Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios . He was part of Walt Disney 's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men . His films have been honored with two Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film .
103-521: Outside of his job as an animator, Kimball was a railroad enthusiast as well as a talented jazz trombonist. He founded and led the seven-piece Dixieland band Firehouse Five Plus Two , in which he played the trombone . Kimball was born on March 4, 1914, in Minneapolis. His father was a salesman who traveled widely. He grew up in the Midwest, often residing with his grandparents. While Kimball
206-527: A Communist flag and Russian boots to Pinkie . These masterpiece remixes are thought to have been appropriated by the street artist Banksy . His three acting appearances on film were an uncredited role as a jazz musician (with his Firehouse Five Plus Two) in Hit Parade of 1951 , an IRS Chief in Mike Jittlov 's The Wizard of Speed and Time , and voicing and giving his likeness to half of
309-460: A live-action adaptation of Dumbo was in development. In the same announcement, Ehren Kruger was confirmed as the screenwriter, as well as co-producer with Justin Springer. On March 10, 2015, Tim Burton was announced as the director. On January 11, 2017, it was reported that Will Smith was in talks to star in the remake as the father of some children who befriend Dumbo. That same day, it
412-593: A Musical Picture . In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant". In the years following its initial release, Dumbo remains popular ever since, with a popular theme park attraction , merchandise products, a television series , and a live-action adaptation being produced. In Florida , while
515-485: A consultant on special assignments. He worked on the World of Motion attraction for Disney's EPCOT Center . Kimball was profiled by producer Jerry Fairbanks in his Paramount Pictures film short series Unusual Occupations . This 35mm Magnacolor film short was released theatrically in 1944; it focused on Kimball's backyard railroad and full-sized locomotive. Kimball was also a jazz trombonist . He founded and led
618-539: A data book listing the locomotives or equipment in question, in which locomotives seen are ticked off. An early trainspotter was 14-year-old Fanny Gordon, who in 1861 recorded the names of locomotives passing Westbourne Park station on the Great Western Main Line . The hobby is referenced in Edith Nesbit's 1905 children's book The Railway Children . In Great Britain, this aspect of the hobby
721-462: A director for some of them. He and Charles August Nichols co-directed the animated short films Melody (1953) and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953). Melody was the Disney studio's first animated 3D film ; Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom won the 1954 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and was the Disney studio's first widescreen CinemaScope animated film. Kimball also directed
824-402: A distinct appearance and character. Kimball supervised or directed the animation of several Disney animated feature films. Among them were Fantasia (1940), The Reluctant Dragon (1941), and The Three Caballeros (1944). The last film mentioned featured the trio of Donald Duck , José Carioca , and Panchito Pistoles . According to animation historian Jeff Lenburg, The Three Caballeros
927-490: A fantrip by road for the purposes of photography is often referred to as "motorcading" in Australia. Some enthusiasts combine their interest in trains with the hobby of monitoring radio communications, specializing in listening to radio communications of railroad operations using a scanner . In some busy rail corridors, local governments have budgeted, constructed and maintain railfan viewing platforms, sometimes part of
1030-421: A hill is a reference to Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could . The voice actors are uncredited for their roles in the film. Dumbo is based upon a children's story written by Helen Aberson-Mayer and Harold Pearl, with illustrations by Helen Durney. The children's book was first brought to the attention of Walt Disney in late 1939 by Kay Kamen , the studio's head of merchandise licensing, who showed
1133-444: A large circus spends the off-season in its winter grounds, a flock of white storks delivers many babies to the animals . One elephant , Mrs. Jumbo, does not receive her baby, and keeps scanning the sky in hope. The next spring, the circus sets out on a new tour. A belated stork catches up with a moving train named Casey Jr. and drops off the expected baby elephant, Jumbo Jr. The other elephants are initially delighted, until they see
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#17327797817701236-901: A park area or nearby rail museum, which they promote along with other tourist attractions. One such example is the Folkston Railfan Platform along CSX tracks in Folkston, Georgia , USA, where viewers can see regular Florida freight traffic, as well as Amtrak passenger trains, including its daily AutoTrain . In some democratic countries, such as Canada , many railfans advocate politically for expanded railway infrastructure and promote civic engagement that encourages further development of railways. Owing to their presence at stations and near other areas of rail infrastructure, railfans have sometimes been requested to aid railways and legal authorities alike in observing and reporting safety breaches and incidents of crime. Railfans in
1339-626: A part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection. On October 23, 2001, a 60th Anniversary Edition was released in VHS and DVD formats. In 2006, a "Big Top Edition" of the film was released on DVD. A 70th Anniversary Edition of the film was released in the United States on September 20, 2011. The 70th Anniversary Edition was produced in two packages: a two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo and a one-disc DVD. The film
