Dumbo

Leonard Maltin's favorite Disney feature, Dumbo (1941) tells the timeless underdog story (or underelephant in this case) of a dialogue-less little pachyderm with oversized ears, who--with the aid of his pint-sized friend Timothy Mouse (Edward Brophy)--not only wins over his detractors, but becomes the star attraction of the circus. In addition to being one of the most charming animated tales ever told, the extraordinary work on Dumbo's flight of fancy when he drinks from a spiked water bucket ("Pink Elephants on Parade") is regarded as one of the most imaginative pieces ever created by the Disney studios. This 60th anniversary edition DVD features an excellent commentary by animation legend John Canemaker, a tributary featurette called "Celebrating Dumbo," a read-along, a pair of sing-alongs, a Michael Crawford music video ("Baby Mine"), two "Silly Symphony" animated shorts and a not-to-be-missed behind-the-scenes of how the voice and sound effects for the song "Casey Jr." were created. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Sept. 27, 2011—Walt Disney, 64 min., G, $39.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1941's Dumbo features an excellent transfer and a DTS-HD 7.1 soundtrack. Blu-ray extras include a “Cine-Explore” picture-in-picture viewing option (featuring Pixar filmmaker Pete Docter, film historian Paula Sigman, and Disney animator Andreas Deja), a “Disney View” viewing option, a “Taking Flight” making-of featurette (28 min.), a “Celebrating Dumbo” tribute featurette (15 min.), the bonus shorts 1936's “Elmer Elephant” (9 min.) and 1934's “The Flying Mouse” (9 min.), a sound design excerpt from The Reluctant Dragon (6 min.), “The Mouse Tale” deleted sequence (5 min.), the deleted song “Are You a Man or a Mouse” (4 min.), “The Magic of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage” on the Disneyland attraction (3 min.), Walt Disney's brief TV intro, art galleries, interactive games “What Do You See?” and “What Do You Know?”, trailers, and a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a wonderful Blu-ray debut of a beloved Disney animated classic.]