Ben Sharpsteen (1895–1980)

When I was a little kid watching this, I thought the animal cruelty depicted here was a one-off thing, i was crushed to learn later that no, this was quite common back then (Water for Elephants - excellent book and movie - really illustrated that. Fortunately, as of 2025, most circuses have stopped using animals for entertainment, though animals continue to be abused in parts of the world in roadside zoos and what not. :(

The movie itself has a happy ending with Mom and Dumbo being reunited, show more but it's pretty rough knowing that was NOT the reality for most animals in the circus. show less

A circus elephant has embarrassingly large ears.

Sad, and beautifully uncomplicated. When everything turns out happy in the end, it's so sudden and arbitrary and absurdly thorough, it doesn't feel real - like someone was telling a sad bedtime story and realized at the last minute that if it didn't have a happy ending the kids would be up crying all night. The adults in the audience are left to decide for themselves what really happens.

Concept: C
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: B
Pacing: show more A
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: A

Enjoyment: A plus

GPA: 3.6/4

(Dec. 2011) show less

This movie is dated in quite a few places - but then, it was made in 1940. This is also one of these movies that's actually better than the crappy remake Disney did of it, though the scene with the donkeys in this film is soooooo fucked up, lol.

A puppet comes to life and is given a cricket for a conscience.

Not bad as far as Disney movies go. Apart from the music (the score in particular is really great), there's nowhere near the quality of craftsmanship that went into Snow White.

Concept: A
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: A
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: D
Music: A

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.8/4