I noticed recently that I rarely put up a post on Disney's Dumbo. That doesn't mean that I like the film any less than other Disney classics. There really isn't a lot of art work from Dumbo around. For example I have never seen sizable numbers of rough animator's drawings offered for sale.
The movie's plot is as perfect as you can get. It is a short feature film, and the simple story line allows for rich character development with deep emotions. I remember watching Dumbo for the first time when I was a teenager, and during the Baby Mine sequence my thoughts were: Oh boy, they are really overdoing the tear jerking thing here. How corny and sappy.
I have since then changed my mind.
A beautiful early character model from Joe Grant's department, when the designs weren't finalized yet.
Some of these drawings explore gags involving Dumbo's oversized ears. I don't know the artists, but later Bill Peet and Bill Tytla would refine the juvenile elephant's design.
Definitely a Bill Peet story sketch.
Pink Elephants on Parade, a dream sequence that set the bar for visual experimentation within the Disney animation style. Absolutely incredible!!
Pages from a 1941 Coronet Magazine article. Just by looking at a few main visual beats, you can't help but thinking: What a masterpiece of a film!
