, but so was the story. It smoothly went from hilarious to uplifting to tragic to downright angering, all while never giving way to slapstick or conventions. You had to be a fool with a heart of stone not to weep at "Baby Mine". The trippy scene accompanying "Pink Elephants" is questionable for children and probably serves no practical purpose. However all the characters feel alive and nowhere is there a villain or sidekick in sight. Dumbo is silent throughout the film yet is easily one of Disney's most emotional and expressive characters. And Timothy, probably moreso than Jiminy Cricket, has become something of an icon with me. The fact that Dumbo can fly is a moot point. It's not about that nor the silly scene that ensues in the big top upon Dumbo's discovery. It's about Dumbo rising above his oppressors and achieving a happy, carefree life all while maintaining a delicate, gentle heart.