Notes on Dumbo (1941)

Marc Hendry July 2014marchendry91@gmail.com

Notes on the story-

•Thestoryistoldinverydistinctlittlesections,sometimeswithatransitionalscene,sometimes

justwithacutorfade.Ithinkthepointistogetstraighttotheimportantstuff.Righttothe

emotionalstatementwithoutanyfiller

•Dumboisineverysceneofthemovie.There’snoB-plot,nounnecessarycharacters,nothing

thatisn’tpurelywhatthemovieisabout.Thewholethingisverysmartlyeconomised

•WeprojectourselvesintothemuteDumboandwithgreatsympathy,wegowithhimthrough

thestory.

•Youwouldexpecta64-minutemovietofeelasthoughyouhadbeencheatedoutofhalfand

hour,butthestoryistoldsowellthatit’scompletelysatisfying

•BabyMineissoeffectivebecauseofthepreceedingscenesbeforeit.Establishingandspending

timeonDumboandmother’srelationshippaysoff.

•TimothyMouseisthevoiceoftheaudience.Whichhelpstogetus,theaudience,involved.

Thisisatimelineofthecoloursofthemovie(afilteredimagefrommoviebarcode.tumblr.com)

Youcanseeveryclearlytheemotionalarcofthemovie,justrepresentedincolours.Theemotional

high-pointsofthemoviearebrighter,andthelowpointsaredarker.WhenDumbo(andtheaudi-

ence)isfeelinganintenseemotion-joywhenhe’sflyingorfearwhenhe’sforcedtoperform-the

coloursaremoresaturated.Whenhe’sdepressedandput-upon,thecoloursdrainout.

Story

1. Intro and the Stork fails to deliverThisisapleasantandslowscenewhichtakesafewminutestodrawtheaudienceintothefilm.Ithinkthisisabetterapproachthangrabbingtheaudience’sattentionwithaction

2. “Casey Junior” and the baby is deliveredThissceneestablishesawholebunchofthings. Firstoff,thecolourfulandtunefulsceneofthetrainbouncingalongletsyouknowthatthefilmisgoingtobealotoffun. Andlaterinthescene,Dumboiscompletelyestablished.Hisinnocenceandhelplessness,theotherelephants’prejudiceandhismother’sdefenseofhim.Dumboismutewhichletsusprojectourselvesintohimveryheavily

3. Setting up the circusThisiskindofatransitionalscene,butfleshedoutalittletoshowacoupleofthings.Itshowsthattheanimalsareaworkingpartofthetravellingcircus. Thehumancharactersarekeptalmostinsillhouettetodistancethem-lettingyouknowthatthehumancharactersaren’tamajorpartofthestoryandthey’rereallyjustincidentalwithoutanypersonalities.Thefilmisgoingtobeallabouttheanimalcharacters

4. Parade and Dumbo plays with motherAveryfun,cuteandlightsequencewhichsetsupagreatcontrastforthefollowingscene.EstablishessettingandstrengthensourunderstandingofthebondbetweenDumboandmother.

Strengtheningthebondsothattheycanreallybreakourheartslater

5. the kids make fun of Dumbo, Mother defends him and is restrainedThisscenewiththecrackingwhipandthestompingmotherelephantfeelsveryharshandshockingincomparisontothepreceedingscene.

6. Gossiping elephants and Timothy Mouse is introducedDespitebeingseperated,Dumboandmotherareconnectedvisually-bothswayinginthesameway,motherwithshadowstripesacrossherfromtheprisonbars,Dumboagainstthestripesonthetent.Asanonlooker,Timothyisspeakingfortheaudience.Weimmediatelylikehimbecauseheisspeakingaloudhowwefeelabouttheotherelephants.

7. Mouse tells the Ringleader about Dumbo in his sleepSomevisual“cartoony”fun.ClownsintroducedassilhouettesandtheRingleaderisalsojustincidental.Acompletelytypicalcircusringleader.

AgainthiskeepstheinterestonDumboandMouse

8. Elephants perform and Dumbo knocks them all downSomephysicalfunandphysicalaction,somefunnypersonalitystuffwiththeelephantsclimbingononeanother.

