DUMBO: 70TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (1941, Blu-ray released September 20, 2011 – MSRP $39.99)
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Along with Snow White, Pinochio, Fantasia and Bambi, Dumbo stands as one of the pioneering early works of Walt Disney‘s animation studio. And I doubt it has ever looked or sounded better than on this 70th Anniversary edition Blu-ray!
- “For the first time ever, in celebration of this landmark film’s 70th anniversary, experience the daring adventures of the world’s only flying elephant with a dazzling all-new digital restoration and brilliant Disney Enhanced High Definition Theater Mix Sound. The inspirational tale of Dumbo, the courageous baby elephant who uses his sensational ears to soar to fame with the help of his clever best friend Timothy Q. Mouse, will thrill and delight audiences of all ages. And now, the award-winning music and empowering messages about friendship and belief in yourself reach new heights in this must-have Blu-ray(TM) high definition presentation of Walt Disney’s animated classic, “Dumbo”.“
Until I watched Disney’s new Blu-ray disc, I had totally forgotten that Dumbo never utters a word through the entire picture that bares his name. And that choice is only one of many reasons that the film is brilliant. The quaint, touching story of an elephant who uses the giant ears that others perceive to be a disability, to literally rise above it all is still effective after all these years (it just occurs to me now as I write this that with Dumbo’s genetic mutation he could have easily been one of the X-Men!) The narrative is noteworthy for using an economy of action to move from story point to point. It’s really incredible how much is accomplished in the very brief 64-minute runtime, only pausing every now and again for the odd song and dance routine. Though both films were produced around the same time, Dumbo‘s style is more along the simple, expressionistic lines of Walt’s Silly Symphonies than the lush, realistic images and animation of Bambi. But it’s striking how limitations of budget and time can force artistry to rise above compromise. Dumbo is a masterpiece and remains one of the timeless classics of the Disney oeuvre.
As such, the studio has afforded Dumbo a most brilliant and impressive restoration and transfer to Blu-ray. This thing sparkles! Colours pop, detail abounds and blacks are inky deep. Much like their previous Blu-ray releases of classic animated films, Disney have scrubbed every spot of grain from the image and boosted colours, so what you’re getting here isn’t exactly representative of the way Dumbo actually appeared on film but instead falls in line with the animator’s original intentions. It’s absolutely gorgeous and needs to be seen to be believed. Audio is available in either restored original mono or newly created DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track. Both options are decent and provide similar dynamic range, though the 7.1 track opens the sound field a bit and throws a little rumble to your sub. This is a 70-year old soundtrack and though it’s clean and clear in both iterations, there’s only so much to be done.
Dumbo arrives on Blu-ray with a healthy collection of supplemental material including most everything from the previously available DVD and a bunch of pretty great, brand new HD features! The best, most informative and by far the most entertaining is the Cine-Explore picture-in-picture feature hosted by Pixar director Pete Docter, Disney historian Paula Sigman and Disney animator Andreas Deja. In this nearly perfect overview of the film, the trio touch on everything from the animation, the storytelling and the music to the overall success of the production and what it meant to the studio. If this feature was the only one on the disc, it would still be worth picking up. But there’s a bunch of other great stuff to check out as well. Like the new 28-minute long ‘Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo‘ featurette and the two never before seen deleted scenes, both doc and scenes presented in HD. The 3-minute long HD featurette ‘The Magic of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage ‘ is also new to the supplemental section but only worth a look if you’re interested in the history of the rides at Disneyland. Other HD bonus goodies include a couple of Silly Symphony shorts, some Disney Family Play games for the kids, art galleries and trailers. There’s a ton more here, mostly culled from the DVD but almost all well worth your time.
Most highly recommended!
Special Features:
- Deleted Scene – “The Mouse’s Tale”
- Deleted Song – “Are You a Man or a Mouse?”
- Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo – A journey back to the origins of the film as everybody’s favorite baby elephant takes wing.
- The Magic Of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage – Witness the excitement and magic of Disneyland’s most popular ride through the eyes of a child.
- Audio Commentary with Pete Docter, Paula Sigman and Andreas Deja
- Sound Design Excerpt from The Reluctant Dragon
- Original Walt Disney Television Introduction
- Cine-Explore
- Disney View
- “What Do You See?” Game
- “What Do You Know?” Game
- “Celebrating Dumbo” Featurette
- Animated Short: “The Flying Mouse”
- Animated Short: “Elmer Elephant”
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