Dumbo#Cancelled sequel

In Florida, while a large circus spends the off-season in its winter grounds, a flock of white storks delivers many babies to the animals. One elephant, Mrs. Jumbo, does not receive her baby, and keeps scanning the sky in hope. The next spring, the circus sets out on a new tour. A belated stork catches up with a moving train named Casey Jr. and drops off the expected baby elephant, Jumbo Jr. The other elephants are initially delighted, until they see the baby has revealed far-oversized ears, and mockingly nickname him "Dumbo". Mrs. Jumbo shows her baby great care and love, defending him from the others' abuse.

Being clumsy due to his ears, Dumbo is made into a sideshow attraction. When some rowdy boys started to bully Dumbo and his ears, even breaking into his pen, the furious Mrs. Jumbo spanks their leader. The circus staff is drawn in by the commotion and sees Mrs. Jumbo throwing hay bales at kids, the shocked staff remove Dumbo from the pen, causing Mrs. Jumbo to be further enraged, eventually dousing the circus’s ringmaster in a water tub. She is subsequently deemed mad and locked up in a cage, while Dumbo is blamed for the incident by the elephants, and is still bullied by the others.

After scaring off the other elephants, Timothy, a mouse that travels with the circus, befriends Dumbo and decides to make him a star. He whispers in the ringmaster's ear while the latter sleeps, convincing him to try a new stunt with Dumbo as the top of a pyramid of elephants. Dumbo trips on his ears during the show and knocks over the pyramid, injuring the others and causing the big top to collapse. After, all elephants exile Dumbo permanently as he is put in with the clowns' firemen act, regularly jumping from a "burning building" prop into a vat of pie filling. Despite his newfound popularity, he hates the new performance and is upset.

Timothy decides to take Dumbo to see Mrs. Jumbo, but they cannot see each other's faces and can only intertwine trunks. Meanwhile, the clowns decide to increase the popularity of their fireman act by dangerously raising the platform Dumbo jumps from. In celebration of the plan, they drink champagne, and a bottle of it falls into a water vat. Crying after visiting his mother, Dumbo has an unsettling case of the hiccups, so Timothy takes him to the vat for some water, only to discover that the water contains champagne. Both of them get drunk, and hallucinate pink elephants.

While recovering the next morning, Dumbo and Timothy are later discovered asleep high up in a tree by Dandy Crow and his gang of crows. Initially making fun of Timothy's assertion that Dumbo flew with his ears while being drunk, the crows are soon moved by Dumbo's sad story. They decide to help Timothy, giving him a "magic feather" to help Dumbo fly. Holding the feather, Dumbo does indeed take off a second time. He and Timothy return to the circus with plans to surprise the audience.

During the clowns' fire act, Dumbo jumps off the platform and prepares to fly. He drops the feather, but Timothy assures him it was only a psychological aid. As Dumbo successfully flies about the big top, much to the audience’s delight, he throws a trunkful of peanuts to the other elephants as payback. Dumbo gains fame and fortune, Timothy becomes his new manager and signs him to a Hollywood contract, and Mrs. Jumbo is freed. She and Dumbo are given a private coach on Casey Jr., and the crows wave goodbye to the duo as they travel away.

The voice actors are uncredited for their roles in the film.

• The title character is Dumbo, the nickname given to Jumbo Jr. He is a newborn elephant who has huge ears and is able to use them to fly, carrying what he thinks of as a magic feather. Dumbo is speechless in this film.
• Edward Brophy as Timothy Q. Mouse,{{cite news |url=https://d23.com/a-to-z/dumbo-film/ |title=Dumbo (film) |website=D23 |access-date=March 27, 2020 |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215012558/https://d23.com/a-to-z/dumbo-film/ |url-status=live }} an anthropomorphic mouse who becomes the only friend of Dumbo after his mother is locked up and does his best to make Dumbo happy again. He is never referred to by name save for a mention in a newspaper article near the end of the film.
• Verna Felton as
• Elephant Matriarch, the well-meaning but pompous leader of the elephants who is cold toward Dumbo.
• Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo's mother, who not only speaks just once in the film to give Dumbo's name, but also sings her lullaby “Baby Mine” to him.
• Cliff Edwards as Dandy Crow (previously named Jim Crow on the original model sheets), the leader of a group of crows. Though he initially jokes and ridicules Timothy's idea that Dumbo can fly, he hears Dumbo's tragic history and becomes determined to help Dumbo fly for real. He is never mentioned by name in the film.
• Herman Bing as The Ringmaster, who is the strict, and foolish owner of the circus. Due to being misinformed about Mrs. Jumbo's attack on the rowdy boys, he assumes she simply snapped and locks her up.
• Sterling Holloway as Mr. Stork, Dumbo's carrier stork seen at the beginning of the film.
• Margaret Wright as Casey Junior, the sentient 2-4-0 tender locomotive hauling the circus train.
• The Hall Johnson Choir as Crow Chorus
• Hall Johnson as Deacon Crow
• James Baskett as Fats Crow
• Nick Stewart as Specks Crow
• Jim Carmichael as Dopey Crow
• The King's Men as the Roustabout Chorus
• Noreen Gammill as Elephant Catty
• Dorothy Scott as Elephant Giddy
• Sarah Selby as Elephant Prissy
• Billy Bletcher as Clown
• Malcolm Hutton as Smitty
• John McLeish as the narrator

Dumbo is based upon a children's story written by Helen Aberson-Mayer and Harold Pearl, with illustrations by Helen Durney.{{cite web|url=https://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/d/durney_hr.htm|title=Helen R. Durney Papers - An inventory of her papers at Syracuse University|date=February 28, 2017|publisher=Syracuse University|access-date=September 28, 2018|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514052252/https://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/d/durney_hr.htm|url-status=live}} The children's book was first brought to the attention of Walt Disney in late 1939 by Kay Kamen, the studio's head of merchandise licensing, who showed a prototype of the Roll-A-Book that included Dumbo. Disney immediately grasped its possibilities and heartwarming story and purchased the rights to it.{{cite web |url=http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Essays/DumboRollABook/DumboRollABook.html |title=The Mysterious Dumbo Roll-A-Book |website=MichaelBarrier.com |access-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-date=April 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407201533/http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Essays/DumboRollABook/DumboRollABook.html |url-status=live }}

