What is "dumbo"

n. A person who is stupid.

Dumbo is an American animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and premiered on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a novelty toy ("Roll-a-Book"). The main character is Jumbo Jr., a semi- anthropomorphic elephant who is cruelly nicknamed "Dumbo". 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.

Dumbo was made to recoup the financial losses of Fantasia. It was a deliberate pursuit of simplicity and economy for the Disney studio, and at 64 minutes, it is one of Disney'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 is an animated film.

Dumbo may also refer to:

• Dumbo (air-sea rescue), ocean search and rescue missions by long-range aircraft
• Dumbo, Angola, more commonly known as Mandume, Angola, a town in Bié Province
• Dumbo, Brooklyn, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant, a carousel-style ride at five Disney parks
• SS Dumbo, a coaster trading vessel built in 1944
• Dumbo octopus or Grimpoteuthis, a genus of octopus
• Dumbo, a body type of fancy rat
• Dumbo, a nuclear thermal rocket design
• Dumbo, a pipeline used in WW2 Operation Pluto

Dumbo was the code name used by the United States Navy during the 1940s and 1950s to signify search and rescue missions, conducted in conjunction with military operations, by long-range aircraft flying over the ocean. The purpose of Dumbo missions was to rescue downed American aviators as well as seamen in distress. Dumbo aircraft were originally land-based heavy bomber aircraft converted to carry an airborne lifeboat to be dropped in the water near survivors. The name "Dumbo" came from Walt Disney's flying elephant, the main character of the animated film Dumbo, appearing in October 1941.

By extension, "Dumbo" was the unofficial nickname for any air-sea rescue aircraft, including flying boats that had less need to drop heavy lifeboats since the aircraft could land on the water and perform rescues directly. "Dumbo" was also an unofficial nickname for any variant of the PBY Catalina patrol bomber which operated in a wide variety of roles including anti-submarine warfare against German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic.