Dumbo

Disney had spent vastly more money than he'd planned on "Pinnochio" and "Fantasia", and got little of it back. "Dumbo", next off the rank, was made cheaply, quickly, without fuss. The result is simple but handsome. However handsome "Dumbo" looks, the animation is not very detailed, character design is hardly adventurous, the colours are few but bright, and in an hour it's over. It needn't be more than this, though: the story is far from complicated. It is, I'll admit, a story that has made me cry more than once; and in this instance I don't feel that I've been cheated into crying, because there really is something poignant and heartbreaking about this ugly duckling variant.

Like Hans Andersen, Disney has to pad the outfit a bit to make it fill the space available; yet, with the exception of the introductory bit with the storks, it doesn't feel like padding. In fact the most gratuitous piece of padding is the most necessary. I refer to the pink elephants sequence: a masterpiece of extended unreality (caused by such a tiny quantity of champagne!) which dazzles and sizzles and all but soars out of the screen. It's the sting in Dumbo's tail, and nothing produced since can match its verve.

All the other elephants shun Dumbo for his gigantic ears, and his mother has been locked up for protecting him, so he's all alone in the world... until Timothy Q Mouse shows up.

A beautiful piece of work. At just 60 mins, it is short and sweet. But it also contains some of Disney's best visual poetry. Dumbo's not saying a single word means his entire character is created through the physical. The entire opening sequence, till the gossipy elephants start talking, plays out without words, and its like the best silent movies. Simply beautiful.

Mrs Jumbo rearing up and destroying the big top to protect Dumbo from taunting kids is an incredible scene. Dumbo's mother spends the movie imprisoned in a carriage labelled "mad elephant" - and surely one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking scenes i've ever seen plays out when Dumbo and his mother have contact only by touching trunks, through the bars in the window of her cell. A beautiful sequence begins: the beautiful song "Baby Mine" plays as she cradles him in her trunk, and when Dumbo leaves she can't see him, and she stretches her trunk as far as she can out the window to try and reach him, and... oh, its too much!

The pink elephants sequence is as close to trippy Disney ever got - and its brilliant. One of the best, most inventive sequences in animation history. Great song, too.

Some terrific songs: Look Out for Mr Stork, Casey Junior (the train song), Pink Elephants, When I see an elephant fly and Baby Mine.

10/10. Timothy Q Mouse is a great character, the animation is so concise and perfect, great songs, the message that if you believe you can overcome your handicaps you will so inspiring and beautiful, and the movie so short and sweet it will forever retain its appeal.

One of Disney's best known and loved films. About a baby elephant born in the tough world of the circus who is ridiculed and shut out because of his large ears. Comforted by his mother until she attacks a trainer and is penned up in a jaillike wagon, Dumbo eventually learns that he can fly and becomes a star. A great film that deals with discrimination, self esteem, the importance of family and friendship. Features a great score which it won an oscar for and a nomination for song, the beautiful "Baby Mine" . The pink elephants scene is a classic. Wonderfully done, arguably Disney's best on a scale of one to ten...10

This is the quintessential Disney cartoon: brief, engaging, and profound – storytelling at its finest. Where "Snow White" doesn't make the cut (begins with rapidly developing melodramatic plot, pauses for most of an hour to allow forest creatures and midgets to play cute, and wraps up quickly), "Dumbo" spins its wise lesson with elegant timing and charming characters. We all can use that magic feather once in a while.

Dumbo is a good movie with a reasonably well developed plot and a stellar voice cast. It is a very sweet, fun film for the whole family to enjoy, just running over an hour, it's quick and very easy to follow, but you will also find yourself very connected to these characters, the adorable elephant, the witty mouse, the charismatic crows, it's a great ride. However, the plot is slim, there is little story, we mainly follow Dumbo as he learns how to fly, but nothing really happens, in comparison to Disney's two films prior to this, Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio, development is thin. The film certainly should have focused on Dumbo's relationship with his mother, it was the only part that had any real depth or emotion, and I think it could have been very effective had it been scoped more. It's certainly not flawless, but Dumbo is a fun hour for the whole family, some unforgettable work by Disney.

A elephant who is ridiculed for his huge ears soon gains the ability to fly with them, making him a popular circus act.

Best Performance: Edward Brophy