Originally intended as a short film, Disney soon realized a decent book adaption needed a feature-length film.{{cite AV media notes|title=Dumbo: Big Top Edition DVD|others=John Canemaker|type=Audio commentary|publisher=Walt Disney Home Entertainment|year=2006}} At the time, the foreign markets in Europe had been curtailed due to World War II, which caused Pinocchio and Fantasia to fail at the box office. With the film's modest budget, Dumbo was intended to be a low-budget feature designed to bring revenue to the studio.{{sfn|Barrier|2008|p=176}} Story artists Dick Huemer and Joe Grant were assigned to develop the plot into a feature-length film. From January 22 to March 21, 1940, they wrote a 102-page script outline in chapters, much like a book, an unusual way of writing a film script. They conceived the stork-delivery and the pink elephants sequences and had Dumbo's mother renamed from "Mother Ella" to "Mrs. Jumbo". They riffed on elephants' fear of mice by replacing a wise robin named "Red" found in the original story with the wisecracking mouse character, Timothy. They also added a "rusty black crow", which was later expanded into five.{{cite book |first=John |last=Canemaker |title=Two Guys Named Joe |page=149 |publisher=Disney Editions |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-423-11067-5}} Regardless of this, very little was changed from the original draft.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/GbgvitYr4To Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210823023901/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbgvitYr4To Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media notes |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbgvitYr4To |title=Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo |type=Bonus feature |publisher=Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |year=2011 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} In March 1940, a story team headed by Otto Englander translated the outline into story sketches.{{sfn|Barrier|1999|p=273}}

From Disney's perspective, Dumbo required none of the special effects that had slowed down production and grew the budgets of Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi.{{sfn|Barrier|1999|page=272}} When the film went into production in early 1941, supervising director Ben Sharpsteen was given orders to keep the film simple and inexpensive.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|page=333}} As a result, the character designs are simpler, background paintings are less detailed, and a number of held cels (or frames) were used in the character animation. Although the film is more "cartoony" than previous Disney films, the animators brought elephants and other animals into the studio to study their movement.

Watercolor paint was used to render the backgrounds. Dumbo is one of the few Disney features to use the technique, which was also used for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and regularly employed for the various Disney cartoon shorts. The other Disney features used oil paint and gouache. 2002's Lilo & Stitch, which drew influences from Dumbo, also made use of watercolor backgrounds.{{cite news|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/06/19/a-look-inside-the-creation-of-lilo-and-stitch|title=A Look Inside the Creation of Lilo and Stitch|work=IGN|date=June 19, 2002|access-date=June 19, 2020|archive-date=April 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413215011/https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/06/19/a-look-inside-the-creation-of-lilo-and-stitch|url-status=live}}

{{main|Disney animators' strike}}

During a story meeting for Bambi on February 27, 1940, Disney observed that Dumbo was "an obvious straight cartoon" and that the animators that were assigned on Bambi were not appropriate for the look of Dumbo. Animators such as Art Babbitt and Ward Kimball were considered for the film.{{sfn|Barrier|1999|page=272}} For that reason, less experienced animators were brought on to animate the characters. Kimball recalled that Disney approached him in a parking lot about Dumbo and summarized the entire story in five minutes. "And listening to him tell that story," Kimball noted, "I could tell that the picture was going to work. Because everything sounded right. It had a great plot." In spite of this, Bill Tytla, who was one of the studio's top animators, animated the title character, but admitted that "it was in the nature of the film to go very fast and get it out in a hurry." To speed up production, Disney used photostats of story sketches instead of full layout artwork for the film, and had experienced animators to supervise the younger, less experienced animators assigned on the film.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|pages=333–334}}

Production on the film was interrupted on May 29, 1941, when much of the Disney animation staff went on strike. Kimball chose to not to strike, but his close friend Walt Kelly, who was an assistant animator helping him on the crow sequence, left the studios shortly after for reasons unrelated to the strike.{{cite book|last=Canemaker|first=John|title=Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation|chapter=Ward Kimball|pages=104–105|year=2001|publisher=Disney Editions|isbn=978-0-786-86496-6}}

Some have interpreted the clowns' requests to get a raise from their boss being a reference to the Disney animators that went on strike in 1941 (during the creation of the film), demanding higher pay from Walt himself.{{Cite web |last=Lowry |first=Sam |title=The Disney cartoonists strike, 1941 |url=http://libcom.org/history/1941-disney-cartoonists-strike |website=Libcom |access-date=May 27, 2020 |archive-date=April 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412064012/http://libcom.org/history/1941-disney-cartoonists-strike |url-status=live }} Animator and strike organizer Art Babbitt denied this, saying he had been assigned to animate the sequence before the strike. "People attached political significance to what happened there. You know, 'Let's go on strike' and so on. We weren't thinking strike at the time. In fact, there never would have been a strike if it hadn't been forced on us."{{cite web |last1=Friedman |first1=Jake S. |title=Dumbo! During Labor Unrest! |url=https://babbittblog.com/2016/10/26/dumbo-during-labor-unrest/ |website=BabbittBlog.com |date=October 26, 2016 |access-date=24 January 2023 |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124053427/https://babbittblog.com/2016/10/26/dumbo-during-labor-unrest/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Canemaker |first1=John |title=FANTASIA'S 80th Anniversary – and a 1975 interview with Art Babbitt |url=http://animatedeye.johncanemaker.com/blog/fantasias-80th-anniversary-and-a-1975-interview-with-art-babbitt/ |website=John Canemaker's Animated Eye |date=November 13, 2020 |access-date=24 January 2023 |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124053427/http://animatedeye.johncanemaker.com/blog/fantasias-80th-anniversary-and-a-1975-interview-with-art-babbitt/ |url-status=live }}

{{Infobox album

| name = Dumbo

| type = Studio album

| artist = Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace

| cover =

| alt =

| released = 1941

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre =

| length =

| label = Disneyland Records

| chronology = Walt Disney Animation Studios soundtrack

| prev_title = Fantasia

| prev_year = 1940

| next_title = Bambi

| next_year = 1942

}}

Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace scored the film while Ned Washington wrote the lyrics to the songs. For their work on the score, Churchill and Wallace won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Churchill and Washington's work on "Baby Mine" also garnered a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Original songs performed in the film include:

