Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse over a Courvoisier air brush background from "Dumbo," 1941, Walt Disney Studios; WDP stamp lower right; With original Courvoisier Galleries label and stamped Copyright Walt Disney Productions verso; Size - Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse: 4 1/2 x 5 1/4", Image 7 1/2 x 9", Frame 18 x 19"; Framed with gold wood frame, linen mat, gold wood fillet, and plexiglass.
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"Dumbo the Great! Uh-oh. The great what? Ya know, Dumbo, we gotta get an idea. Not just any idea. Something colossal, like, uh--" - Timothy Q. Mouse
The Walt Disney full length feature film "Dumbo," released in 1940, introduced to the world one of the greatest characters in the Disney pantheon, Dumbo the flying elephant! Dumbo was the only character in the film who never uttered a single word, and yet he is one of the most remembered Disney stars. All of his feelings were conveyed through body movements and facial expressions. The extraordinary animation skill needed in order to do this with a human, but in this case a baby elephant, can not be underestimated.
The Disney Studio animation artists were still fairly new to feature animation, having only started in 1937 with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The film prior to "Dumbo" was "Fantasia," with one of the most successful sequences being "Night on Bald Mountain." Here again, the main character Chernabog, a huge winged devil, sitting on top of a mountain, commanding the undead below, and never uttering a single word; made a huge impression on the viewing public.
The
Disney animator Vladimir "Bill" Tytla created the devil-giant for
"Fantasia's" "Night on Bald Mountain," and for the next film he was
given the task of animated the film's star, Dumbo. He said:
"I gave him everything I thought he should have," said Tytla. "It just happened. I don't know a damn thing about elephants. It wasn't that. I was thinking in terms of humans, and I saw a chance to do a chracter without using any cheap theatrics. Most of the expressions and mannerisms I got from my own kid. There's nothing theatrical about a two-year-old kid. They're real and sincere- like when they damn near wet their pants from excitement when you come home at night. I've bawled my kid out for pestering me when I'm reading or something, and he doesn't know what to make of it. He'll just stand there and maybe grab my hand and cry... I tried to put all those things in Dumbo."
Certainly the greatest theme of "Dumbo" was the wonderful friendship between the mute baby elephant Dumbo and his unlikely friend, a mouse name Timothy. Various Disney animators were involved with the creation and animation of Timothy Q. Mouse including Fred Moore, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Ward Kimball. Edward S. Brophy was an American character actor, voice artist, and comedian; and he provided the voice for Timothy Mouse even though he was not credited in the film for the role.
"I gave him everything I thought he should have," said Tytla. "It just happened. I don't know a damn thing about elephants. It wasn't that. I was thinking in terms of humans, and I saw a chance to do a chracter without using any cheap theatrics. Most of the expressions and mannerisms I got from my own kid. There's nothing theatrical about a two-year-old kid. They're real and sincere- like when they damn near wet their pants from excitement when you come home at night. I've bawled my kid out for pestering me when I'm reading or something, and he doesn't know what to make of it. He'll just stand there and maybe grab my hand and cry... I tried to put all those things in Dumbo."
Close up of the WDP stamp.
Certainly the greatest theme of "Dumbo" was the wonderful friendship between the mute baby elephant Dumbo and his unlikely friend, a mouse name Timothy. Various Disney animators were involved with the creation and animation of Timothy Q. Mouse including Fred Moore, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Ward Kimball. Edward S. Brophy was an American character actor, voice artist, and comedian; and he provided the voice for Timothy Mouse even though he was not credited in the film for the role.
Back of the Courvoisier cel setup of Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse.
Original Courvoisier Galleries label.
Close up of the stamp Copyright Walt Disney Productions.
Close up of the stamp Copyright Walt Disney Productions.
Framed Courvoisier cel setup of Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse.
This
cel is from the scene when Timothy Mouse tries to lift the spirits of a very sad Dumbo. Timothy wants to create an act for Dumbo for the circus; but not just any act, something that is truly amazing! He says to Dumbo, "Dumbo the Great! Uh-oh. The great what? Ya know, Dumbo, we gotta get an
idea. Not just any idea. Something colossal, like, uh--" This is an exceptional image of the two main characters, Dumbo and his best friend Timothy Q. Mouse. Both are full figure, eyes open, and Dumbo has a big smile. This is a rare Courvoisier cel setup and would make a wonderful addition to any
animation collection!
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