Dumbo | 2019 | PG | – 2.4.1

Why is “Dumbo” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “peril/action, some thematic elements, and brief mild language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a brief kiss, several scenes with women wearing cleavage revealing circus costumes, a scene of a circus tent collapsing and killing a man, many scenes of risky tricks and circus acts including trapeze performances and flying that end with a couple of people falling but without injuries, a circus compound engulfed in flames without injuries, separation of a baby elephant from its mother, wild animals kept in cages and shackled, and a smattering of insults and mild language.
Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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The classic Disney animated feature makes its transition to live-action movie: Set in the early 1900s, Dumbo, is a young elephant whose immense ears make him a laughingstock. That is, until he shows everyone that he can fly and he helps save a struggling circus. With Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Alan Arkin, Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins. Directed by Tim Burton. A few phrases are spoken in French without translation. [Running Time: 1:52]

Dumbo SEX/NUDITY 2

 – Many synchronized dancers wear costumes resembling leotards with short skirts that show cleavage and legs (covered with stockings) as they perform and we see one dancer’s skirt flip up when she stands on her hands and parts her legs (from an aerial view), and she later does a deep split. Several women wash a baby elephant in a large tub and the women’s outfits reveal cleavage. A man soaks in a tub with suds covering his abdomen and a cosmetic mask on his face (we see his bare chest and upper back). A painting of a mermaid is shown on the side of a circus train car (cleavage and bare abdomen are shown). A circus strongman wears a costume that reveals one full bare shoulder and bare legs to the upper thighs. A woman wears a costume like a modified leotard that reveals cleavage and legs to the hips (covered by stockings) in several scenes.
► A man and a woman kiss. A man kisses a woman on the cheek. A woman kisses a baby elephant on the head, the elephant wraps its trunk around her leg and we see lipstick on its head. A woman holds a man tightly around the waist while seated behind him on a horse.