{{Track listing

| all_writing =

| all_lyrics =

| all_music =

| extra_column = Performer(s)

| title1 = Look Out for Mr. Stork

| extra1 = The Sportsmen

| title2 = Casey Junior

| extra2 = The Sportsmen

| title3 = Song of the Roustabouts

| extra3 = The King's Men

| title4 = Baby Mine

| extra4 = Betty Noyes

| title5 = The Clown Song (A.K.A. We're Gonna Hit the Big Boss for a Raise)

| extra5 = Billy Bletcher, Eddie Holden & Billy Sheets

| title6 = Pink Elephants on Parade

| extra6 = The Sportsmen

| title7 = When I See an Elephant Fly

| extra7 = Cliff Edwards & The Hall Johnson Choir

| title8 = When I See an Elephant Fly (Reprise)

| extra8 = Chorus

}}

File:Dumbo (Original Theatrical Trailer) 1941.ogv

Dumbo was completed and delivered to Disney's distributor, RKO Radio Pictures, on September 11, 1941.{{cite report |title=1941 Annual Report |publisher=Walt Disney Productions |year=1941}} RKO initially balked at the film's 64-minute length and asked Disney to add another ten minutes. Disney refused, "No, that's as far as I can stretch it. You can stretch a thing so far and then it won't hold. The picture is right as it is. And another ten minutes is liable to cost five hundred thousand dollars. I can't afford it."{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Bob |title=Walt Disney: An American Original |edition=2nd |chapter=Toward A New Art |page=163 |orig-year=1976 |year=1994 |publisher=Disney Editions |isbn=978-0-786-86027-2}} The film was re-released in theaters in 1949, 1959, 1972, and 1976.

Dumbo had its television premiere on September 14, 1955,{{cite episode|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0561037|last=Disney|first=Walt (host)|title=Dumbo|series=Disneyland|season=2|number=1|network=ABC|date=September 14, 1955|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=February 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220161350/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0561037/|url-status=live}} albeit severely edited, as an installment of the Disneyland television show. The film was shown unaltered on September 17, 1978, as part of a two-night salute to the program's 25th anniversary.

Along with Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo was the first of Disney's canon of animated films to be released on home video. The film was originally released on June 26, 1981, on VHS, Laserdisc and Betamax as a rental only before becoming available for sale in early 1982.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FSQEAAAAMBAJ&q=dumbo+videocassette+billboard&pg=PA1937 |title=New on the Charts |magazine=Billboard |volume=94 |issue=43 |page=33 |date=October 30, 1982 |access-date=September 25, 2019 |via=Google Books |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408155819/https://books.google.com/books?id=FSQEAAAAMBAJ&q=dumbo+videocassette+billboard&pg=PA1937 |url-status=live }} Sales were also extended to CED in October 1982. It was again re-released on VHS and Betamax as part of the Walt Disney Classics series on November 6, 1985.{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uypCAAAAIBAJ&q=pinocchio+video+%2429.95&pg=PA7 |title=Disney on Parade |last=Levine |first=Martin |work=Daily News |date=September 7, 1985 |access-date=September 25, 2019 |via=Google Books |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408155814/https://books.google.com/books?id=uypCAAAAIBAJ&q=pinocchio+video+%2429.95&pg=PA7 |url-status=live }} The film was re-released on VHS and Laserdisc on July 12, 1991.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-05-18.pdf |title='Robin' To Perk Up Midsummer Nights |last=McCullagh |first=Jim |date=May 18, 1991 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 27, 2019 |page=78 |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408155630/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-05-18.pdf |url-status=live }} It was followed by another re-issue on VHS and Laserdisc on October 28, 1994, as a part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection.{{cite web |url=http://disney.go.com/DisneyVideos/masterpiece/shelves/dumbo/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991009100210/http://disney.go.com/DisneyVideos/masterpiece/shelves/dumbo/index.html |title=Dumbo |website=Walt Disney Video |archive-date=October 9, 1999 |access-date=September 25, 2019 |url-status=dead}} On October 23, 2001, a 60th Anniversary Edition was released in VHS and DVD formats.{{cite web |title=Dumbo: 60th Anniversary Edition |url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=29828 |work=DVD Empire |access-date=May 5, 2011 |archive-date=September 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929211918/http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=29828 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Ben |first=Simon |title=Dumbo: 60th Anniversary Edition |url=http://animatedviews.com/2003/dumbo-60th-anniversary-edition/ |access-date=May 11, 2011 |website=Animated Views |date=July 13, 2003 |archive-date=May 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508211931/http://animatedviews.com/2003/dumbo-60th-anniversary-edition/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Puccio |first=John |title=Dumbo (DVD) |url=http://www.dvdtown.com/review/dumbo/dvd/918 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121194002/http://www.dvdtown.com/review/dumbo/dvd/918 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 21, 2013 |access-date=May 11, 2011 |website=DVD Town |date=December 11, 2001 }}

In 2006, a "Big Top Edition" of the film was released on DVD.{{cite news|last=Willman|first=Chris|title=Dumbo: Big Top Edition|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/06/09/dumbo-big-top-edition/|access-date=June 19, 2020|newspaper=Entertainment Weekly|date=June 9, 2006|archive-date=September 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925132527/https://ew.com/article/2006/06/09/dumbo-big-top-edition/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Henderson |first=Eric |title=Dumbo: Big Top Edition |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/dumbo-big-top-edition/939 |access-date=May 11, 2011 |work=Slant Magazine |date=June 6, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415122758/http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/dumbo-big-top-edition/939 |archive-date=April 15, 2011 }}{{cite news|last=Swindoll |first=Jeff |title=DVD Review: Dumbo (Big Top Edition) |url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/dvd/reviews/article_1168836.php/DVD_Review_Dumbo_Big_Top_Edition |access-date=May 11, 2011 |website=Monsters and Critics |date=June 1, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014063827/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/dvd/reviews/article_1168836.php/DVD_Review_Dumbo_Big_Top_Edition |archive-date=October 14, 2012}} A 70th Anniversary Edition of the film was released in the United States on September 20, 2011.{{cite news |last=Lawler |first=Richard |title=Dumbo 70th Anniversary Blu-ray has a trailer and a release date: September 20th |url=http://hd.engadget.com/2011/04/29/dumbo-70th-anniversay-blu-ray-has-a-trailer-and-a-release-date/ |access-date=May 11, 2011 |website=Engadget |date=April 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505201804/http://hd.engadget.com/2011/04/29/dumbo-70th-anniversay-blu-ray-has-a-trailer-and-a-release-date|archive-date=May 5, 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |title=Dumbo Blu-ray Release Date and Details |url=http://www.thehdroom.com/news/Dumbo-Blu-ray-Release-Date-and-Details/8893 |access-date=May 5, 2011 |website=The HD Room |date=April 30, 2011 |archive-date=May 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504010844/http://www.thehdroom.com/news/Dumbo-Blu-ray-Release-Date-and-Details/8893 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Wharton |first=David |title=Disney Opens The Vault And Brings Dumbo To Blu-Ray |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/dvdnews/Disney-Opens-Vault-Brings-Dumbo-Blu-Ray-31673.html |access-date=May 5, 2011 |website=Cinema Blend |date=April 4, 2011 |archive-date=May 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502175527/https://www.cinemablend.com/dvdnews/Disney-Opens-Vault-Brings-Dumbo-Blu-Ray-31673.html |url-status=live }} The 70th Anniversary Edition was produced in two packages: a two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo and a one-disc DVD.{{cite news |last=McCutcheon |first=David |title=Dumbo Takes Flight |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/04/29/dumbo-takes-flight |access-date=June 19, 2020 |work=IGN |date=April 29, 2011 |archive-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807050310/https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/04/29/dumbo-takes-flight |url-status=live }} The film was also released as a movie download. All versions of the 70th Anniversary Edition contain deleted scenes and several bonus features, including "Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo" and "The Magic of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage", while the two-disc Blu-ray version includes games, animated shorts, and several exclusive features.{{cite news|title=Disney Opens the Vault for 'Dumbo' 70th Anniversary DVD and Blu-ray |url=http://www.buzzfocus.com/2011/04/29/disney-opens-the-vault-for-dumbo-70th-anniversary-dvd-and-blu-ray/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502043306/http://www.buzzfocus.com/2011/04/29/disney-opens-the-vault-for-dumbo-70th-anniversary-dvd-and-blu-ray/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 5, 2011 |website=Buzz Focus |date=April 29, 2011 }}{{cite news |last=Sluss |first=Justin |title=Disney's 1941 Classic "Dumbo" Finally Coming to Blu-ray in September |url=http://www.highdefdiscnews.com/?p=60861 |access-date=May 5, 2011 |website=High Def Disc News |date=April 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007212121/http://www.highdefdiscnews.com/?p=60861 |archive-date=October 7, 2011 |url-status=dead}} The film was re-released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 26, 2016, to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