1442-521: A prototype of the Roll-A-Book that included Dumbo . Disney immediately grasped its possibilities and heartwarming story and purchased the rights to it. Originally intended as a short film, Disney soon realized a decent book adaption needed a feature-length film. At the time, the foreign markets in Europe had been curtailed due to World War II , which caused Pinocchio and Fantasia to fail at
1545-450: A psychological aid. As Dumbo successfully flies about the big top, much to the audience’s delight, he throws a trunkful of peanuts to the other elephants as payback. Dumbo gains fame and fortune, Timothy becomes his new manager and signs him to a Hollywood contract, and Mrs. Jumbo is freed. She and Dumbo are given a private coach on Casey Jr., and the crows wave goodbye to the duo as they travel away. Note : The scene where Casey Jr. climbs
1648-425: A result, the character designs are simpler, background paintings are less detailed, and a number of held cels (or frames) were used in the character animation . Although the film is more "cartoony" than previous Disney films, the animators brought elephants and other animals into the studio to study their movement. Watercolor paint was used to render the backgrounds. Dumbo is one of the few Disney features to use
1751-401: A story team headed by Otto Englander translated the outline into story sketches. From Disney's perspective, Dumbo required none of the special effects that had slowed down production and grew the budgets of Pinocchio , Fantasia , and Bambi . When the film went into production in early 1941, supervising director Ben Sharpsteen was given orders to keep the film simple and inexpensive. As
1854-451: A train or for covering unexplored parts of the rail network. The practice of bashing dates back to the decline of steam locomotive operations, when more passionate trainspotters wished to note which steam engines they had travelled behind. Following the withdrawal of mainline steam in 1968, a new generation of bashers took to accumulating mileage behind diesel locomotives; the variety of diesel types, destinations to travel behind them, and
1957-535: A view of the track, stealing goods to sell on to fund expensive cameras, theft of railway equipment, being rude towards station staff and train drivers, physical assault , and attempting to intimidate passengers and road users for inadvertently interfering with their activities. Network Rail , the British rail infrastructure owner and station operator, has produced guidelines for the behaviour and responsibilities of railway enthusiasts at its stations. In May 2010,
2060-524: A weighted score of 96 out of 100 for Dumbo based on 11 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The film has been criticized for its stereotypical depiction of black people . The Encyclopedia of Racism in American Films (2018) notes that "All of the circus laborers are African American, the only time that blacks are seen in any great number in the entire movie." Film scholar Richard Schickel , in his 1968 book The Disney Version , argued that
2163-429: Is a 1941 American animated fantasy drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures . The film 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 ridiculed for his oversized ears and mockingly nicknamed "Dumbo", but in fact he
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#17327797817702266-566: Is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Railfans often combine their interest with other hobbies, especially photography and videography , radio scanning , railway modelling , studying railroad history and participating in railway station and rolling stock preservation efforts. There are many magazines and websites dedicated to railfanning and railway enthusiasts, including Trains , Railfan & Railroad , The Railway Magazine , Locomotive Magazine and Railway Gazette International . In
2369-406: Is capable of flying by using his ears as wings . Throughout most of the film, his only true friend, aside from his mother, is a mouse named Timothy – a relationship parodying the stereotypical animosity between mice and elephants . Produced to recoup the financial losses of both Pinocchio and Fantasia , Dumbo was a deliberate pursuit of simplicity and economy. At 64 minutes, it is one of
2472-584: Is considered to have a place among the finest work of Kimball's career. The film was reportedly successful in the American box office , earning about 3 to 4 million dollars. Kimball directed the character animation and sequences of the Pecos Bill segment in Melody Time (1948). He also worked as a senior animator for The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). In Cinderella (1950), Kimball
2575-725: Is currently served by Riverside Transit Agency buses, with train service as part of the Metrolink 91/Perris Valley Line . Kimball is credited with helping Walt Disney for the inspiration to install the Disneyland Railroad at Disneyland . The inspiration for the Disneyland Railroad also partly came from Disney's personal 7 + 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 184 mm ) gauge, live steam backyard Carolwood Pacific Railroad , which Kimball had partially constructed. Kimball's Grizzly Flats train station served as
2678-494: Is king of them all." Harrison's Reports praised the film as "one of Walt Disney's most delightful offerings. Technically, it is excellent; the color is exceptionally good. The story itself is pleasing; it combines comedy with human appeal. The only fault is that occasionally the action slows down." Time had originally scheduled to run a story with an appearance cover for "Mammal of the Year" (a play on its annual "Man/Person of
