Mother Elephant, Dumbo

MEDIUM: Original Photostat Model Sheet
PRODUCTION: Dumbo, 1941
IMAGE SIZE: 14" x 11"
SKU: CCV4462

ABOUT THE IMAGE: Dumbo is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, and illustrated by Helen Durney for the prototype of a novelty toy ("Roll-a-Book"). The main character is Jumbo Jr., an elephant who is cruelly nicknamed "Dumbo", as in "dumb". He is ridiculed for his big ears, but in fact he is capable of flying by using his ears as wings. Throughout most of the film, his only true friend, aside from his mother, is the mouse, Timothy – a relationship parodying the stereotypical animosity between mice and elephants.

This piece shows signs of light production wear: wrinkling along edges. The embedded date on this model sheet reads March 13th, 1940.

ABOUT THE MEDIUM: A model sheet is a group of character drawings illustrating different poses and expressions of a cartoon character. Because a number of artists worked on a single cartoon, these sheets were circulated to the animators to give a uniform look and feel to a character throughout a production.