{{undue weight|section|date=June 2024}}

Despite the advent of World War II, Dumbo was still the most financially successful Disney film of the 1940s. After its October 23 release, Dumbo proved to be a financial miracle compared to other Disney films. The simple film only cost $950,000 ({{Inflation|US|950000|1941|fmt=eq|r=-4}}) to produce, half the cost of Snow White, less than a third of the cost of Pinocchio, and certainly less than the expensive Fantasia. Dumbo eventually grossed roughly more than $1.3 million ({{Inflation|US|1600000|1941|fmt=eq|r=-4}}) during its original release.{{sfn|Barrier|1999|p=318}} The film returned a profit of $850,000.

Variety wrote that Dumbo was "a pleasant little story, plenty of pathos mixed with the large doses of humor, a number of appealing new animal characters, lots of good music, and the usual Disney skillfulness in technique in drawing and use of color."{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety144-1941-10#page/n7/mode/2up|title=Film Reviews: Dumbo|work=Variety|page=9|date=October 1, 1941|access-date=September 25, 2019|via=Internet Archive}} Cecelia Ager, writing in PM, called Dumbo "the nicest, kindest Disney yet. It has the most taste, beauty, compassion, skill, restraint. It marks a return to Disney first principles, the animal kingdom—that happy land where Disney workers turn into artists; where their imagination, playfulness, ingenuity, daring flourish freest; where, in short, they're home."{{cite news|last=Ager|first=Cecelia|url=https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/New%20York%20NY%20PM%20%20Daily/New%20York%20NY%20PM%20Daily%201941/New%20York%20NY%20PM%20Daily%201941%20-%202290.pdf|title=Disney's 'Dumbo' Is a Darling|work=PM|date=October 24, 1941|page=23|via=Fultonhistory.com|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728035742/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/New%20York%20NY%20PM%20%20Daily/New%20York%20NY%20PM%20Daily%201941/New%20York%20NY%20PM%20Daily%201941%20-%202290.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Bosley Crowther, reviewing for The New York Times, wrote that the film was "the most genial, the most endearing, the most completely precious cartoon feature film ever to emerge from the magical brushes of Walt Disney's wonder-working artists".{{cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/24/archives/walt-disneys-cartoon-dumbo-a-fanciful-delight-opens-at-the-broadway.html |title=The Screen in Review |work=The New York Times |page=27 |date=October 24, 1941 |access-date=September 25, 2019 |archive-date=April 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407201530/https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/24/archives/walt-disneys-cartoon-dumbo-a-fanciful-delight-opens-at-the-broadway.html |url-status=live }} Time wrote: "Like story and characters, Dumbo{{'}}s coloring is soft and subdued, free from picture-postcard colors and confusing detail—a significant technical advance. But the charm of Dumbo is that it again brings to life that almost human animal kingdom where Walter Elias Disney is king of them all."{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,849603-2,00.html |title=Cinema: The New Pictures |magazine=Time |pages=97–98, 100 |date=October 27, 1941 |access-date=September 25, 2019 |archive-date=September 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926020805/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,849603-2,00.html |url-status=live }} Harrison's Reports praised the film as "one of Walt Disney's most delightful offerings. Technically, it is excellent; the color is exceptionally good. The story itself is pleasing; it combines comedy with human appeal. The only fault is that occasionally the action slows down."{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/harrisonsreports23harr/page/n181/mode/2up |title=Dumbo |work=Harrison's Reports |page=162 |date=October 11, 1941 |access-date=November 19, 2020 |via=Internet Archive}}

Time had originally scheduled to run a story with an appearance cover for "Mammal of the Year" (a play on its annual "Man/Person of the Year" honor) on December 8, 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 of that year had postponed it, and the story was later published on December 29.{{cite magazine|last=Chow|first=Andrew|url=https://time.com/5557249/dumbo-time-cover-1941/|title=How Dumbo Almost Ended Up on the Cover of TIME|magazine=Time|date=March 29, 2019|access-date=September 25, 2019|archive-date=May 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521192630/http://time.com/5557249/dumbo-time-cover-1941/|url-status=live}}{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=381}}

