FAQ

When Mr Stork (voice of Sterling Holloway) delivers a baby elephant with enormous ears to circus elephant Mrs Jumbo (voice of Verna Felton), Jumbo Jr is ridiculed by the other elephants and nicknamed 'Dumbo'. When Mrs Jumbo tries to protect her baby from all the cruel remarks, she is designated a 'mad' elephant and placed in solitary confinement. To add to his sorrow, Dumbo is demoted into a clown and made a laughing stock. It takes Dumbo's only friend Timothy Q Mouse (voice of Edward Brophy) to inadvertently stumble upon Dumbo's true talent.

Dumbo is said to have first appeared in the 1930s as a few short illustrations on a cereal box. Dumbo's story was eventually published and copyrighted in 1939 as a Roll-a-Book, listing the authors' names as Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl. At the same time, Disney animators Joe Grant and Dick Huemer were working on a screen story presenting Dumbo's plight, which they submitted to Walt Disney in 1940 as a 102-page treatment. Dumbo's story was then developed into the movie by numerous Disney animators. A live-action remake, also titled Dumbo (2019), by director Tim Burton is scheduled for release in 2019.

Holding the magic feather in his trunk, Dumbo dives from the top floor of the burning highrise. Halfway down, however, he loses the feather, and it looks like he and Timothy, who is riding in Dumbo's hat, are headed for their demise. Just feet before they reach the ground, however, Timothy convinces Dumbo that the feather wasn't magic and that Dumbo can fly on his own. To everyone's astonishment, Dumbo spreads his ears, soars upward, and flies around the circus tent, taking the opportunity to pelt peanuts at the elephants who made fun of him. Dumbo subsequently becomes a media sensation, and Timothy becomes Dumbo's manager and signs him to a contract. In the final scene, Mrs Jumbo is shown riding in her private car at the caboose of the circus train. Flying behind the train is Dumbo, who zooms in and lands lovingly in his mother's arms.