Friday, September 4, 2009

September 3, 2009

Dumbo (1941)
Wow, there are a lot of things in this movie that could never be included today. Where was the Production Code on this one? Besides the racist crows and the concept of ripping a baby away from its mother who was only trying to protect him, it includes the beating of children (though that little brat was tormenting baby Dumbo, so it fits into the storyline), the forced labor of animals to build the circus Big Top, the whipping of a mother elephant, and a baby consuming lots of alcohol. In looking at Wikipedia, I think that the elephants in the movie are Asian elephants and Dumbo, with his big ears, is closer to an African elephant. Might that be a little reference to racial discrimination? The whole "Baby Mine" song and sequence is one of the most heartwrenchingly sad things I've ever seen and I cry every single time I watch it. Though, if you've noticed, crying at movies isn't necessarily out of the ordinary for me.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

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