2781-568: Is unique for being the only animated cartoon made independently from the Disney Studios by one of Disney's Nine Old Men . The short is further noticeable for its satirical edge and political and erotic content. Kimball died in 2002 in Arcadia, California of complications from pneumonia at age 88. In 2005, the Disneyland Railroad named its newly acquired locomotive No. 5 " Ward Kimball " in his memory. The Academy Film Archive houses
2884-612: The New York City Subway attempted to institute a photo ban, which was met with fierce opposition and ultimately scrapped. In sharp contrast, the Port Authority Trans–Hudson (PATH) successfully implemented a photo ban that is still in effect (although it predated the 11 September attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing); it has led to confiscations and arrests on the PATH system. A trainspotter may use
2987-784: The Southern California Railway Museum (formerly the Orange Empire Railway Museum) in Perris, California . A full-size steam locomotive , which Kimball ran on his private 3-acre (1.2 ha) backyard railroad known as Grizzly Flats Railroad in San Gabriel, California , bears some of his original artwork on the headlamp and cab, and is on permanent display at the museum. Kimball's roundhouse also included two small steam engines that had been used on sugar cane plantations, one of which
3090-552: The Walt Disney Animation Studios ), and that he should pursue a career in animation . In March 1934, a 20-year-old Kimball applied for a job at the Disney studio. In April 1934, he was hired as an inbetweener . He was then promoted to an assistant animator. He served as an assistant to animator Hamilton Luske . Kimball worked primarily in the Silly Symphony series, where his film credits include
3193-407: The hiccups , so Timothy takes him to the vat for some water, only to discover that the water contains champagne. Both of them get drunk , and hallucinate pink elephants. While recovering the next morning, Dumbo and Timothy are later discovered asleep high up in a tree by Dandy Crow and his gang of crows . Initially making fun of Timothy's assertion that Dumbo flew with his ears while being drunk,
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3296-476: The 1950s, defended the crows in an article entitled Black Crows and Other PC Nonsense . The crows and Timothy Q. Mouse were not included in the 2019 live-action/CGI remake of Dumbo . In 2019, it was reported that an edited version of the animated film without the crows would be featured on the forthcoming Disney+ service. The movie streams on Disney+ uncensored, with an advisory in the synopsis warning "it may contain outdated cultural depictions." In 2021,
3399-596: The 1950s, the Disney studio shifted its focus from theatrical animation to television. Kimball wrote and directed three hour-long television shows about space exploration . They were Man in Space (1955), Man and the Moon (1955), and Mars and Beyond (1957). The consultants for these shows included pioneers of the Space Age , such as aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun . According to animation historian Jeff Lenburg,
3502-603: The 1975 video Model Railroading Unlimited as the host in the beginning of the movie and was showing parts of his GFRR. Kimball was featured in the 1987 Great Toy Train Layouts of America book and in the first installment of the Great Toy Train Layouts of America video series in 1988, produced by TM Books and Video. In 1968, Kimball directed a two-minute animated short called Escalation , which criticized Lyndon B. Johnson 's Vietnam War policy. The short
3605-618: The Disney Studio's next feature film, Pinocchio . It took Kimball 12 or 14 drafts before completing his final design of Jiminy. Kimball told one interviewer that he "hated" animating Jiminy Cricket: "I got sick of drawing that oval head looking in every direction.") Kimball's next major task was designing the sympathetic Crows in Dumbo (1941). Following the example of the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White , Kimball had to give each crow
3708-546: The Disney corporation. Note: At the time these films were produced it was common for one animator to animate every single character in the shot. I hope I can hold out for the big one, the great earthquake. Then when California slips into the Pacific Ocean, then me and all my trains can fall into the great abyss and into oblivion. —Ward Kimball Along with his employer and friend Walt Disney , and friend Ollie Johnston , Kimball collected old railroad ephemera. He
3811-463: The Disney studio. Kimball spent months working on the scene in which the Seven Dwarfs are eating soup, prepared for them by Snow White . This scene, however, was ultimately cut to shorten the length of the film. Kimball was a strikebreaker in 1941, breaking the Disney animators' strike. He was considered a "scab" by many of his peers. "I felt terrible," Kimball wrote in his journal. "Friends on
3914-591: The Flying Elephant is a popular ride that appears in Disneyland , Walt Disney World 's Magic Kingdom , Tokyo Disneyland , Disneyland Park (Paris) , and Hong Kong Disneyland . It is located in Fantasyland . The Casey Jr. Circus Train is an attraction found at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris . In June 2009, Disneyland introduced a flying Dumbo to their nighttime fireworks show, in which
4017-789: The Kimball Family Collection which includes over 60 home movie reels, as well as short films, TV spots, and jazz band performances, serving to document Ward's personal interests and moments in his extraordinary career. The collection also includes home movies and shorts by his son, filmmaker and animator John Kimball. The archive has preserved several of the Kimball family home movies, including family vacations to Death Valley and Disneyland. Railfan A railfan , train fan , rail buff or train buff ( American English ), railway enthusiast , railway buff , trainspotter ( Australian / British English ) or ferroequinologist