Among retrospective reviews, film critic Leonard Maltin stated that Dumbo is his favorite of Disney's films and he described it as "one of Walt Disney's most charming animated films".{{cite book|last=Maltin|first=Leonard|title=Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780452289789|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780452289789/page/90 90]|year=2008|publisher=Plume|isbn=978-0-452-28978-9}} In 2011, Richard Corliss of Time named the film as one of the 25 all-time best animated films.{{Cite magazine|last=Corliss|first=Richard|url=https://time.com/4609386/best-animated-films/|title=The 25 All-TIME Best Animated Films|magazine=Time|date=June 21, 2011|access-date=December 4, 2019|archive-date=September 26, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210926104304/https://time.com/4609386/best-animated-films/|url-status=dead}} On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average score of {{RT data|average}}. The website's consensus reads "Dumbo packs plenty of story into its brief runtime, along with all the warm animation and wonderful music you'd expect from a Disney classic."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dumbo|title=Dumbo (1941)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}|archive-date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307053439/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dumbo|url-status=live}}{{RT data|edit}} Metacritic has assigned a weighted score of 96 out of 100 for Dumbo based on 11 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dumbo-1941|title=Dumbo (1941) Reviews|website=Metacritic|access-date=June 17, 2019|archive-date=May 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190522120222/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dumbo-1941|url-status=live}}

The film has been criticized for its stereotypical depiction of black people. The Encyclopedia of Racism in American Films (2018) notes that "All of the circus laborers are African American, the only time that blacks are seen in any great number in the entire movie."{{Cite book|last=Murguia|first=Salvador|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ch7eswEACAAJ|title=The Encyclopedia of Racism in American Films|date=2018|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-6905-7|pages=164|language=en|access-date=May 28, 2020|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408155818/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ch7eswEACAAJ|url-status=live}} Film scholar Richard Schickel, in his 1968 book The Disney Version, argued that the group of crows in the film were African American stereotypes.{{cite book|last=Schickel|first=Richard|title=The Disney Version|url=https://archive.org/details/disneyversionlif00schi|url-access=registration|location=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1968|isbn=978-1-566-63158-7}} The lead crow, voiced by white actor Cliff Edwards in an imitation of Southern African American dialect,{{Cite web|title=MichaelBarrier.com -- "What's New" Archives: January 2010|url=http://www.michaelbarrier.com/WhatsNewArchives/2010/WhatsNewArchivesJan10.html#cliffedwards|website=www.michaelbarrier.com|access-date=May 27, 2020|archive-date=September 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920060033/http://www.michaelbarrier.com/WhatsNewArchives/2010/WhatsNewArchivesJan10.html#cliffedwards|url-status=live}} was named "Jim Crow", after the pre-Civil-War minstrel character. The term had become a pejorative term for African Americans, and commonly referred to racial segregation laws, and the character's name was changed in the 1950s to "Dandy Crow" in attempt to avoid controversy.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e1RTP8thtR0C&q=dandy+crow+disney&pg=PA238|title=Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary|last=Hischak|first=Thomas S.|page=238|year=2011|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-786-48694-6|via=Google Books|access-date=October 24, 2020|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408155813/https://books.google.com/books?id=e1RTP8thtR0C&q=dandy+crow+disney&pg=PA238|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fRY0QiacQccC&q=dandy+crow+disney&pg=PA663|title=The American Film Institute catalog of motion pictures produced in the United States. F4,1. Feature films, 1941 - 1950, film entries, A - L|last=Institute|first=American Film|date=1999|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-52-021521-4|language=en}} The other crows were voiced by African American actors and singers of the popular all-black "Hall Johnson Choir", including actors James Baskett (Song of the South) and Nick Stewart (The Amos 'n' Andy Show). Ward Kimball, the chief animator of the crows, used famous African-American dancers Freddie and Eugene Jackson as live-action reference for the characters. The personalities and mannerisms of the crows—specifically their fast-paced, back and forth dialogue—were inspired by the backchat found on the band records of Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong. Karina Longworth, exploring the history of Song of the South in her podcast You Must Remember This, discussed the basis of the crows in minstrel show culture, as part of a wider use of minstrel culture by Walt Disney.{{cite podcast |last=Longworth |first=Karina |url=http://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes/2019/10/29/minstrels-in-hollywood-and-zip-a-dee-doo-dah-six-degrees-of-song-of-the-south-episode-3 |title='Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,' Minstrels in Hollywood And The Oscars (Six Degrees of South of the South), Episode 3 |website=You Must Remember This |date=November 4, 2019 |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415070057/http://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes/2019/10/29/minstrels-in-hollywood-and-zip-a-dee-doo-dah-six-degrees-of-song-of-the-south-episode-3 |url-status=live }}

The crow characters have been praised by a number of critical sources. The animation historian John Canemaker felt that the crows were amongst the very few characters in the film that sympathize and are empathetic with Dumbo's plight. Being a marginalized ethnic group themselves, they can relate to Dumbo as a fellow outcast. Canemaker further added that the crows "are the most intelligent, the happiest, the freest spirited characters in the whole film." In 1980, film critic Michael Wilmington referred to the crows as "father figures", self-assured individuals who are "obvious parodies of proletarian blacks", but comments, "The crows are the snappiest, liveliest, most together characters in the film. They are tough and generous. They bow down to no one. And, of course, it is they who teach Dumbo to fly."{{Cite book|last=Wilmington|first=Michael|chapter=Dumbo|title=The American Animated Cartoon: A Critical Anthology|editor1-last=Peary|editor1-first=Danny|editor2-last=Peary|editor2-first=Gerald|year=1980|pages=80–81|location=New York|publisher=E.P. Dutton|isbn=978-0-525-47639-9}}

In 2017, Whoopi Goldberg expressed the desire for the crow characters to be more merchandised by Disney, "because those crows sing the song in Dumbo that everybody remembers."{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/first-act-disney-legend-whoopi-goldberg-tells-disney-stop-hiding-history-152327.html|title=In Her First Act As A Disney Legend, Whoopi Goldberg Tells Disney To Stop Hiding Its History|last=Amidi|first=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi|work=Cartoon Brew|date=July 15, 2017|access-date=August 7, 2017|archive-date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200610233745/https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/first-act-disney-legend-whoopi-goldberg-tells-disney-stop-hiding-history-152327.html|url-status=live}} In 2019, Floyd Norman, the first African-American animator hired at Walt Disney Productions during the 1950s, defended the crows in an article entitled Black Crows and Other PC Nonsense.{{Cite web|last=Norman|first=Floyd|url=https://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2019/4/27/black-crows-and-other-pc-nonsense|title=Black Crows and Other PC Nonsense|website=MrFun's Journal|date=April 27, 2019|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629121250/https://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2019/4/27/black-crows-and-other-pc-nonsense|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|title=Disney Legend Floyd Norman Defends "Dumbo" Crow Scene Amid Rumors of Potential Censorship|url=https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2019/04/30/floyd-norman-defends-dumbo-crow-scene-amid-rumors-potential-censorship/|date=April 30, 2019|website=The Laughing Place|access-date=May 27, 2020|archive-date=March 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305040549/https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2019/04/30/floyd-norman-defends-dumbo-crow-scene-amid-rumors-potential-censorship/|url-status=live}}

