Good concept, poorly executed.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Dumbo is a unique animation, though short and thin story wise.Minus the standout moments, for the most part it's an odd mixture of cuteness and cruelty. My favourite parts of the film are the comedy parts; the two waking up in the tree with the crows and the clowns skit putting out the fire. The pink elephants scene is completely nuts.

This is a classic disney movie and i've only gotten around to seeing it just now, and I must say I kinda regretted it. This one-hour movie is full of bright, visually satisfying colors, and it makes up for the simple story. The songs are great (i'm not a big fan of musicals). I felt sorry for Dumbo and his mother right from the start, and that's what pulled my strings throughout the movie. And at the last minutes of the movie, I just can't stop smiling.This is one of my favorite disney movie, probably ever.

The Disney Studio reached its peak with PINOCCHIO and FANTASIA. Both of these films are generally considered to be the pinnacle of animation and for good reason. The artists went all out with visual lushness, elaborate use of the multiplane camera, and extensive special effects. Yet, the timing of the production and release of those films could not have been worse. WWII and economic setbacks caused both films to lose money at the box office. This led Walt to produce a film on a modest budget to recoup the costs.When comparing DUMBO to the films that preceded it, one can see that the lushness is not there. However, lushness doesn't equate to an excellent film. And without a big budget, DUMBO is a showcase of what a Disney film was all about; solid storytelling with solid character animation. Although very few other animation studios at that time had the budgets to produce a film like PINOCCHIO, they're films almost never elicited an emotional response from audiences like a Disney film did. And with a modest budget, DUMBO has stood the test of time as a prime example of that.There has been some controversy in recent decades regarding the crows that befriend Dumbo. I don't question why modern viewers may object to the stereotyped depiction, but it's never made sense to me why DUMBO has been readily available for decades on home video when SONG OF THE SOUTH has not. Both films have characters rooted in derogatory stereotypes (i.e. the head crow's name is Jim Crow, but his name isn't uttered in the film). I haven't seen a consistency with the stance on political correctness.Although not having the lushness of PINOCCHIO, DUMBO is often cited as one of Disney's greatest films.

I know I'm in the minority with this, but I didn't like this movie. Aside from the animation and the mouse that helps Dumbo, the movie was either bland, sad, or just mean-spirited. I get the message the movie's trying to get across, "It's not about what's on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts.", but I've seen this same message given way better treatment. Cartoon shows have covered it, books have covered it, even songs have covered it. The movie as a whole feels like a rejected "Fantasia" piece. The score had me more engaged than the actual story, and the story itself just feels stretched to a little over 60 minutes. Heck, 99% of the characters in this movie don't even have names! Dumbo isn't all that interesting either, beings he doesn't have a word of dialogue, the only way to advance his character is to have other characters be mean to him. It makes me feels sorry for him, but also despise everyone that picks on him. The movie's full of these characters, and it made it frustrating to watch when they were on screen. The only thing I can really recommend seeing from this is "Pink Elephants", and it's mostly because it's so out of left field. At least the movie's short, other than that, the mouse, and a completely random acid trip that lasts three minutes, there's nothing that would make me revisit this.