Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Dumbo Blu-ray Movie Review

Eager importers may want to source this one from south of the border.

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater March 6, 2010

Ask a sample of people old enough to have an opinion about which Disney animated classic is most impressive on a technical level, and you’ll hear a variety of responses—Snow White for its innovation, Pinocchio for its moody lighting, Fantasia for stretching the boundaries of what the medium could and couldn’t do, Bambi for its fluid and realistic animation, or Sleeping Beauty for the detail and complexity of its artwork. Ask which film provokes the greatest emotional response, however, and you’re likely to hear one title over and over: Dumbo. At a trim 64-minutes long, it’s perhaps the simplest of Disney’s stories, but Dumbo’s compact narrative is dense with feeling, capturing the longings, humiliations, and insecurities of childhood with striking acuity. The film’s it’s okay to be different message is universal, and as a kid who had enormous, flag-in-a-taut-wind ears—prone to turn bright red with the slightest embarrassment—I always identified with Dumbo, an archetypal ugly duckling whose supposed deformity turns out, in the end, to be to be a gift, a mark of uniqueness.

Disney: The Height of Fluid Animation

When the film begins, that age-old symbolic euphemism for reproduction—the stork—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. Jumbo Jr., as it turns out, is born with the biggest, floppiest set of ears known to elephant-dom, earning him the unfortunate nickname of Dumbo. Maternal love knows no bounds, however, and Mrs. Jumbo cares for her innocent young son— bathing and cradling him—with all the tenderness that a new mother can muster. Unfortunately, her protective instincts go into overdrive when a young circus-goer mocks Dumbo’s ears—she smacks the red-haired kid repeatedly with her trunk—and the ringmaster condemns her to a padlocked “Mad Elephant” cage. The sequence is terrifying—whips crack and Mrs. Jumbo rears on her hind legs, her eyes red with fear and fury—and as Dumbo is left to fend for himself, an elephant-sized tear rolling down his cheek, the situation seems almost unbearably unfair. Enter Timothy Q. Mouse, the film’s Jiminy Cricket-type character, who befriends Dumbo—now painted as a clown, forced to do a high-dive routine—and with the help of a few fine-feathered crows, gives him the confidence to soar, quite literally, over his mean-spirited aggressors.

Unlike the films of Disney’s second golden age in the 1990s, which tend, with a few notable exceptions, to play up the feelings of whimsy, goofiness, and fun, the studio’s mid-century masterpieces are unafraid to tackle head-on the stuff of real childhood nightmares: abandonment and loneliness, rejection and shame. Dumbo’s story, for all its bright, big-top colors, is remarkably dark. What’s more frightening to a child than the loss of his mother? And what’s more heart-rending for a parent than to be separated from a child? And this isn’t even counting the notorious “Pink Elephants” sequence, in which Dumbo and Timothy accidentally get drunk on champagne that’s been spilled into a water bucket and hallucinate a horrorshow world of twisting, morphing, and ghoulish elephantine forms, yet another example of Walt Disney dabbling in a pop version of Salvador Dali’s surrealism. Like the morbid canal scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this shape-shifting segue is both horrifying and entrancing. Though it has little do with the actual narrative, it gives the animators free reign to establish an unsettling mood that’s necessary in order for the film’s climax—which has a flying Dumbo machine-gunning peanuts at the peanut gallery and finally reuniting with his mom—to feel appropriately triumphant.

An equal triumph is the story of Dumbo’s production. After the massively expensive 1940 double-header of Pinocchio and Fantasia failed to recoup any losses at the box-office, Disney was in a financial bind and needed a hit, fast. Based on a little-known children’s book and scripted by trusted Disney screenwriters Joe Grant and Dick Huemer, Dumbo’s storyline was locked down quickly so that the studio could avoid a lot of the money-draining, trial- and-error experimentation that plagued their previous films. Envisioned as a short, relatively low- budgeted expansion of Walt Disney’s brisk, Silly Symphonies aesthetic, Dumbo downgraded the technically complex and time-consuming oil paint backgrounds of Snow White and Pinocchio to breezy, simplified watercolor panels. This allowed the animators to focus more intently on investing their characters with personality. And it shows. Dumbo is a mute character, but his emotions are spoken through his body language and expressions in ways that words could never approximate. See as his face turns from naive joy to utter devastation as he realizes that he’s being laughed at, or watch as he nuzzles his mother’s trunk with a palpable mixture of love and pain. The other characters are just as expressively animated. Timothy Q. Mouse’s courageousness is as unforgettable as his drunken, bubble- hugging stupor, the gossiping female elephants are impossibly prim, and, of course, there are the controversial crows, who have been seen as racial stereotypes because of their Harlem-in-the- 1930s song ‘n’ dance swagger, but who also represent freedom and are catalysts for Dumbo’s sudden boost in confidence. Though the animation may not present Disney at its technical best, it’s certainly emotionally effective, which is much more important to good storytelling than mere technique.

