Dumbo, Saludos Amigos, and The Three Caballeros

I wondered if I was inspired by the mouse when he whispers into the circus conductor's ear to unconsciously persuade him to use Dumbo in the big show. When I was 3 or 4, Bridget and I used to sneak out of our room at night and into Lucy's room once we thought she'd be asleep. "Ssssssss...." we would whisper in her ear, "I'm a snake, and I'm coming to bite you!" I don't know if Lucy pretended to be asleep, but the next morning we would ask her, "did you have any dreams last night?"

The gossiping female elephants are ruthless in their remarks towards/about Dumbo: (In fact, his real name is Jumbo Jr. -- he's only called Dumbo after they tease him with this name.)

"i'd just like to spank the daylights out of him"

"his disgrace is our shame"

and when he is made a clown, they all take a solemn vow: "from now on, he is no longer an elephant"

but he is the joy of his mother's world. she is put into solitary confinement when she tries to protect him. when dumbo is isolated and alone, the mouse tries to cheer him, but Dumbo is only consoled when he is rocked in his mother's trunk and the Baby of Mine song is sung, (to which I totally cried:)

Baby mine, don't you cry

Baby mine, dry your eyes

Rest your head close to my heart

Never to part, baby of mine

Little one when you play

Don't you mind what you say

Let those eyes sparkle and shine

Never a tear, baby of mine

If they knew sweet little you

They'd end up loving you too

All those same people who scold you

What they'd give just for

The right to hold you

From your head to your toes

You're not much, goodness knows

But you're so precious to me

Cute as can be, baby of mine

As far as I can tell, there are absolutely no fathers in this movie. (Babies are dropped by a stork.) Perhaps the circus didn't want any of their animals breeding, or perhaps Disney wanted to focus in on the mother-child relationship. They certainly did.

I'm interested in how race and culture is represented in these early films. Dumbo has been written about as having african american stereotypes represented by the crows. The lead one was actually called Jim crow initially. Something I found odd in this film was the faceless characters in the beginning-- big, muscular, black men working on the railroad. Is it just too difficult to give them faces?


We also watched Saludos Amigos. This seems like genuine curiosity in South American culture-- in fact, in some ways it plays more like a documentary. There's some live action (including a part with Walt Disney with a Hitler- style mustache. That's a style that never came back.) I'd love to watch it with Kelley, Aly, or Nicole-- people who have all spent a good amount of time in Latin America.

I wasn't aware of The Three Caballeros until I went on the ride in the Mexico Pavillion in Epcot Center, FL. (The ride is NOTHING to write home about. I prefer animatronics, and extremely dislike Disney's move towards video.)

Finn made watching this more fun because he loves Donald. My favorite part was when Donald is trying to woo some women.

Interesting tidbit-- one short describes the Christmas tradition of Las Posadas.