Amongstthephysicalactionwedon’tfeelbadfortheaccidentitself,butthatweknowDumbo’sself-esteemisbeingcrushedevenfurther

9. Everybody hates DumboThisshortscenejustsaltsthewound.MakesusfeelworseforDumboandhatethemeanelephantsmore.

10. Dumbo as a ClownDumboisputuponeven more. Furtherdegradedanddepressed. Thebouncingclownsreallycontrastitandrubitin

11. Baby MineTheiconicheartbreakerscene.Extremelypowerfulandextremelysensitive.Thesongandthesoftsnoozingoftheanimalsinthemontagecompletelydrawyouinandkeepyoufixedonthescreen.

12. Champage falls in the bucket and Mouse pep-talkAlighter,funnierscene,stillwiththeatmosphereofanemotionallydrainingnight.

Givestheaudiencetimetodrytheireyesandtakeabreathbeforethefollowingscene

13. Pink Elephants on ParadeNotanemotional,storytelling,orevencharacter-drivenscene.

Butitdoesserveapurposeinthestory. WehavealotofsurrealvisualfunwhichrelievesusoftheemotionaltraumafromBabyMine,anditputsDumboandMouseupinthetreewithoutthemknowingwhy.

14. Meeting the Crows and the magic featherThisisabig,longsequenceandalotofthecharacters’storyarcpivotshere.TheCrowscomeoffastroublesomeandrudewhenwefirstmeetthem,buttheyendupbeingkeytoDumbo’ssuccess.

Moodstayslightandjovialwiththesong“WhenIseeandElephantFly”

15. Dumbo FliesTheemotionalhighpointofthemovie. AlthoughwemighthaveseenDumboflyingontheDVDcover,itisstillsurprisingandjoyouswhenweseehimdoit,duetotheeffectivestorytelling. Provingthattheaudience’semotionalinvolvementwiththecharactersismuchmoreimportantthantheplotpointsofthemovie.It’snotaboutwhathappens,it’sabouthowthecharactersreacttoit.

16. Dumbo flies at the circusInthisscenehedefeatsthecircus.Heruinstheclownsact,spitspeanutsattheelephantswhoweremeantohimearlier,andwowsthecircusaudiencewhilehe’satit.Anditfeelsgreat.

great‘sinkorswim’momentwhenhe’splummetinghavingdroppedthe‘magic’feather

17. Paper Montages, Dumbo flies to mother, end.Thespinningnewspapermontagequicklypassestimeandglossesoversomeemotionallyunimportantstuff.AswellasemphasisingDumbo’striumphabit. ToseeDumboreunitewithhismotherisagreatjoyforusanditsendsusoutofthecinemawithagreatfeeling.

TheOverallVisualStyleis-

•NOTexperimental,apartfrom‘PinkElephants’

•Notcomplex.Noneedformultiplaneormanyeffects,BGpaintingsmakegreatuseofwater

colourwashes

•Acontinuationofthe30’sstyle.Roundshapes,fluidinking,animationmuchbroaderthan

Bambi

•Characterdesignsnotterriblyinventive,butthepersonalitiesare.Clearlyexperimentationwas

nottheprimaryaim,butAPPEALwas.Thefilmhasaverywell-informedsimplicity.They

wereeconomisingwithaverystrongideaofwhattokeepandwhattoexcludevisually,aswell

asinthestory.

•Someboldcolourchoices,especiallyinthecircus.

•Stagedwithaverystrongsilhouettesandposesthatreadinasnap

Design

Let’slookathowsomespecificscenesarecomposedandlaidout.InthisoneMrs.Jumboisexpectingoneoftheair-droppedpackagestobeforher.

Beforeitenterstheframe,thecharacterisstagedwithnegativespaceandweexpecttoseesomethinghappeninthispartofthescreen,justlikethecharacterdoes

Whenitdoesentertheframeitistheareaofhighestcontrastintheimagesowefollowitinstinctively.It’scommonpracticeforcartooneyestobequitebrightsothatwecanalwaysseewherethey’relooking,whichimmediatelygivesusagoodinsightintowhatthey’rethinking.

Withthecoloursaveraged-outyoucanseethatthey’vecreateddepthbymakingthecharacterintheforegroundwarmerandthebackgroundcooler.ThiscoupledwithgreatdraughtsmanshipinboththeBGandcharactergreatlyaidbelievability.Weknowthatthisisnotanelephantstandinginfrontofapictureofacircustent.SheisINtheplace

What’sthemostimportantthinginthisscene?-Dumbo’sfear.Howdoyoushowthat?