Dumbo Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Disney animation really hasn't had a miss yet on Blu-ray. Though the studio's characteristically slow release schedule may try the patience of fans eager to fill their shelves with animated classics in 1080p, if there's one thing Disney doesn't do, it's rush jobs. Like Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White, Dumbo is a revelatory experience in high definition, especially if you grew up watching it, like I did, on a worn out VHS tape. The film has been granted a fantastic Lowry Digital frame-by-frame restoration, resulting in a 1080p/AVC- encoded transfer that's absolutely pristine. As with the previously mentioned Disney releases, grain has been almost completely removed here, and while I'm usually a virulent anti-DNR campaigner, noise reduction actually makes a lot of sense for 2-D cell animation. The rationale is that film isn't really animation's intended medium—graininess, then, is a technical limitation— and to truly represent the work of the artists, the image should look as close to the original drawn and painted cells as possible. Hence, grain free. And with no adverse effects like smearing or softness apparent, it's clear that this grain-removal process has been very carefully undertaken so as not to spoil the integrity of image. Banding, blocking, and errant compression-related artifacts are also nowhere in sight.

Dumbo has never been regarded as one of Disney's most impressive technical achievements—grace of the animation aside—but that doesn't stop it from looking gorgeous here. Though there are occasional signs that Dumbo was a lower-budgeted production—you'll frequently see color overextending the bounds of black outlines, for instance—the 1.33:1-framed image is truly impressive for a 70-year-old film. Dumbo forgoes the gouache and oil paint backgrounds of most Disney movies for bright watercolor washes that are softer and less detailed, but beautifully impressionistic at times. All of the character work, though, tends to be quite crisp. Outlines are tight, with a few exceptions, and when compared to the 2006 Big Top Edition DVD, clarity in general is greatly improved. The storybook colors are bright and bold, with lots of soothing pastels and clean primaries—a look straight out of a baby's bedroom. You will notice some slight color fluctuations in the characters, but these are inherent in the animation, and not some transfer-related byproduct. Disney and Lowry Digital have done it again, and I have a feeling Dumbo fans will be wowed.

Dumbo Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney has given an English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track to each animated classic the studio has released so far, and that trend continues with Dumbo. Purists may raise their eyebrows over the fact that the film's original mono track isn't included here—not even in lossy form—but few others will have any complaints. Considering the dated source materials, the film sounds as good as could be expected, possibly better depending on your expectations. If you see "7.1" and think your surround sound set-up is going to get a serious workout, you'll probably be disappointed, but Disney has effectively separated the film's mono stems and constructed a satisfying and largely unembellished soundfield. Channel movements are few—off the top of my head, I can only think of the stork swooshing through the rears—but the narrative's ample stormy weather gives the rear speakers a chance to broadcast wind and rain and thunder. Though the music has the somewhat thin dynamic range that's characteristic of many mid- century recordings, it's never tinny or brash, and there's a surprising amount of detail to be heard in the various sound effects. Dialogue is mostly clean, clear, and easy to understand, and while there are a few moments when the music and effects overwhelm the voices a bit, I was never at a loss as to what was being said or sung. I'd love to have a lossless mono track for comparison, but otherwise, I'm quite happy with Dumbo's audio presentation.

Dumbo Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo (1080p, 28:08)
Disney was in financial hot water after Fantasia underperformed at the box office, and 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 carry on a spirited and incredibly 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 real estate, showing early production artwork, photographs, and even 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 tasteful 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 and should placate those viewers who want to use every inch of their flat- panel screen without the usual pan-and-scan nonsense.

Deleted Scenes (1080p)
Dumbo's story went through very few changes during production, but Disney archivists have 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 hones in 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. Covers a lot of the same ground as Taking Flight, but the more the merrier, I say.

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 brilliant galleries for Visual Development, Character Design, Layouts & Backgrounds, Storyboard Art, Production Pictures, Publicity, and even the Original Dumbo Storybook (1941). All of the galleries are self-directed and easy to navigate.

Bonus Shorts (1080p)*
Included here are two of Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, The Flying Mouse (9:21) and Elmer Elephant (8:31).

Disney Family Play (1080p)
Here 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.

Sneak Peaks (1080p)
Includes trailers for Genuine Treasure: Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition, and The Princess and the Frog. There's also a brief promo for Toy Story 3.

DVD Copy
This appears to be a newly pressed DVD, presumably a downscaled version of the new high definition restoration, and is Region 1 and 4 compatible.

BD-Live Functionality

*Classic DVD Bonus Feature

Dumbo Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A U.S. release date for Dumbo has yet to be announced, so more impatient stateside Disney fans may want to shell out the extra few bucks for the instant gratification of having this classic before everyone else. If you don't mind having the Spanish language packaging, it's not a bad option, as I can't imagine Disney changing anything for the U.S. version. Plus, this disc is completely import-friendly for those in Region A territories. Once you select "English" on the disc's initial set-up page, all of the menus and sub-menus are changed to English, so there's no fumbling guesswork involved. Personally, I'd wait for the U.S. release, but regular importers will have no trouble here. Recommended.