10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Dumbo (1941)
80 years on, he's still the little engine that could...
Dumbo celebrates its eightieth anniversary this year and impressively so, it continues to entertain new audiences for its tale of tragedy and triumph as well as its distinctive style.
Dumbo provides a charming fable of a little baby elephant who is unfairly rejected by society for having abnormally large ears. The titular character deals with bullying, physical abuse, humiliation, loneliness, intoxication, with only a little mouse (the elephant's natural enemy) as a friend. But it ends with Dumbo soaring into success as he discovers a talent for flying.
It's certainly one of the more unique Disney films, having not been based on any fairytale and featuring a protagonist that never speaks a word. But Dumbo wears its weirdness on its sleeve and is now a stand out animated movie, enjoyable for the whole family.
At just 64 minutes, Dumbo is one of the shortest features ever within the official Walt Disney animated classics canon. But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of facts you didn't know...
10. It Has Rare Animation Cels
It would truly be a rare find to get your hands on an animation cel from Dumbo. At the time of production, animation cels weren't considered anything valuable and the artists weren't too cautious when preserving their work.
In actuality, animators went to the extreme in destroying the cels. After the scene was officially "in the can", they would take the finished cels and slide across the hallways with them (for whatever reason why).
Furthermore, Dumbo had a unique type of paint used for the art work that was often prone to flaking and wouldn’t last long, adding to the rarity of the movie's animation cels.