4120-917: The United Kingdom, rail enthusiasts are often called trainspotters or anoraks . The term gricer has been used in the UK since at least 1969 and is said to have been current in 1938 amongst members of the Manchester Locomotive Society, according to the Oxford English Dictionary . There has been speculation that the term derives from "grouser", one who collects dead grouse after a shoot , but other etymologies have also been suggested. In Australia, they are sometimes referred to as " gunzels ". In Japan rail enthusiasts are known as densha otaku , although numerous terms exist to describe activities falling within
4223-627: The United States have been asked by BNSF to keep railroad areas safer by reporting crimes and suspicious activity. In the United Kingdom the British Transport Police have asked trainspotters to report any unusual behaviour and activities at stations. In the United States, concerns about terrorism have led to situations where railfans are followed or confronted by local law enforcement or transit police . This has also led to situations where certain transportation agencies have implemented photography bans systemwide. A railfan
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4326-400: The Year" honor) on December 8, 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 of that year had postponed it, and the story was later published on December 29. Among retrospective reviews, film critic Leonard Maltin stated that Dumbo is his favorite of Disney's films and he described it as "one of Walt Disney's most charming animated films". In 2011, Richard Corliss of Time named
4429-399: The advent of World War II , Dumbo was still the most financially successful Disney film of the 1940s. After its October 23 release, Dumbo proved to be a financial miracle compared to other Disney films. The simple film only cost $ 950,000 (equivalent to $ 19,680,000 in 2023) to produce, half the cost of Snow White , less than a third of the cost of Pinocchio , and certainly less than
4532-576: The animated short films The Wise Little Hen (1934), The Goddess of Spring (1934), and The Tortoise and the Hare (1935). He also worked on Mickey Mouse shorts, where his film credits include the short films Orphan's Benefit (1934) and Pluto's Judgement Day (1935). In 1936, Kimball was promoted to an animator in his own right. He continued to work in the Silly Symphony series. Some of his memorable credits in this position include
4635-469: The animated short films Toby Tortoise Returns (1936), More Kittens (1936), and Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938). His first solo effort as an animator was animating a grasshopper turned musician in Woodland Café (1937). As one of Disney's Nine Old Men , Kimball was tasked with animating on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The film was the first feature-length animated film by
4738-456: The animators that were assigned on Bambi were not appropriate for the look of Dumbo . Animators such as Art Babbitt and Ward Kimball were considered for the film. For that reason, less experienced animators were brought on to animate the characters. Kimball recalled that Disney approached him in a parking lot about Dumbo and summarized the entire story in five minutes. "And listening to him tell that story," Kimball noted, "I could tell that
4841-404: The baby has revealed far-oversized ears, and mockingly nickname him "Dumbo". Mrs. Jumbo shows her baby great care and love, defending him from the others' abuse. Being clumsy due to his ears, Dumbo is made into a sideshow attraction. When some rowdy boys started to bully Dumbo and his ears, Mrs. Jumbo spanks their leader and throws hay bales at them. The circus staff quickly remove Dumbo from
4944-487: The backchat found on the band records of Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong . Karina Longworth , exploring the history of Song of the South in her podcast You Must Remember This , discussed the basis of the crows in minstrel show culture, as part of a wider use of minstrel culture by Walt Disney . The crow characters have been praised by a number of critical sources. The animation historian John Canemaker felt that
5047-401: The box office. With the film's modest budget, Dumbo was intended to be a low-budget feature designed to bring revenue to the studio. Story artists Dick Huemer and Joe Grant were assigned to develop the plot into a feature-length film. From January 22 to March 21, 1940, they wrote a 102-page script outline in chapters, much like a book, an unusual way of writing a film script. They conceived
5150-466: The category including Toritetsu for fans of photographing and/or filming trains, Nori-tetsu (people who enjoy travelling by train) and Eki-tetsu (enthusiasts of train station architecture). In the United States, they can be referred to pejoratively as " foamers ". There is a dispute over the origin of this term. Some cite the extensive use of styrofoam to create scenery and landscaping in model railroad building, while others trace its origins to
5253-493: The chaotic twin bears Claude and Lolly, the curious zebra Dot, the older, independent hippo Godfry, and the adventurous ostrich Penny. The animals were metaphors for the different stages of childhood. Dumbo II was supposed to be set on the day immediately following the end of the first Dumbo movie. John Lasseter cancelled Dumbo II , soon after being named Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006. On July 8, 2014, Walt Disney Pictures announced that
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#17327797817705356-461: The clowns' requests to get a raise from their boss being a reference to the Disney animators that went on strike in 1941 (during the creation of the film), demanding higher pay from Walt himself. Animator and strike organizer Art Babbitt denied this, saying he had been assigned to animate the sequence before the strike. "People attached political significance to what happened there. You know, 'Let's go on strike' and so on. We weren't thinking strike at