The crows and Timothy Q. Mouse were not included in the 2019 live-action/CGI remake of Dumbo.{{Cite news|title='Dumbo': Everything to Know About Disney's Live-Action Remake Directed by Tim Burton|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dumbo-everything-know-disneys-live-action-remake-1123533|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=May 28, 2020|archive-date=June 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202745/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dumbo-everything-know-disneys-live-action-remake-1123533|url-status=live}} In 2019, it was reported that an edited version of the animated film without the crows would be featured on the forthcoming Disney+ service.{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/song-south-dumbos-jim-crow-scene-will-not-be-disney-1203624|title='Song of the South,' 'Dumbo's' Jim Crow Scene Will Not Be on Disney+|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 22, 2019|access-date=April 23, 2019|archive-date=April 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422194158/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/song-south-dumbos-jim-crow-scene-will-not-be-disney-1203624|url-status=live}} The movie streams on Disney+ uncensored, with an advisory in the synopsis warning "it may contain outdated cultural depictions."{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/11/13/here-are-5-movies-disney-plus-put-cultural-warnings-on/|title=Here Are 5 Movies Disney Plus Put 'Cultural' Warnings On|last=Voytko|first=Lisette|date=November 13, 2019|website=Forbes|access-date=November 14, 2019|archive-date=November 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114003623/https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/11/13/here-are-5-movies-disney-plus-put-cultural-warnings-on/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/11/13/disney-plus-offers-warnings-over-outdated-cultural-depictions-in-classic-films|title=Disney Plus Offers Warnings Over 'Outdated Cultural Depictions' in Classic Films|last=Knoop|first=Joseph|date=November 13, 2019|website=IGN|language=en|access-date=November 14, 2019|archive-date=November 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114045812/https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/11/13/disney-plus-offers-warnings-over-outdated-cultural-depictions-in-classic-films|url-status=live}} In 2021, the film was one of several that Disney limited to viewers 7 years and older on their service Disney+, citing similarity of the crows' depictions to "racist minstrel shows".{{Cite web|last1=Michaelsen|first1=Shannen|date=2021-01-25|title=Disney+ Removes "The Aristocats", "Peter Pan", "Dumbo", and "Swiss Family Robinson" Movies From Children's Profiles Due to Negative Cultural Depictions|url=https://wdwnt.com/2021/01/disney-removes-the-aristocats-peter-pan-dumbo-and-swiss-family-robinson-from-childrens-profiles-due-to-negative-cultural-dep/|access-date=2021-01-26|website=WDW News Today|language=en-US|archive-date=January 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130062540/https://wdwnt.com/2021/01/disney-removes-the-aristocats-peter-pan-dumbo-and-swiss-family-robinson-from-childrens-profiles-due-to-negative-cultural-dep/|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Dumbo's Circus}}

Dumbo's Circus is a live-action/puppet television series for preschool audiences that aired on The Disney Channel in the 1980s. Unlike in the film, Dumbo spoke on the show. Each character would perform a special act, which ranged from dancing and singing to telling knock knock jokes.

• Walt Disney's Dumbo: Happy to Help: ({{ISBN|0-7364-1129-1}}) A picture book published by Random House Disney, written by Liane Onish and illustrated by Peter Emslie. It was published January 23, 2001. This paperback is for children aged 4–8. Twenty-four pages long, its 0.08 of an inch thick, and with cover dimensions of 7.88 x 7.88 inches.
• Walt Disney's Dumbo Book of Opposites: ({{ISBN|0-307-06149-3}}) A book published in August 1997 by Golden Books under the Golden Board Book brand. It was written by Alan Benjamin, illustrated by Peter Emslie, and edited by Heather Lowenberg. Twelve pages long and a quarter of an inch thick, this board edition book had dimensions of 7.25 x 6.00 inches.
• Walt Disney's Dumbo the Circus Baby: ({{ISBN|0-307-12397-9}}) A book published in September 1993 by Golden Press under the A Golden Sturdy Shape Book brand. Illustrated by Peter Emslie and written by Diane Muldrow, this book is meant for babies and preschoolers. Twelve pages long and half an inch thick, this book's cover size is 9.75 x 6.25 inches.

File:HK Disneyland 小飛象 Dumbo the Flying Elephant Oct-2013 Kiddie Plane Ride.JPG, as it appears in Hong Kong Disneyland.]]

Dumbo the Flying Elephant is a popular ride that appears in Disneyland,{{cite web|url=http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/parks/attractions/detail?name=DumboTheFlyingElephantAttractionPage|title=Disneyland California's Dumbo the Flying Elephant Page|access-date=October 3, 2008|archive-date=October 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012005322/http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/parks/attractions/detail?name=DumboTheFlyingElephantAttractionPage|url-status=live}} Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom,{{cite web|url=http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/attractionDetail?id=DumbotheFlyingElephantAttractionPage|title=Disney World's Dumbo the Flying Elephant Page|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001012800/http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/attractionDetail?id=DumbotheFlyingElephantAttractionPage|archive-date=October 1, 2008|df=mdy-all}} Tokyo Disneyland,{{cite web|url=http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdl/english/7land/fantasy/atrc_dumbo.html|title=Tokyo Disney's Dumbo the Flying Elephant Page|access-date=October 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005085055/http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdl/english/7land/fantasy/atrc_dumbo.html|archive-date=October 5, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} Disneyland Park (Paris), and Hong Kong Disneyland.{{cite web|url=http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/parks/listing?name=FantasylandAttractionListingPage|title=Hong Kong Disneyland's Fantasyland Attractions Page|access-date=October 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051212002615/http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/parks/listing?name=FantasylandAttractionListingPage|archive-date=December 12, 2005|url-status=dead}} It is located in Fantasyland.

The Casey Jr. Circus Train is an attraction found at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.

In June 2009, Disneyland introduced a flying Dumbo to their nighttime fireworks show, in which the elephant flies around Sleeping Beauty Castle while fireworks synched to music go off.[http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/disneyland-fireworks-4572/ "Flying Dumbo to star in new Disneyland fireworks show".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611172235/http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/disneyland-fireworks-4572/ |date=June 11, 2009 }} Los Angeles Times. June 3, 2009.

Casey Junior is the second float in the Main Street Electrical Parade and its versions. Casey, driven by Goofy, pulls a drum with the parade logo and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.

