This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.
There is something nostalgic about sitting down with your kids to watch a movie that you enjoyed as a child. I would have been a similar age to my six year old daughter when I saw Dumbo for the first time and to my surprise I think she cried watching the movie even more than I did as a child!
It was interesting to watch the different reactions from my six year old daughter and four year old son. My daughter cried at a number of places through out the movie, where as my son, although looking concerned never became noticeably upset. I think this has more to do with age and personality than gender. My daughter has a very nurturing and sensitive nature and was sad to see Dumbo, a character that she aligned to her toddler younger brother, being taunted and then separated from his mum.
In just over an hour (such a good length film for young ones) Dumbo tells the tale of an elephant who is noticeably different, but with the help of his friend Timothy Mouse, overcomes adversity to truly shine. It is an emotional tale, but one which provides a number of “teachable moments” about friendship and believing in yourself. And it helps that there is a happy ending!
To celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Dumbo, Disney have re-released the Walt Disney classic digitally restored, and for the first time it is now available on Blu-Ray High Definition. We aren’t that high tech as to have Blu-Ray yet, so we watched the digitally restored DVD and the colour that comes through from the restoration process is beautiful to watch.
Coming out of the Vault, the anniversary release also has bonus features and footage from Dumbo which has not previously been seen before. I have always wondered why elephants are supposed to have been frightened by mice and one of the extra scenes on the DVD has a very cute explanation to this very question!
There are interviews and observations on the making of Dumbo, which shows the creativity and planning that went into making the family film so special. In the additional scenes you also see short snippets of footage from Snow White, which my daughter is yet to see. So that is now the movie next on our list, when we head to the DVD store.
Do you have a favourite Disney classic that you have enjoyed watching again with your kids?