Dumbo VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 - People in a circus tent yell and call an act fake, they throw popcorn at a baby elephant and it seems sad, other elephants roar and the baby is frightened; the baby's mother enters the tent and roars and rears up backing into a support pole that breaks, people run out screaming as the tent collapses killing one man trapped under the bleachers (we see the man's body carried by the coroner on a stretcher with his face partly covered by a blanket) and the mother elephant stands over the baby protecting it and neither is harmed. A circus act includes a set with a building with small flames on ledges as clown firefighters mill around on the ground; a baby elephant painted like a clown climbs on a platform and is taken high in the air, it sprays water on the fires and they go out but they burst up again and the elephant jumps on a ledge frightened and trapped surrounded by flames; a young girl climbs a ladder to reach the elephant, she falls off the ladder and lands in a tub of water below as the elephant falls and then flies around the circus tent, unharmed. A man angrily flips switches in a control room that spark and cause displays across a circus compound to explode and burst into flames; we later see everything engulfed in flames and they collapse as people run out screaming (one man is shown with a sooty face and his hairpiece is out of place). A baby elephant flies around inside a circus tent with a woman on its back, and then soars out through a hole in the canvas and lands on a control tower where the power to the circus compound is cut and gates are opened. A baby elephant rides up in the air on a pedestal as a woman swings around on a giant chandelier, and then steps onto the pedestal with the elephant; the woman slips off the pedestal and clings to a harness on the elephant but breaks free and falls, grabbing a rope before hitting the ground; the elephant then falls and flaps its ears to fly just before hitting the ground. A man chases two children, the boy kicks the man in the leg and runs away, another man lassoes the first man around the legs and a horse drags him away leaving the children and a man trapped in a burning tent until a baby elephant sprays water on the flames and they all get out unharmed.
► A woman shoves two guards off a walkway and into water while other people steal a truck with an elephant in the back; a snake lunges at the original driver scaring him away, other guards are frightened by silhouettes of wild animals prowling around them and the others drive away in the truck, barrel through a gate and speed away.
► A man climbs up the side of a big top tent and slips a couple of times before slicing a hole in the canvas; he slips later and slides down but catches on before landing on the ground. A mother elephant is sold and taken away in a truck as its baby is left behind, squealing for her, and two young children plead with their father to not have her taken away. A man orders a baby elephant out of an area where its mother is locked behind bars in a cage; we see men shoving the baby away.
► An adult elephant is shackled and locked in a train car with a signs posted outside that read, "Mad Elephant," and "Keep Out." A man tries to shove an adult elephant off a train, but it does not want to go, another man cracks a whip and yells at the animal and opens a ramp that the elephant stumbles down backward leaving a mound of hay inside that moves and tumbles down the ramp squealing (we see a baby elephant). A man yells "boo" at a baby elephant and its mother grabs the man with her trunk by the leg and dumps him in a tub of water. Horses are trapped in a barn as fires break out around them until a man sets them free.
► A train arrives and we see many soldiers disembark; one man is seen missing an arm (his sleeve is pinned up) and his children greet him, but are alarmed by his appearance. A man who is missing an arm is given a fake arm to wear while performing so as not to scare the audience. A man drops his fake arm on the floor and a woman pin up his sleeve for him.
► A woman jumps off the ground and swings on a trapeze swing as a baby elephant flies around her, knocking her off the trapeze and they both crash into a safety net unharmed. A woman jumps onto a baby elephant's back and they fly around a circus tent together. A baby elephant flies around inside a circus tent, crashes through glass doors to exit the tent and flies toward another part of the circus campus called, "Nightmare Island," where other animals are held in cages; we see a roaring bear, a howling wolf, a snapping alligator and an adult elephant. A baby elephant flies around inside a circus tent and sprays several young men that have been heckling the act with water. A baby elephant flies around inside a circus tent and sucks a woman's hat off her head (leaving the woman bald and embarrassed). A baby elephant sneezes and flaps its ears to fly around a small tent chasing a feather. A baby elephant flies through the sky with two children on its back; they land safely.
► A man performs by playing an instrument as a large snake rises out of a basket; a person in the audience doubts that the snake is real and that performer tips the basket over and snakes lunge toward the heckler as he runs away (no one is harmed). A man holds a large constrictor snake around his shoulders and when he hugs another man in greeting the snake squeezes him (the man gets free with no trouble). A man and a woman practice a magic trick and we see the woman seated in a box that makes it look as if she has been sawn in half. A man yells as a small monkey climbs all around his shoulders and back annoying him. A small monkey throws papers in the air in an office as a man watches from outside a locked door, yelling; the monkey lunges at the window and the man is startled and backs away. A man struggles to open his desk drawer as a monkey inside the drawer struggles to keep the drawer closed. A baby elephant plays with a feather, blowing it in the air and snorts it into its trunk causing it to sneeze and float in the air briefly. A man performs and bends himself into unnatural positions. A woman sits in a tank made to look like it is filled with water and she is dressed like a mermaid with a large tail. A performance shows women creating giant animal-shaped bubbles that dance in the air above a crowd in a large big top tent. A person dressed in an elephant costume is shot out of a cannon.
► We hear that many people died from influenza. A young girl talks about wanting to make scientific discoveries and dreams of Marie Curie; she says, "I want to be known for my mind." A man dismisses his children on several occasions telling them to be practical. A young girl says of her father, "He's stuck here." Newspaper headlines describe a beast on a rampage. A man makes a remark about "magic dust." A man says that no animals should be held in captivity. A man tearfully looks at a photo of his now deceased wife.
► A man shovels elephant dung out of a tent where a baby elephant is kept. A woman steps in a pile of elephant dung and we hear a squish. A man is shown wearing elephant skin boots.

Dumbo LANGUAGE 1

 - 1 not fully enunciated scatological term, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (show-off, mangy, cut-rate, son of a gun, hairball, monster, freaks, low-rent freaks, fake, one-armed cowboy, mad elephant, killer, beast, charlatan, conman, cheat, princess, wonder elephant, disaster, ungrateful), religious exclamations (e.g. Good God). | profanity glossary |

Dumbo SUBSTANCE USE

 - Several people drink champagne after a successful circus show, and a monkey hiding in a desk drawer is shown holding a flask.

Dumbo DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Circus entertainers, military service, death of wife/mother, influenza, greed, miracles, Marie Curie, growing up, going it alone, investment, mystique, cruelty to animals, home, hope, science.

Dumbo MESSAGE

 - Don't let anyone say what you can and cannot do.