5459-400: The crows are soon moved by Dumbo's sad story. They decide to help Timothy, giving him a "magic feather " to help Dumbo fly. Holding the feather, Dumbo does indeed take off a second time. He and Timothy return to the circus with plans to surprise the audience. During the clowns' fire act, Dumbo jumps off the platform and prepares to fly. He drops the feather, but Timothy assures him it was only
5562-527: The crows were amongst the very few characters in the film that sympathize and are empathetic with Dumbo's plight. Being a marginalized ethnic group themselves, they can relate to Dumbo as a fellow outcast . Canemaker further added that the crows "are the most intelligent, the happiest, the freest spirited characters in the whole film." In 1980, film critic Michael Wilmington referred to the crows as "father figures", self-assured individuals who are "obvious parodies of proletarian blacks", but comments, "The crows are
5665-478: The dangers of acting carelessly in the vicinity of an active railway were highlighted after an enthusiast, standing immediately next to a double track line photographing the Oliver Cromwell , failed to notice a Bombardier Turbostar express train approaching at ~70 mph (112 km/h) on the nearer track in the other direction, and came within inches of being struck by it. Dumbo Dumbo
5768-569: The elephant flies around Sleeping Beauty Castle while fireworks synched to music go off. Casey Junior is the second float in the Main Street Electrical Parade and its versions. Casey, driven by Goofy, pulls a drum with the parade logo and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse . The Ringmaster appears as one of four villains in the 1999 PC game Disney's Villains' Revenge . In the game, the Disney Villains alter
5871-592: The expensive Fantasia . Dumbo eventually grossed roughly more than $ 1.3 million (equivalent to $ 33,140,000 in 2023) during its original release. The film returned a profit of $ 850,000. Variety wrote that Dumbo was "a pleasant little story, plenty of pathos mixed with the large doses of humor, a number of appealing new animal characters, lots of good music, and the usual Disney skillfulness in technique in drawing and use of color." Cecelia Ager , writing in PM , called Dumbo "the nicest, kindest Disney yet. It has
5974-404: The film as one of the 25 all-time best animated films. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 98% based on 42 reviews, with an average score of 8.3/10. The website's consensus reads " Dumbo packs plenty of story into its brief runtime, along with all the warm animation and wonderful music you'd expect from a Disney classic." Metacritic has assigned
6077-468: The film include: Dumbo was completed and delivered to Disney's distributor, RKO Radio Pictures , on September 11, 1941. RKO initially balked at the film's 64-minute length and asked Disney to add another ten minutes. Disney refused, "No, that's as far as I can stretch it. You can stretch a thing so far and then it won't hold. The picture is right as it is. And another ten minutes is liable to cost five hundred thousand dollars. I can't afford it." The film
6180-478: The film was one of several that Disney limited to viewers 7 years and older on their service Disney+, citing similarity of the crows' depictions to "racist minstrel shows". Dumbo's Circus is a live-action/ puppet television series for preschool audiences that aired on The Disney Channel in the 1980s. Unlike in the film, Dumbo spoke on the show. Each character would perform a special act, which ranged from dancing and singing to telling knock knock jokes . Dumbo
6283-469: The game. In 2001, the "60th Anniversary Edition" DVD of Dumbo featured a sneak peek of the proposed sequel Dumbo II , including new character designs and storyboards. Robert C. Ramirez ( Joseph: King of Dreams ) was to direct the sequel, in which Dumbo and his circus friends navigated a large city after being left behind by their traveling circus. Dumbo II also sought to explain what happened to Dumbo's father, Mr. Jumbo. Dumbo's circus friends included
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#17327797817706386-529: The group of crows in the film were African American stereotypes. The lead crow, voiced by white actor Cliff Edwards in an imitation of Southern African American dialect, was named "Jim Crow", after the pre-Civil-War minstrel character . The term had become a pejorative term for African Americans, and commonly referred to racial segregation laws , and the character's name was changed in the 1950s to "Dandy Crow" in attempt to avoid controversy. The other crows were voiced by African American actors and singers of
6489-472: The happy endings from Jiminy Cricket 's book; in particular, the Ringmaster forces Dumbo to endlessly perform humiliating stunts in his circus. In the end, the Ringmaster is defeated when he is knocked unconscious by a well-aimed custard pie. Dumbo appears in the popular PlayStation 2 game Kingdom Hearts released in 2002 in the form of a summon that the player can call upon in battle for aid. Sora ,
6592-682: The house band. He and his partner won $ 75 in their quiz portion of the show, including one Disney animation question that Kimball answered easily: the answer was Pinocchio . Kimball continued to work at Disney until 1974, working on the Disney anthology television series , being one of the writers for Babes in Toyland , creating animation for Mary Poppins , directing the animation for Bedknobs and Broomsticks , and working on titles for feature films such as The Adventures Of Bullwhip Griffin and Million Dollar Duck . His last staff work for Disney