Puthimdeadinthecentreofthescreenandshineabigspotlightathim.Thisputsthecontrastrightonthecharacter

Painthisfacewhitesothatwegostraighttohis eyes

Usecolourtemperaturestoputhiminacold,starkspotabovefierce,reddanger.

Tilt the buildingtomakethewholesceneprecarious

HowdoyoumakealittleElephantlookisolatedandlonely?

Movefromacloser,moreintimateshot

lookingupwardswithsomedetail...

Toawide-open,almostemptyscenewherehe’sverysmallonthescreen.Thewholethingiswashedoutincoolcoloursandthehighestpointofcontrastisstillhiseyes,whichkeepsourconcernwithDumbo

StagingIntimacy:

Obviouslythecontactbetweenthe

charactersistheimportantthinghere.

Everythingsupportsthatfocalpointand

thesizecontrastworksgreatbecause

Dumboiscompletelyenveloped

Curvedshapeswrapintothefocalpoint

Alsonotethatthelowangle.We’relookingatthescene

fromroughlyDumbo’sheight,nothismother’sorthe

otherstandingelephants.

Againtheparent’sbodycompletely

wrapsaroundthecubsandwe’reata

lowanglewiththem.

TigerStripesmostlylead

inward,towardstheintimacy

Colourtemperatureused

togreateffecttoo.A

warmcuddleonacool,

calmnight.Allofthe

animalsinthesecut-aways

arecolouredwithwarm

browns

StagingThreat:

Clusteredgangthataremuchmuch

biggerthanDumbo,whoislooking

starkinanareaoflittledetail.

Motherdeliberatelykeptoutofviewto

emphasisethis(untilshepopsintosave

him)

Highhorizonlinesothatwearelookingdownontiny

Dumbo,andtheadultelephantslookcloserandbigger.

Trunkspointingdownathimaddtotheaccusingthreat.

StagingAction:

Minimalbackgroundthatcontraststhe

charactergreatly.Thisallowsposesto

readveryquickly.Iftherewerebranches

andbushesbehindhim,wewouldn’tbe

abletotellwhatheisdoing.

Highcontrastimageshowinghowthesceneisdesignedso

thatyouimmediatelyseethecharacter’sbodyattitudeand

hiseye,whichtellsuswhathe’sthinking,feelinganddoing

inasplitsecond.

Animation

FirstI’llbelookingatthisWardKimballscenewiththesedancingcrows.Youcanseeitat

youtube.com/watch?v=_v2exWrsGOcaround53secondsin.It’sabout7secondsso,about

176framesinlength

BeforeIbreakitdownI’venoticedthefollowingaboutthesceneingeneral-

-It’sonones.‘Cartoony’stufflikethisnormallywouldn’tbeonones,butthebestreasons

IcanthinkofarethatA:It’saDisneyfilm,andB:asshapestheyaremakingquitebroad

movesaroundthescreen,whichmightmaketwosveryobvious

-It’ssettomusic,sothekeyscanbeonbarsandaccents,andbreakdownscanbeonbeats.

-Verylittleoverlapexceptthehatsandtails.Helps

believabilitywhilenotcomplicatingthesimple

movements.Theoverlapalsoworksonbeats-abeat

behindthemainactionunlessit’sinterruptedto

supportanaccentpose

-Lipsyncandfacialexpressionsareprettysimple.

Thebeakswillbendabittosupporttheposebut

willotherwisearejustopenorclosed.Morecomplex

orsubtleexpressionswouldgetlostinthebroad

animationanyway

WhentheCrowsarestruttingintothecentre-

Hatsarepartoftheposes.

Notjustanafterthought

accessory

Coolattitudeshownby

hanngingalltheweight

down.Animationisloose

andbouncy

Thoughhe’dlookdejectedif

theheadwastiltedabitfurther

down.Shouldersanimateona

double-bouncewhichkeepsit

lively

Changesinshapeand“lineof

action”helptohitthebeats.

useofcleverspacinghitsthe

beatsintime.Withtoomuch

easinghewouldappeartojust

bewigglingwithoutrythmand

withtooaggressiveachange,

thecoolattitudewouldn’tcome

acrossanditwouldseemtoo

erratic

Whentheyjointogether-

Biggestsquashinthesceneisthisonewhen

theyfirstslaptogether.

Theysticktheirwingsouttomakeawide

shape,tosetupcontrastforthefollowing

pose-

Astretchupwards.

Theycatchtheirhatsastheyshootuponto

thebeat.Wingsshootdowninadynamic

changeofshape.