The Ringmaster appears as one of four villains in the 1999 PC game Disney's Villains' Revenge. In the game, the Disney Villains alter the happy endings from Jiminy Cricket's book; in particular, the Ringmaster forces Dumbo to endlessly perform humiliating stunts in his circus. In the end, the Ringmaster is defeated when he is knocked unconscious by a well-aimed custard pie.

Dumbo appears in the popular PlayStation 2 game Kingdom Hearts released in 2002 in the form of a summon that the player can call upon in battle for aid. Sora, the protagonist, flies on Dumbo while he splashes enemies with water from his trunk.{{cite web|url=http://na.square-enix.com/games/kingdomhearts/|title=Official Kingdom Hearts Page|access-date=October 3, 2008|archive-date=January 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128123500/http://na.square-enix.com/games/kingdomhearts/|url-status=live}} Dumbo reprises his role as a summon in the follow-up game Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories released in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance.

Dumbo, Timothy Q. Mouse, the Ringmaster, Mrs. Jumbo, and Mr. Stork appear as playable characters in the world builder video game Disney Magic Kingdoms, as part of the main storyline of the game.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0b7TqT0mYI |title=Update 28: Dumbo {{!}} Trailer|author=Disney Magic Kingdoms (Gameloft)|publisher=YouTube|date=March 20, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW0Zf1qD6q4&ab_channel=DisneyMagicKingdoms |title=Update 66: Dumbo {{!}} Event Walkthrough|author=Disney Magic Kingdoms (Gameloft)|publisher=YouTube|date=January 6, 2023}}

In 2001, the "60th Anniversary Edition" DVD of Dumbo featured a sneak peek of the proposed sequel Dumbo II, including new character designs and storyboards. Robert C. Ramirez (Joseph: King of Dreams) was to direct the sequel, in which Dumbo and his circus friends navigated a large city after being left behind by their traveling circus. Dumbo II also sought to explain what happened to Dumbo's father, Mr. Jumbo. Dumbo's circus friends included the chaotic twin bears Claude and Lolly, the curious zebra Dot, the older, independent hippo Godfry, and the adventurous ostrich Penny. The animals were metaphors for the different stages of childhood.{{cite news|last=Armstrong|first=Josh|url=http://animatedviews.com/2013/from-snow-queen-to-pinocchio-ii-robert-reeces-animated-adventures-in-screenwriting/|title=From Snow Queen to Pinocchio II: Robert Reece's animated adventures in screenwriting|website=Animated Views|date=April 22, 2013|access-date=May 4, 2013|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416133218/http://animatedviews.com/2013/from-snow-queen-to-pinocchio-ii-robert-reeces-animated-adventures-in-screenwriting/|url-status=live}} Dumbo II was supposed to be set on the day immediately following the end of the first Dumbo movie.{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/jmraises/other/otherdumboII.html|title=Dumbo II|archive-url=https://archive.today/20091026045435/http://www.geocities.com/jmraises/other/otherdumboII.html|archive-date=October 26, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} John Lasseter cancelled Dumbo II, soon after being named Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006.{{cite news|last=Hill|first=Jim|url=http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2007/06/21/say-so-long-to-direct-to-video-sequels-disneytoon-studios-tunes-out-sharon-morrill.aspx|title=Say "So Long!" to direct-to-video sequels: DisneyToon Studios tunes out Sharon Morrill|website=Jim Hill Media|date=April 22, 2007|access-date=January 3, 2012|archive-date=August 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821112636/http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2007/06/21/say-so-long-to-direct-to-video-sequels-disneytoon-studios-tunes-out-sharon-morrill.aspx|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Dumbo (2019 film)}}

