Life Lessons from Dumbo

The latest remake of the 1941 film “Dumbo” came out this weekend.

I may not be a professional film reviewer but I felt that the lovable pachyderm Dumbo with the big floppy ears had conveyed its message to its audience in spades. It touched the heart and I believe the movie had already done its work in that regard.

The life lessons that were conveyed in the  original movie is also relevant today in the remake. Let me go through it one by one for better understanding and reflection.

First,through no fault of his own, Dumbo was born with a birth defect—big,floppy ears which caused him to be the victim of bullying,even been called a freak and a misfit.

He also had to experience the awful situation of being separated from his mother ,Mrs. Jumbo because of alleged physical violence on her part on a circus staffer.

By pure accident,  the circus staffers around him noticed that he can fly though clumsily.. His birth defect suddenly becomes an asset to the circus owner and unfortunately to another circus owner(from Dreamland) who happens to be evil and greedy.

Dumbo obviously had some insecurities and it took the trainer’s young daughter to give him a feather  to use as a security blanket to help him fly better. of course, by the end of the movie, he did not need it anymore.

When the evil Dreamland owner surmised that Dumbo’s recent reunion with his mother would be distracting for his own bottom line, he began plotting to kill Mrs. Jumbo.

However, the kind-hearted circus staff  found out about the evil plot and decided to help both Dumbo and his mother escape Dreamland from danger,never mind the bottom line, much less knowing that they will miss their dear friend for good if their escape plan  does become successful.

It did and it showed at the end of the film, Dumbo and his mother Mrs. Jumbo safely back in their home country among the other elephants.

For the evil circus owner, his Dreamland circus got burned to the ground through an accident. Karma really caught up with him.

And for the rest of the circus staff who  helped Dumbo and his mother to freedom, their circus career got revived again to great lengths without needing Dumbo as their star attraction. The good deed gets rewarded. They were Dumbo’s real friends in his hour of need.

The film tells us that no one’s perfect but whatever we have been born with and the knowledge acquired throughout our lifetime can become assets for us if we only know how to apply ourselves. It would also be important and fortunate for us if we also have people in our lives who would help us in life’s journey too.

We are here in this life for a reason. Remember that.

Dumbo brings out the child in us. He also represents those who have special needs and limitations in society but who has used whatever God-given talents that he has(in this case, his big,floppy ears) to his advantage.

When I think of Dumbo flying high up in the sky using his big ears, it gives me hope that good things could still come to us in this life.

 

Josie

• Dumbo