Dumbo (60th Anniversary Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Best ever animated movie
Review: This movie might be old but it's the best old movie I've ever seen. It's sad when Dumbo has his mother taken away from him and it's heart-warming when he sets out to find her. The mouse who becomes Dumbo's friend is funny. The most defining part of the movie that compelled me to buy it was when Dumbo's mother rocks him in her trunk and all the other baby animals are cuddling with their mothers. That part is so cute. You're truly a Disney fan if you like this movie!

Rating:
Summary: Glad Its Back!
Review: They sure don't make stories like they used to!
From a time when Disney made movies for the sake of making an enjoyable film, NOT the amount of merchandise it could spawn!

Rating:
Summary: Powerful. Art.
Review: This is perhaps the finest Disney film ever released. Produced during the Golden Age of Walt Disney, its no surprise it was the follow-up effort to Fantasia (itself nominated to the American Film Institute's list of 100 Greatest Movies). This was back when Disney films were art; not vehicles for commercial consumption.

Dumbo is a simple but unforgettable story that evokes strong emotions of joy and sadness (the scene in which Dumbo is briefly reunited with his imprisoned mother is absolutely beautiful and still has the power to bring adult viewers to tears). Following the precept that a picture tells a thousand words, the film utilizes an economy of songs and dialogue; but the animation conveys human emotions that are universal and easily understood.

The animated characters are more "life-like" than most actors, the dialogue, short but effective, the songs and song sequences ("Baby Mine," "Pink Elephants on Parade," etc.,), poetic and haunting.

Parents are making a mistake "shielding" their children from this picture. If anything, the film is chillingly realistic in its portrayal of human cruelty and feelings of isolation and sadness. But Dumbo also celebrates triumph over adversity, friendship, courage, and the parental love of a child. The movie's "happy ending" is incredibly uplifting and inspiring. Parents might shield their children from Dumbo, but they can't shield them from the world or these emotions. Children would be best served if parents watched the movie with them and worked through the film's powerful messages.

Snow White and Fantasia may have been the two movies that made the AFI's list, but for my money, Dumbo is the best Disney film ever made. It is flawless and absolutely brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie! A true timeless classic
Review: We checked this out of the library just because my little one loves elephants. Well, we've watched and watched and watched this one so much this week that we're going to have to buy the thing! It's such a cute movie. Albeit it's quite sad but it also shows that those who make and poke fun are usually the losers in the end. I love the crows - they're just so ornery in the beginning and I love how the main crow talks! It just cracks me up each time. And that song, "When I See An Elephant Fly," is just great. I don't like the drinking scene either and don't really think it's necessary. They could have come up with another way to show that Jumbo Jr. could fly. (I don't care for the title either!) But, I told my little one that he was drinking pop and that's how he could blow bubbles. So, if you go that route, you can get by with it pretty easily.

All in all, it's a great film and a true classic to add to your collection.