On July 8, 2014, Walt Disney Pictures announced that a live-action adaptation of Dumbo was in development. In the same announcement, Ehren Kruger was confirmed as the screenwriter, as well as co-producer with Justin Springer.{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/live-action-dumbo-works-transformers-717074 |last=Kits |first=Borys |title=Live-Action 'Dumbo' in the Works From 'Transformers' Writer |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=July 8, 2014 |access-date=July 9, 2014 |archive-date=August 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807154402/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/live-action-dumbo-works-transformers-717074 |url-status=live }} On March 10, 2015, Tim Burton was announced as the director.{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/03/10/tim-burton-to-direct-live-action-dumbo-as-disney-plots-fairy-tale-strategy/ |title=Tim Burton to Direct Live-Action 'Dumbo' for Disney |last=Fritz |first=Ben |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=March 10, 2015 |access-date=March 10, 2015 |archive-date=March 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311044634/http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/03/10/tim-burton-to-direct-live-action-dumbo-as-disney-plots-fairy-tale-strategy/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tim-burton-direct-live-action-780397 |last=Ford |first=Rebecca |title=Tim Burton to Direct Live-Action 'Dumbo' for Disney |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=March 10, 2015 |access-date=March 10, 2015 |archive-date=July 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728043145/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tim-burton-direct-live-action-780397 |url-status=live }} On January 11, 2017, it was reported that Will Smith was in talks to star in the remake as the father of some children who befriend Dumbo.{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/movies/2017/01/11/will-smith-dumbo-disney-live-action/ |title=Will Smith in early talks for Tim Burton's live-action Dumbo |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |last=Gettell |first=Oliver |date=January 11, 2017 |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=March 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329161245/https://ew.com/movies/2017/01/11/will-smith-dumbo-disney-live-action/ |url-status=live }} That same day, it was revealed that Tom Hanks had reportedly been offered to play the film's villain.{{cite news |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/802477-tom-hanks-dumbo-villain |title=Tom Hanks Offered Dumbo Villain Role |website=Comingsoon.net |last=Lesnick |first=Silas |date=January 11, 2017 |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=December 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214091136/http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/802477-tom-hanks-dumbo-villain |url-status=live }} The following month, it was announced that Smith would not be starring in the film.{{cite news|url=https://ew.com/movies/2017/02/10/will-smith-tim-burton-dumbo/|title=Will Smith will not star in Tim Burton's live-action Dumbo|publisher=Ew.com|last=Coggan|first=Devan|date=February 10, 2017|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=April 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414230815/https://ew.com/movies/2017/02/10/will-smith-tim-burton-dumbo/|url-status=live}} Smith passed on the project due to a disagreement over salary and scheduling as well as to star in Bad Boys for Life.{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2017/02/dumbo-will-smith-not-starring-in-tim-burton-film-disney-1201908049/|title='Dumbo' A No-Go For Will Smith|work=Deadline Hollywood|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|date=February 10, 2017|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=August 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807192140/http://deadline.com/2017/02/dumbo-will-smith-not-starring-in-tim-burton-film-disney-1201908049/|url-status=live}} He played the role of Genie in the 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin. In March 2017, it was reported that Eva Green was in talks to play a trapeze artist.{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/eva-green-talks-star-tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo-984270 |title=Eva Green in Talks to Star in Tim Burton's Live-Action 'Dumbo' |work=The Hollywood Reporter |last=Kit |first=Borys |date=March 7, 2017 |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=March 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329222612/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/eva-green-talks-star-tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo-984270 |url-status=live }} Following this announcement, Danny DeVito was cast as a ringleader named Medici.{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2017/03/danny-devito-dumbo-movie-tim-burton-disney-1202039965/ |title=Danny DeVito Negotiating To Join Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' At Disney |work=Deadline Hollywood |last=Busch |first=Anita |date=March 9, 2017 |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=May 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510180017/http://deadline.com/2017/03/danny-devito-dumbo-movie-tim-burton-disney-1202039965/ |url-status=live }} Two weeks later, it was reported that Colin Farrell had entered negotiations to play the role of Holt, which was originally offered to Will Smith.{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2017/03/colin-farrell-in-negotiations-for-dumbo-disney-tim-burton-eva-green-danny-devito-1202051074/ |title=Colin Farrell In Negotiations For 'Dumbo' At Disney |work=Deadline Hollywood |last1=Lodderhose |first1=Diana |last2=Fleming |first2=Mike Jr. |date=March 24, 2017 |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=May 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503122725/https://deadline.com/2017/03/colin-farrell-in-negotiations-for-dumbo-disney-tim-burton-eva-green-danny-devito-1202051074/ |url-status=live }} On April 4, 2017, Michael Keaton, Burton's former frequent collaborator, entered talks to star as the villain.{{cite news |last1=Kroll |first1=Justin |title=Michael Keaton in Talks to Play Villain in Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/michael-keaton-dumbo-tim-burton-1202022958/ |work=Variety |date=April 4, 2017 |access-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-date=March 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329153303/https://variety.com/2017/film/news/michael-keaton-dumbo-tim-burton-1202022958/ |url-status=live }} Keaton confirmed his involvement with the film on June 26, 2017.{{cite web |title=VIDEO: Michael Keaton Confirms Villainous Role in Disney's Live-Action DUMBO |url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Michael-Keaton-Confirms-Villainous-Role-in-Disneys-Live-Action-DUMBO-20170626 |website=Broadway World |access-date=June 26, 2017 |archive-date=September 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925135526/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Michael-Keaton-Confirms-Villainous-Role-in-Disneys-Live-Action-DUMBO-20170626 |url-status=live }} Filming took place at Cardington Studios in Bedfordshire, England.{{cite web |last1=Evry |first1=Max |title=Do Justice League Reshoot Pics Show the Hall of Justice? |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/859487-do-justice-league-reshoot-pics-show-the-hall-of-justice#/slide/1 |quote=Tim Burton’s Dumbo is also building sets at Cardington, so some of these props and set pieces could be for that film as well. What do you think the structure could be? Hall of Justice? Watchtower? Steppenwolf's lair? Dumbo's circus? |website=Comingsoon.net |date=June 16, 2017 |access-date=June 22, 2017 |archive-date=June 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621125808/http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/859487-do-justice-league-reshoot-pics-show-the-hall-of-justice#/slide/1 |url-status=live }} On July 15, 2017, Disney announced the casting for all of the principal roles and that the film would be released on March 29, 2019.{{cite web |last=Evry |first=Max |title=Production Begins on Tim Burton's Live-Action Dumbo! |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/869395-production-begins-on-tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo#/slide/1 |website=Comingsoon.net |date=July 15, 2017 |access-date=July 16, 2017 |archive-date=April 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406133631/https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/869395-production-begins-on-tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo#/slide/1 |url-status=live }} DeObia Oparei, Joseph Gatt and Alan Arkin also play new characters created for the film.{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2017/07/tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo-game-of-thrones-deobia-oparei-disney-1202136827/ |title=Tim Burton's Live-Action 'Dumbo' Adds 'Game Of Thrones' Actor DeObia Oparei |last=Ramos |first=Dino-Ray |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=July 26, 2017 |access-date=August 8, 2017 |archive-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801044641/http://deadline.com/2017/07/tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo-game-of-thrones-deobia-oparei-disney-1202136827/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2017/08/tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo-joseph-gatt-colin-farrell-eva-green-danny-devito-michael-keaton-disney-1202144324/ |title=Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' Adds Joseph Gatt To Live-Action Adaptation Of Disney Classic |last=Ramos |first=Dino-Ray |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=August 7, 2017 |access-date=August 8, 2017 |archive-date=August 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808073238/http://deadline.com/2017/08/tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo-joseph-gatt-colin-farrell-eva-green-danny-devito-michael-keaton-disney-1202144324/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Kroll |first=Justin |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/dumbo-alan-arkin-disney-tim-burton-1202531116/ |title=Alan Arkin Joins Tim Burton's Live-Action 'Dumbo' (EXCLUSIVE) |work=Variety |date=August 17, 2017 |access-date=August 18, 2017 |archive-date=January 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110024850/http://variety.com/2017/film/news/dumbo-alan-arkin-disney-tim-burton-1202531116/amp/ |url-status=live }}

• Seeing pink elephants
• Roles of mothers in Disney media

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Barrier|first=Michael|title=Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age|url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodcartoon00barr|url-access=registration|year=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-198-02079-0}}
• {{cite book|last=Barrier|first=Michael|title=The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney|year=2008|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-25619-4}}
• {{cite book|last=Gabler|first=Neal|title=Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=41e-Ru0wRkEC|year=2006|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=978-0-679-75747-4}}
• {{cite book|last1=Shull|first1=Michael S.|last2=Wilt|first2=David E.|title=Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939-1945|chapter=Filmography 1941|year=2004|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-786-48169-9|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hKrmuvh4PQkC&q=%22%20Hiawatha%27s%20Rabbit%20Hunt%22&pg=PA100}}

{{Wikiquote}}

{{commons category}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{AFI film|26684}}
• [http://scrconline.syr.edu/xtf/search?brand=scrc&repository=scrc&keyword=Helen+Durney Helen R. Durney collection] at Syracuse University - the original sketches for the Dumbo Roll-a-Book.
• {{IMDb title|0033563}}
• {{Rotten-tomatoes|dumbo}}
• {{mojo title|dumbo}}

{{Dumbo}}

{{Ben Sharpsteen}}

{{Walt Disney Animation Studios}}

{{Disney theatrical animated features}}

{{Palme d'Or 1939-1959}}

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