Toon Talk: Dumbo 60th Anniversary Edition DVD
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"Baby Mine" Music Video:
Performed by Michael Crawford, as heard on his recent CD, The Disney Album. Typical
movie promotional video ... clip from the movie, shot of the singer, clip from the movie,
shot of the singer ...
Celebrating Dumbo Featurette:
Film historians and Disney artists, including Roy E. Disney, Andreas Deja, Ron Clements
and Don Hahn, are featured in this "making of " documentary, which includes rare
footage and anecdotes about the creation of Dumbo.
Highlighted are the "all-time sweetest" "Baby Mine" and the ground-breaking "Pink Elephants on Parade" sequences, as well as discussions on the enduring charm of this simple story about a little elephant with big ears and an even bigger heart.
Top Ten Things We Learn from This Documentary:
- Dumbo was put into production very quickly, and was one of the fastest and easiest animated films ever made by Disney.
- Because the story was so simple, the film had a small crew (compared to Bambi, in production at the same time) and has a very short running time for a feature film, only 64 minutes.
- Only the fourth animated feature, Dumbo represents "so many of the Disney values we've grown to love and accept".
- Audiences of the time wanted "pure entertainment", turning Dumbo into a profitable hit for the studio, which was still recovering from the disappointing initial grosses of Pinocchio and Fantasia.
- The backgrounds of the film are reminiscent of pictures in a child's coloring book.
- Dumbo's universal acceptance can be attributed to the fact that everyone, young and old alike, can identify with the main character's feelings of being the "odd one out".
- That they are able to convey this without Dumbo speaking a single word is a credit to the talent and artistry of the animators.
- Ward Kimball animated the rollicking antics of the original "black crows", including their rousing "When I See An Elephant Fly" dance.
- This film was one of the first "underdog" movies, a precursor to Rocky, Karate Kid, et al.
- Dumbo is renown film critic Leonard Maltin's favorite Disney movie.
Dumbo Art Gallery:
Bonus points for the clever circus-themed menus with different shaped thumbnails, but it's
a shame that there is no descriptive audio or text accompaniment, need to place the
artwork into historical perspective.
Concept Art:
See the artwork that formed the genesis of the film. It is surprising to see how close
the early concepts were to the final film.
Character Development:
Initial pencil drawings and final designs for Dumbo, Timothy Mouse, Casey Junior and
various clowns, crows and circus animals. Includes character leads for the four main
female elephants, so now you can distinguish Catty from Giddy and Prissy from Matriarch.
Pink Elephants:
Early concepts for the "technicolor pachyderm parade", executed with colored
chalk drawings on black paper.
Story Development:
Selections of rarely seen original storyboard artwork.
Roustabouts:
Concept art and storyboards for the circus-building scene.
Behind the Scenes:
Publicity shots of various Disney artists (none identified) working on Dumbo. Includes
photos of Cliff Edwards (Jim Crow), Ed Brophy (Timothy Mouse), Herman Bing (The
Ringmaster) and Sterling Holloway (Mr. Stork) posing in their character's
"costumes" as inspiration for the animators.
Attractions:
A nice addition, with concept art and photographs of the Disney theme park attractions
inspired by the the film, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Casey Junior Circus Train. But
again, with no accompanying descriptions (is this a picture from Disneyland? Walt Disney
World? Disneyland Paris? Tokyo Disneyland?), the average viewer has no context.