Thewingsareslightlyoutofsynctoavoid

twinning.

Aftertheyspinaroundontheirtoes,theyland

inthisgreatfinalpose.Whichhasalittlebitofa

‘movinghold’.Fantasticlineofactionfromthe

Greycrow’selbowdowntotheirfeet.Slightbulge

athisunderarmhelpsshowthattheothercrowis

leaningonhim.Veryclearsilhouettedespitethe

visualfunwiththetwoofthemstucktogether

dancing,whichyoumightexpectwouldbea

messtolookat

NextI’mlookingthisscenebyArtBabbittorthestorkdeliveringthebabyDumbo.Youcan

seeitherehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI5n5ngaaHcstartingaroundthe48second

mark.

I’venotedthefollowingthingsaboutthesceneoverall-

-It’s368framesinlength,makingabout15andahalfseconds.Afairlylongscene.

-It’salmostallontwos,withtheexceptionofoneortwobroaderactions.Why?Foralarge

partofthescene,he’sjustsittinglookingatthemap.There’snoneedforonesthere.The

characterisalsonotveryhighcontrastagainsttheBG,unlikethecrows,sothere’sless

chanceofvisiblestrobing.

-Onlyalittlesquashandstretchhereandthere.It’smostly“compressionanddistension”,

withthecharacter’sbonesconsidered.

-Thelipsyncisjustopenandclose,likethecrows.Again,itworksfine.It’sclearthatthe

ideaof“phrasing”thatRichardWilliamstalksaboutishowlipsyncSHOULDworkin

animation,andnotwiththosemouthshapechartsyouseeinotheranimationresources.

-Thecharacter’sbodyisacontrastofhardandsoft.Hislegsandbeakagainshisbodyand

wings.

Forthefirst120framesof

thescene,he’ssittinglike

this.Whyisitstagedthis

way?

Sittingthatwayimmediatelyshowsthecharacter’sattitude.Heisconfortablewithhisrou-

tineproceedure.It’smuchmoreeffectivethanitwouldhavebeenifhewaskneelingor

ifhislegsweretogether.Puttinghiminthatplaceonthescreenhasaspecificeffecttoo.

We’relookingdownathim,whichhelpsusseehispose.He’splacedabovethecentreofthe

screenandslightlytoourright.Thismakesusexpectsomethingtohappenintheempty

space.We’reworriedwhilehe’shappilyunaware.

Afterthat,there’sacooltakewhenhenoticesthebagisn’tthere.

hishandgoesdownonframe92 butthethoughtdown’thithimuntilframe

104.Thisissomethingthataddsagreat

dealofbelivabilitytothecharacterwhichI

probablywouldn’thavethoughtof.

Headsquashedonthatframe. Thenshootsuptoastretchedexpression

on106withonlyoneinbetween.Thisisthe

onlyuseofonesinthescene.

Andbacktonormalat110

Thenhejumpsdownanddragsuptheheavybag.

Whenhereachesdown,hemakesasmall,

compressedshape,whichsetsupacontrast

to...

...abigstretchupwards.Theshapechange

emphasisestheforce.

Overlayingtheframestogether,youcankindofseehowthespacingisplotted.Ihadto

scaleandmovetheframestocompensateforacameramove,soit’snottoallyaccurate,but

yougettheidea.

Shapechangesoccurwhenthecharacterchangesthepartofhisbodythat’stakingthe

weight.Soit’sprettyclearhere.There’sashapechangeoncethebaggetsmomentum,and

anotherwhenhecatchesthebagatthetopofthearc,hisbacktakingtheweight.

Spacingisusedtogreateffecthere,whenhe’sdraggingthebagup,thespacingispretty

tightandslow.Oncethebaggainsmomentum,hemovesupfaster,withwiderspacing,and

theniteasesoutagainwhenhestartstosupportthebag.Squashandstretchonthebagalso

emphasisesthis.

Afterthathewalksalongtotheedgeofthecloud,strugglingtocarrytheweight

Thisisshowninthepassingpositionswiththesehugeleansleftandrighteverytimehe

steps,tocompensatefortheweightofthebag.

Thenwhenheleapsofftheedge,expecting

tofly,hedoessoquickly,justafewframesto

gethimintotheair

Hefloatsforagoodhalf-second

Untiltheweightcatchesupwithhimandhe

plummetsdownin4frames.Agreatuseof

easinginandout.