6695-435: The inside waving to me to come in. Friends on the outside pleading with me to stay out; Jeezus. I was on the spot!" Following the release of Snow White , Kimball was promoted to a supervising or directing animator. He would remain in this position until his retirement in the 1970s. His employer Walt Disney was sufficiently satisfied with Kimball's work that he entrusted him with designing the new character Jiminy Cricket in
6798-438: The latter sleeps, convincing him to try a new stunt with Dumbo as the top of a pyramid of elephants. Dumbo trips on his ears during the show and knocks over the pyramid, injuring the others and causing the big top to collapse. After, all elephants exile Dumbo permanently as he is put in with the clowns' firemen act, regularly jumping from a "burning building" prop into a vat of pie filling. Despite his newfound popularity, he hates
6901-704: The model for the Disneyland Frontierland Train Station. As a tribute to Kimball, Engine No. 5 of the Disneyland Railroad is named the Ward Kimball . In addition, Kimball also designed the logo for the Wildcat Railroad in Los Gatos, California , owned by Billy Jones , a friend of Walt Disney who was an engineer for the Disneyland Railroad during its first week of operation. Kimball's talents are also evident in
7004-426: The most completely precious cartoon feature film ever to emerge from the magical brushes of Walt Disney's wonder-working artists". Time wrote: "Like story and characters, Dumbo ' s coloring is soft and subdued, free from picture-postcard colors and confusing detail—a significant technical advance. But the charm of Dumbo is that it again brings to life that almost human animal kingdom where Walter Elias Disney
7107-401: The most taste, beauty, compassion, skill, restraint. It marks a return to Disney first principles, the animal kingdom—that happy land where Disney workers turn into artists; where their imagination, playfulness, ingenuity, daring flourish freest; where, in short, they're home." Bosley Crowther , reviewing for The New York Times , wrote that the film was "the most genial, the most endearing,
7210-449: The new performance and is upset. Timothy decides to take Dumbo to see Mrs. Jumbo, but they cannot see each other's faces and can only intertwine trunks. Meanwhile, the clowns decide to increase the popularity of their fireman act by dangerously raising the platform Dumbo jumps from. In celebration of the plan, they drink champagne , and a bottle of it falls into a water vat. Crying after visiting his mother, Dumbo has an unsettling case of
7313-418: The pen, causing Mrs. Jumbo to fly into a rage, eventually dousing the circus’s ringmaster in a water tub. She is subsequently deemed mad and locked up in a cage, while Dumbo is blamed for the incident, and is still bullied by the others. After scaring off the other elephants, Timothy, a mouse that travels with the circus, befriends Dumbo and decides to make him a star. He whispers in the ringmaster's ear while
7416-440: The picture was going to work. Because everything sounded right. It had a great plot." In spite of this, Bill Tytla , who was one of the studio's top animators, animated the title character, but admitted that "it was in the nature of the film to go very fast and get it out in a hurry." To speed up production, Disney used photostats of story sketches instead of full layout artwork for the film, and had experienced animators to supervise
7519-427: The popular all-black " Hall Johnson Choir ", including actors James Baskett ( Song of the South ) and Nick Stewart ( The Amos 'n' Andy Show ). Ward Kimball , the chief animator of the crows, used famous African-American dancers Freddie and Eugene Jackson as live-action reference for the characters. The personalities and mannerisms of the crows—specifically their fast-paced, back and forth dialogue—were inspired by
7622-486: The protagonist, flies on Dumbo while he splashes enemies with water from his trunk. Dumbo reprises his role as a summon in the follow-up game Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories released in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance . Dumbo, Timothy Q. Mouse, the Ringmaster, Mrs. Jumbo, and Mr. Stork appear as playable characters in the world builder video game Disney Magic Kingdoms , as part of the main storyline of
7725-708: The pursuit of clearing classes all fuelled the popularity of bashing. Today, despite the majority of British trains being formed of multiple units , bashing still remains a popular pastime for railway enthusiasts. "Shed bashing" describes going out to as many railway sheds or depots as possible. It was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s. As they required a permit that could be hard to obtain, some "shed bashers" were illegal. Many railway preservation groups run special trips for railfans using restored trains , often on "rare mileage" lines that do not see regular passenger service. These trips are both social events and opportunities for railfans to photograph unusual trains. Chasing
7828-486: The related term "Foamite" (which stands for "Far Out and Mentally Incompetent Train Enthusiast") or claim it refers to "the notion of foaming-at-the-mouth craziness". "Ferroequinologist" derives from the use of " Iron horse " as a nickname for early steam locomotives. The hobby extends to all aspects of rail transport systems. Railfans may have one or more particular concentrations of interest, such as: The scope of
7931-771: The reproduction steam locomotives built for the National Park Service at the Golden Spike National Historic Site at Promontory, Utah . Kimball helped match colors with an engine at the Smithsonian Institution and painted the artwork for the replicas of the Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific Jupiter built by O'Connor Engineering Laboratories for the Park Service. Kimball was also in
8034-526: The seven-piece Dixieland band Firehouse Five Plus Two , in which he played trombone . The band made at least 13 LP records and toured clubs, college campuses and jazz festivals from the 1940s to early 1970s. Kimball once said that Walt Disney permitted the second career as long as it did not interfere with his animation work. Kimball appeared on the March 17, 1954, episode of You Bet Your Life , in which Groucho Marx coaxed him into playing his trombone with
