Did you know that one of Disney’s most beloved movies, Dumbo, is celebrating it’s 70th Anniversary? Seventy years… wow! I still remember the first time I saw the film. I was with my mother. A local movie theater used to show Disney films all summer long when I was a child. My mom used to take me every week to see the movies. That was the first time I saw Dumbo. Back then the movie made me cry. Fast forward 30+ years and the movie STILL makes me cry!
If you have never seen the movie before (I would be shocked to find anyone who hasn’t), Dumbo is the story of a young elephant by the same name who is unlike the other elephants in the circus. Dumbo has huge ears. They are so big that the other elephants always put him down. They think he’s not worthy to be a member of their circus family. He can’t even be seen with the other elephants. Instead he’s dressed up to look like a clown and featured in the clown act.
Dumbo’s mother doesn’t care that he has big ears. She loves her baby with all her heart. So much so she is willing to fight for him. Eventually trying to protect her son gets her in trouble with the elephant handlers and she is thrown into elephant “jail”, so to speak.
Aside from his mother Dumbo’s only friend is a small mouse that travels with the circus name Timothy Q. Mouse. Timothy, like Dumbo’s mom, see that Dumbo is a very special elephant. It’s just a matter of helping Dumbo to believe in himself so that he can show the other elephants just how very wrong they were about him.
Purely by accident Dumbo discovers his true talent – he can fly! Have you ever seen an elephant fly? That would certainly be a sight to see!
Dumbo is the story of friendship, love and the power to believe in yourself. It’s also a story of diversity and how you should accept others, even if they are a little different then the rest of your group.
Dumbo is now available on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download. I LOVE how beautiful the movie looks on the Blu-ray. The colors are so vivid. It’s hard to believe the movie is 70 years old. It’s been digitally remastered and it looks amazing on Blu-ray. I am so happy that we have a Blu-ray player.
You must take the time to check out all the bonus features. I LOVE seeing the deleted scenes. It always fascinates me how different the movie might have been if certain scenes were left in the film. There is even a song from the movie that was deleted from the film. I liked the song. I wish it was left in.
There is a section in the bonus features about the beloved Dumbo ride. When my children were little (about 10 years ago), my mom took us to Disney World, along with my sister and her family. My mom’s wish was to see the grandchildren on the Dumbo ride at Disney. We don’t know why she wanted to see this so badly, but she wanted to see them on the Dumbo ride so badly that she took both families to Disney and paid for everything, including airfare. We were happy when my mom finally got to see her wish come true. A year later she passed away. 
For that reason the Dumbo ride and the movie Dumbo will always have a very special place in my heart.
The bonus features also include two cute animated shorts, which I think are fitting for the movie. One is about a mouse who can fly and the other is about an adorable elephant. Sound familiar?
There are games on the Blu-ray bonus features as well. I like the trivia game (I did great with this one too!). The scrambled images game was pretty easy too. I think younger children will have a blast with that. They will like the art gallery too.
Of course there are the usual behind the scenes stuff which I always find fascinating.
I could literally go on and on about this film. I adore it and always will. I love the movie and I am equally as thrilled about all the bonus features found on the Blu-ray disc (there are bonus features on the DVD too).
Disney’s Dumbo 70th Anniversary Edition is availble now where ever DVDs and Blu-rays are sold.
For fun FREE Dumbo activities and more please check out these links below.
http://www.shescribes.com/2011/09/free-dumbo-activities-scrapbook-pages.html - Scrapbook Pages
http://www.shescribes.com/2011/09/free-dumbo-games-activities.html - Games & Activities
Kimberly
*I received a free sample copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
** All images found via Google. Copyrighted to Walt Disney Studios.
