"Oh, I done seen just 'bout everything… when I seen an elephant fly…" Of all of the Disney classics that I grew up watching, "Dumbo" was the one I looked forward to seeing the least. Not because I didn’t like it… actually just the opposite. I loved it. But not having seen it since I was a little kid, my memories of it were a little hazy. I remembered that Dumbo was an elephant with gigantic ears who was born in a circus, and that his mother was locked away after saving him from some rotten kids that were taunting him. And I remembered the scene outside of the railcar she was locked up in, where she cradled Dumbo in her trunk and sang 'Baby Mine.' I also remembered bawling my eyes out every time I heard the song.

That wasn't so bad, I like crying at movies, big baby that I am. But for some reason, that this is a bit of a spoiler for those of you that haven't seen it (but not really), I had thought that Dumbo's mother later died in a train wreck. THAT was what I didn’t want to see. So when Disney's new release of "Dumbo" was delivered, I was extremely hesitant to watch it, but watch it I did. The good news… and this is the spoiler… this does not happen in the movie. I was so relieved and found that I loved the movie even more than I did as a kid, mostly because Mrs. Jumbo indeed… lived.

I'm not sure where that memory came from. Perhaps, being the avid reader that I am, I somehow mixed up the story of the real Jumbo in with the movie. Jumbo was one of the largest elephants in captivity back during the days of the original Barnum & Bailey Circus. One day he escaped and was hit by a train before he could be recaptured. Either way, I am still thankful I was wrong about "Dumbo."

For those of you who don't actually know the story, Dumbo (as I mentioned) was a baby elephant born in a circus. He had tremendously huge ears and became the laughing stock of the crowds and the circus folk. Everyone laughs at him, even when he is not performing with the clowns. Desperate to find his place, he is befriended by a circus mouse that helps him to find his true talent.

"Dumbo" is not the traditional animated classic in that it is very exaggerated in some of its animation. The circus train seems alive while huffing and puffing, and a bird's eye view of Florida looks like it was drawn straight off a kid's map. I think that's part of the charm of "Dumbo" for littler children though. It is far simpler to look at than some of the more 'realistic' looking Disney films that came before and after. I know my daughter enjoyed the heck out of it.

One thing I do find interesting about the film, and it's a point that has probably been argued to death, but I have one small problem with the scene for the most famous song, 'I've Seen an Elephant Fly.' The characters in the movie that sing the song are a group of storks who, by their speech and singing patterns, are obviously meant to invoke the stereotype of African Americans. Now, I don’t have a problem with any racial stereotyping ever, especially here where it is nothing more than a product of the time. But how can Disney release a movie with a racially charged scene like this and STILL keep "Song of the South" out of consumer's hands? "Song of the South" is a great film, and one that I loved dearly as a child. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, in any way racially negative about 'Song of the South", yet Disney still buckles under pressure from the NAACP to keep it off the shelves. (Personally, I'd tell the NAACP to take a flying leap, and release it anyway…)

But I digress. "Dumbo" is a wonderful film for children and I thoroughly enjoyed this new 'Big Top Edition.' Like most Disney DVDs, it comes complete with games and sing-along videos for the kids as well as a read-along DVD storybook. They also included the animated shorts "Elmer Elephant" and "Flying Mouse", a short featurette on the movie itself (more of a promo piece), and a new performance of 'Baby Mine' by Jim Brickman and Kassie DePaiva. This was a pretty good version of the song, but I heard that there was a version of the song done by the great Michael Crawford that was included on the original DVD release back in 2001. I really wish that had been included here.

The bottom line is if you already have 'Dumbo" on DVD, you probably don’t need to pick up this new version. It's good, but not quite as tricked out as most of the other recent Disney DVD releases (it only has 1 disc). But if you don't have it in your collection, I'd be sure to grab it for the kids

Extras: Bonus Short - Elmer Elephant and the Flying Mouse, Sing Along Songs - "Look Out for Mr. Stork" and "Casey Junior", "Baby Mine" Music Video Featuring Jim Brickman and Kassie DePaiva, DVD Storybook - Dumbo's Big Discovery, Disneypedia - 'My First Circus' Game
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Disney
Release Date: 6/6/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: G
Website

We'll give Dumbo: Big Top Edition a B+.