8137-598: The short films It's Tough to Be a Bird (1969) and Dad, Can I Borrow the Car? (1970). It's Tough to Be a Bird won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Kimball served as a screenwriter for the featurette Eyes In Outer Space (1959). The film combined live action and animation. It depicted weather satellites and explained how the weather is predicted. The film was originally theatrically released. Around 1962, it started being shown in Disneyland . During
8240-507: The snappiest, liveliest, most together characters in the film. They are tough and generous. They bow down to no one. And, of course, it is they who teach Dumbo to fly." In 2017, Whoopi Goldberg expressed the desire for the crow characters to be more merchandised by Disney, "because those crows sing the song in Dumbo that everybody remembers." In 2019, Floyd Norman , the first African-American animator hired at Walt Disney Productions during
8343-433: The stork-delivery and the pink elephants sequences and had Dumbo's mother renamed from "Mother Ella" to "Mrs. Jumbo". They riffed on elephants' fear of mice by replacing a wise robin named "Red" found in the original story with the wisecracking mouse character, Timothy. They also added a "rusty black crow", which was later expanded into five. Regardless of this, very little was changed from the original draft. In March 1940,
8446-623: The studio's shortest animated features. Sound was recorded conventionally using the RCA System. One voice was synthesized using the Sonovox system, but it too was recorded using the RCA System. Dumbo was released on October 23, 1941, where it was met with critical acclaim for its story, humor, visuals, and music. The film was later criticized for stereotyping of black people . Its accolades include an Academy Award for Best Scoring of
8549-574: The subject is so large that fans may additionally concentrate their interest on a particular country, town, railway company , field of operations or era in history – or a combination of any of the above. Train photography is a common activity of railfans. Most railfans do their photographing from public property, unless they have permission to use a specific private property owner's land. Occasionally, they run into problems with law enforcement, especially due to post 9/11 security concerns, because they are sometimes viewed as suspicious. In 2004, for example,
8652-436: The technique, which was also used for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , and regularly employed for the various Disney cartoon shorts. The other Disney features used oil paint and gouache . 2002's Lilo & Stitch , which drew influences from Dumbo , also made use of watercolor backgrounds . During a story meeting for Bambi on February 27, 1940, Disney observed that Dumbo was "an obvious straight cartoon" and that
8755-441: The three shows helped in sparking popular interest in spaceflight . Kimball was also responsible for the science-fiction two-reel cartoon Cosmic Capers (1957). Kimball also worked (as a writer) on the live-action musical Babes in Toyland (1961). He later returned to television and directed 43 episodes of The Mouse Factory (1972–1973). Kimball retired in 1973 and left the Disney studio. He continued, however, to serve as
8858-518: The time. In fact, there never would have been a strike if it hadn't been forced on us." Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace scored the film while Ned Washington wrote the lyrics to the songs. For their work on the score, Churchill and Wallace won the Academy Award for Best Original Score . Churchill and Washington's work on " Baby Mine " also garnered a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song . Original songs performed in
8961-605: The vaudeville duo "Ward and Fred" in the Mickey Mouse short The Nifty Nineties (with fellow Disney animator Fred Moore ). Kimball served as host of the " Man in Space " and " Man and the Moon " episodes of Disneyland in 1955 and 1956 respectively. He hosted the second season of the 1992 PBS series Tracks Ahead . That season has since been repackaged to feature current host Spencer Christian . As recounted in Neal Gabler 's biography of Walt Disney, Ward Kimball
9064-400: The younger, less experienced animators assigned on the film. Production on the film was interrupted on May 29, 1941, when much of the Disney animation staff went on strike. Kimball chose to not to strike, but his close friend Walt Kelly , who was an assistant animator helping him on the crow sequence, left the studios shortly after for reasons unrelated to the strike. Some have interpreted
9167-430: Was a brilliant draftsman , he preferred to work on comical characters rather than realistic human designs. Animating came easily to him and he was constantly looking to do things differently. Because of this, Walt Disney called Ward a genius in the book The Story of Walt Disney . While there were many talented animators at Disney, Ward's efforts stand out as unique. According to Jeff Lenburg's assessment of him, Kimball
9270-476: Was a factor in the 2008 Chatsworth train collision , as the engineer responsible for the accident had been distracted by texting the railfan while in charge of his train, eventually causing it to pass a signal at danger and crash into an oncoming Union Pacific freight train, killing 25 and injuring 135 others. BNSF instituted the "Citizens for Rail Security" (CRS) program for the general public to report suspicious activities on their railways. Obtaining this card
