I haven't seen Dumbo in over a decade, probably close to two. The most amazing thing about the movie was how short it is. Just over an hour long, it could have just been a Silly Symphonies episode. It is very surprising. The ending just happens about a minute after the climax. If you happen to yawn, you may just miss it. But there are a great many more amazing things about this movie.
Of course, because it is a Disney movie from the forties, music plays a very import role. Like Lady and The Tramp or Snow White, this movie is a choreographed dance. But unlike my natural assumption for Disney movies, this movie doesn't hide from a dark and tormented storyline. There are some rather distressing emotional moments in this film that Micky (not really, but yeah, it's Micky.) smooths over quickly. And it does end very peachily. It has stereotyped a lot of different people and seems to have an aversion to showing that black people do, indeed, have faces.
I am not sure who this movie was marketed to. It doesn't seem to be something that children would really get. Besides the colors and the face on the train (and a flying elephant), there is little here for them. But it is also a little squeaky for have much marketability to an older audience. Maybe it was different back then; perhaps Walt was trying to gauge how much a feature-length cartoon could get away with. I think the best thing to call it is a "Silly Symphony" of a movie. Which is definitely not a bad thing, but not at all what I remembered it being from when I was 2.
Now I just need to go back and watch Bambi.
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