The stretch of time between my Fantasia and Dumbo reviews was long (though, at ten months, I made it one month faster than Disney managed in actually releasing the films). And that's okay.
I'm new to this serious criticism thing, and, fun as it is, it's far more time-consuming than what I'm used to writing. Maybe I'm being too meticulous in combing through these movies for little tid-bits of interest, but I can't quite say that I'm any more fastidious than Disney was, and that's my standard.
Most of us, I suspect, viewed these films intently primarily as children, with childrens' eyes, and then perhaps with only half as much attention (if at all) as adults. But it bears remembering that Disney's success is best attributed to the fanatical level of detail and care that went into the production. So I think it's my duty to be on the watch for that, and to try to understand what went wrong when the Disney magic fails.
Life isn't perfect. There are highs and lows, and the lows always seem much worse than the highs seem better. If you aren't one of those lucky few blessed with a shoddy memory, you are basically doomed to relive your worst failures on a daily basis. Even if you smile and steel yourself against the misery, choosing to live as well as you can in spite of its constant, crushing weight, you'll find yourself inevitably filled with regret. This is the price of imagination and lucidity. They say that to know where you've been is to know where you're going, but nobody really remembers the happy times. So the future must seem bleak, if you're concerned with it.
I've long since stopped acting like there's anything to find at the end of the rainbow. But the more I step back from that desperate precipice of ambition, the more it appears to others that I'm doing fine. I have reached this dizzying state of neutrality, and though all actions appear equally futile, I keep doing stuff. I don't think I'm depressed, but if I am, it isn't the debilitating kind that strains at the fabric of my day-to-day life. And it isn't ennui, easy as that would be to prescribe. There's plenty of excitement in this life, but only where I don't expect it. Surprises are dangerous: they aren't always good.
It's hard to watch a movie that cost the equivalent of millions of dollars, tens of thousands of man-hours, and the application of the most advanced animation techniques and most skilled animators of its time, and label it as a disappointment. Somehow it's easier with the movies of today, where hundreds of millions of dollars are thrown into terrible (yet still successful!) animated features each year. But Disney in 1941 was supposed to be breaking new ground, and it's painful to see such a wasted opportunity.
But Disney was right. Dumbo was the cheapest film Disney had made, and its profits basically saved the studio in a time of huge upheaval. For all my dislike, audiences loved it (and still love it), and many of the people I spoke with about it while writing the review voiced fond memories of it. Dumbo was a huge success, and there is no justice in this world.
So why do you keep looking for it? Imagine this is a just world. Imagine you want for nothing. Imagine you already have everything you ever desired. Imagine what you would do next.
Perhaps I am cruel. In comparison to many suffering folk, I lead an idyllic life. However good you think my life is, by your standards, it is probably even better than you realize. In my short time I have seen and done enough to fill a dozen lives with joy and fascination. But there is little satisfaction in it. My soul resides in space, in endless pursuit of the white whale of the cosmos, and the limited perspective available here on terra firma feels more and more empty.
So I apologize, as there is no braggadocio meant in it. That difference in perspective might make it harder to find sympathy, and each of us has a different path up the mountain, with different twists and turns. If my road was straighter than some, it's no credit to me. And those who see far usually can't make out much detail.
Dumbo, a bad film, was the right choice. None of us outlive our mania. I will leave you with a quote. As always, what's good is up to you.
"Acts of goodness are not always wise, and acts of evil are not always foolish, but regardless, we shall always strive to be good."
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