![]() And “Pinocchio,” as Walt Disney would defensively point out, had the bad timing of being released during mania for “Gone With the Wind.” World War II caused the studio to lose what was once estimated in this newspaper as nearly 40% of its market, and prior to “Dumbo’s” release, the company had sunk a heavy investment into its necessary-but-fancy new Burbank home. There were, it must be noted, factors out of Disney’s control contributing to the studio’s struggles. These DTV sequels were bad and often creatively bankrupt, but at least they didn’t run for almost exactly two hours like Tim Burton’s Dumbo feature! Even the pits of these live-action Disney remakes can’t suddenly make the age of a potential Dumbo II something worth getting nostalgic for…but it certainly does remind one that Hollywood can always find new ways to disappoint.Those writing about film weren’t dismissive of “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia,” but the underlying current of many a review was that both movies lacked a certain soul or heart that was present in 1938’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Audiences too didn’t immediately warm to either, which placed a sudden financial burden on the burgeoning studio - one that just a few years earlier had hushed all naysayers with the exquisite, unexpected blockbuster that was “Snow White.” Of course, Disney would blow roughly $170 million on a misguided live-action remake of Dumbo in 2019 that showed the dangers of trying to expand so heavily on a simple 64-minute story from 1941. Whatever the reason for DisneyToon Studios struggling to produce sequels to the earliest Disney titles, those problems ensured that Dumbo II wouldn’t become a reality. ![]() Plus, there may have just been way more pressure on pulling off a Dumbo II “right” compared to the creative expectations for Brother Bear II or An Extremely Goofy Movie given the enormous creative legacy of the original Dumbo. ![]() These were also all older titles that may have been perceived as being less urgently important for youngsters of the 21st century. Pinocchio and Dumbo were seminal Disney titles, but they were potentially less enticing to marketing because of their lack of princess power. For one thing, only one of these initial five features ( Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) involved a figure from the cash-cow Disney Princesses brand. We’ll never concretely know why it was so much easier for DisneyToon Studios to make sequels out of Aladdin than Dumbo, but there are a few options on the table. The key difference here, though, is that Dumbo II would only remain a trailer. Of course, it wasn’t alone in this trend, as countless other Disney animated films had all their best traits washed away when it came time for direct-to-video sequels. While the complicated tone and willingness to confront harsh emotions ensured that Dumbo would stick around for decades to come, Dumbo II was opting for something much simpler in the pursuit of a quick buck. Dumbo II’s concept art and trailer suggest a movie that would’ve undoubtedly whittled away the bolder aspects of the initial Dumbo movie in favor of something more marketable. The world of Dumbo is cruel and unpredictable, a trait made all the more harrowing because it’s a movie anchored by cutesy-looking animals. However, generally, the darkness of Dumbo comes from the relentless bullying the titular character suffers while a surreal digression into the “Pink Elephants on Parade” sequence turns the whole project into a visually glorious nightmare. Sometimes this manifests in unacceptable ways, such as the crow caricatures or similarly racist lyrics sung by men who pitch a circus tent. Though it’s a G-rated title for kids, Dumbo is a dark and strange movie. That’s not surprising since this feature, like its predecessor, is an animated film made for children, but it does indicate a weird misunderstanding of the original Dumbo. ![]() It’s also apparent that Dumbo II would be heavy on cutesy material, with all the rhetoric used to describe these characters indicating that the proceedings would’ve been aimed at extremely young viewers. RELATED: The 15 Most Emotional Disney Movies That Are Worth the Tears ![]()
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