9373-465: Was a key figure in spreading the urban legend that Disney had left instructions for his body to be preserved by cryonics after his death. Amid Amidi wrote a biography of Kimball, Full Steam Ahead: The Life and Art of Ward Kimball that was projected for publication in the fall of 2012. However, publication of the biography was canceled in February 2013, which Amidi believed was due to pressure from
9476-697: Was a pioneer animator and a great innovator of his time. He instilled life to diverse Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse , Jiminy Cricket , the Cheshire Cat , the Mad Hatter , and Tweedledee and Tweedledum . Kimball attended the Santa Barbara School of the Arts in order to become a painter and illustrator . Kimball's instructor at the school suggested to him that his work should be submitted to Walt Disney Productions (later known as
9579-486: Was also an avid collector of model trains . Kimball was an avid railway enthusiast from a young age, having grown up in Parsons, Kansas , near the massive Katy Railroad facilities. One of his first childhood drawings was of a locomotive, and he said that his mother called him a "marked" baby because of his early infatuation with railroads. Kimball donated his 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge collection to
9682-438: Was also released as a movie download. All versions of the 70th Anniversary Edition contain deleted scenes and several bonus features, including "Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo" and "The Magic of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage", while the two-disc Blu-ray version includes games, animated shorts, and several exclusive features. The film was re-released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 26, 2016, to celebrate its 75th anniversary. Despite
9785-618: Was common for railfans and is a derivative of the BNSF "On Guard" program for employees. However, this card does not recognize members as employees or contractors, asks them to keep off railway property, and is no longer obtainable. Amtrak offers a similar program, "Partners for Amtrak Safety and Security" (PASS). In Japan, toritetsu have been frequently criticised for their behaviour when photographing trains, including incidents of vandalism and trespassing into restricted areas to set up cameras, destruction of lineside property and plants to clear
9888-547: Was given a major impetus by the publication from 1942 onward of the Ian Allan "ABC" series of booklets, whose publication began in response to public requests for information about the locomotives of the Southern Railway . In general terms, bashing, a term used by British railway enthusiasts, describes a trip, excursion or holiday primarily involving train travel, usually with the intention of collecting mileage on
9991-616: Was his and the other was owned by his friend, noted railroad historian Gerald M. Best . In recognition of his love of railroading and support of the Southern California Railway Museum, the Perris Transit Center, where the museum's historic trains travel, is dedicated to Mr. Kimball. In a rare deviation from its usually tight copyright policy, the Disney corporation allowed the city to decorate the transit center with Kimball's artwork. The center
10094-480: Was in talks to play a trapeze artist. Following this announcement, Danny DeVito was cast as a ringleader named Medici. Two weeks later, it was reported that Colin Farrell had entered negotiations to play the role of Holt, which was originally offered to Will Smith. On April 4, 2017, Michael Keaton , Burton's former frequent collaborator, entered talks to star as the villain. Keaton confirmed his involvement with
10197-576: Was originally released on June 26, 1981, on VHS, Laserdisc and Betamax as a rental only before becoming available for sale in early 1982. Sales were also extended to CED in October 1982. It was again re-released on VHS and Betamax as part of the Walt Disney Classics series on November 6, 1985. The film was re-released on VHS and Laserdisc on July 12, 1991. It was followed by another re-issue on VHS and Laserdisc on October 28, 1994, as
10300-587: Was producing and directing the Disney TV show The Mouse Factory , which ran from 1972 to 1974. He continued to do various projects on his own, even returning to do some publicity tours for the Disney corporation. He also worked on the World of Motion attraction for Disney's EPCOT Center . Kimball also produced two editions of a volume titled Art Afterpieces, in which he revised various well-known works of art, such as putting Mona Lisa ' s hair up in curlers, showing Whistler's Mother watching TV, and adding
10403-572: Was re-released in theaters in 1949, 1959, 1972, and 1976. Dumbo had its television premiere on September 14, 1955, albeit severely edited, as an installment of the Disneyland television show. The film was shown unaltered on September 17, 1978, as part of a two-night salute to the program's 25th anniversary. Along with Alice in Wonderland , Dumbo was the first of Disney's canon of animated films to be released on home video . The film
10506-711: Was responsible for the characters Jaq and Gus and Lucifer the Cat . In Alice in Wonderland (1951), Kimball was responsible for Tweedledee and Tweedledum , the Walrus and the Carpenter , the Hatter and his mad tea party , and the Cheshire Cat . His other film credits include the feature films Peter Pan (1953), Mary Poppins (1964), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). Kimball spent much of his career animating theatrical animated short films. However, he also served as
10609-472: Was revealed that Tom Hanks had reportedly been offered to play the film's villain. The following month, it was announced that Smith would not be starring in the film. Smith passed on the project due to a disagreement over salary and scheduling as well as to star in Bad Boys for Life . He played the role of Genie in the 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin . In March 2017, it was reported that Eva Green
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