Dumbo

For the Brooklyn, New York City, neighborhood, see DUMBO.

Production of Dumbo

The film was designed as a economical feature, to help generate income for the Disney studio after the financial failures of both Pinocchio and Fantasia in 1940. Storymen Dick Huemer and Joe Grant were the primary figures in developing the plot, based upon a manuscript written by Helen Aberson and Harold Perl for a children's book.

Related Topics:
Pinocchio - Fantasia - 1940

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When the film went into production in early 1941, supervising director Ben Sharpsteen was given orders to keep the film simple and inexpensive. As a result, Dumbo lacks the lavish detail of the previous three Disney animated features (Fantasia, Pinocchio, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs): character designs are simpler, background paintings are less detailed, and a number of held cels (or frames) were used in the character animation. However, the simplicity freed the animators from being overly concerned with detail, and allowed them to focus on the most important element of character animation: acting. Bill Tytla's animation of Dumbo is today considered one of the greatest accomplishments in American traditional animation.

Related Topics:
1941 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Painting - Character animation - Acting - Bill Tytla

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On May 29, 1941, during the production on Dumbo, much of the Disney studio staff went on strike. The strike lasted five weeks, and ended the "family" atmosphere and camaraderie at the studio. A number of the strikers are caricatured into this film as the clowns who want to put Dumbo at risk for their own gain and go to "hit the big boss up for a raise".

Related Topics:
May 29 - 1941 - Strike

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

None of the voice actors for Dumbo received screen credit, but Timothy Mouse, who befriended even Dumbo in his darkest days and was instrumental in helping him find greatness within himself, was voiced by Edward Brophy, a character actor known for portraying gangsters who has no other known animation voice credits. The pompous matriarch of the elephants was voiced by Verna Felton, who also played the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella and Flora of the good fairies in Sleeping Beauty. Other voice actors include the perennial Sterling Holloway in a cameo role as Mr. Stork, and Cliff Edwards, better known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket, as Jim Crow, the ringleader of the crows.

Related Topics:
Voice actors - Edward Brophy - Character actor - Gangsters - Animation - Verna Felton - Fairy Godmother - Cinderella - Sleeping Beauty - Sterling Holloway - Cameo role - Cliff Edwards - Jiminy Cricket - Jim Crow - Crow

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To save costs, watercolor paint was used to render the backgrounds. Dumbo and Snow White are the only two classic Disney features to use the technique, which was regularly employed for the various Disney cartoon shorts. The other Disney features used oil paint and gouache. 2002's Lilo & Stitch, a simple, emotional story with influences from Dumbo, also made use of watercolor backgrounds.

Related Topics:
Watercolor paint - Oil paint - Gouache - 2002 - Lilo & Stitch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~