Outed by a Baby Elephant

I'm a total sap. For some of you this may come as a surprise, but the people reading this who know me well are probably thinking, "Well, DUH!" I cry at movies, TV shows, and even sometimes a commercial if it's cute and the time of the month is right.

So while Disney on Ice was great, and the girls had a wonderful time, there was a part of me that felt disappointed when my favorite Disney character did not make an appearance.

I wanted to see Dumbo, darn it!

I think Dumbo is just about the sweetest movie I've ever seen. And I knew instantly why I loved it so much. The two main figures in Dumbo's life, his mother and his little mouse friend, loved him instantly and unconditionally. Mrs. Jumbo didn't care a whit how big his ears were, she just recognized him for the gift from God that he was and accepted him just the way he came to her. And as a child who was mercilessly teased when I was younger, I've gotta love the way she put those snotty older elephants in their place when they made fun of her son. To me, she typifies God's love for us, His people. We come into the world misshapen, broken, and deformed by sin, and He chooses to love us anyway. He loves us no matter what we look like, what our talents or abilities are, and no matter what other people say or think. There's just about no more touching scene in the history of film than when Mrs. Jumbo gathers Dumbo against her trunk, gently rocks him, and sings, "Baby of Mine." It makes me cry. Every. Single. Time.

And the mouse (whose name escapes me right now - haven't had enough coffee, I guess. I think it might be Timothy, so I'll go with that.) offers Dumbo friendship with no expectations of anything in return. He gives support, encouragement, and company when no one else wanted anything to do with him. Now THAT'S my definition of a true friend.

In contrast to that, I'm reminded of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, a story I've always disliked, even when I was little. The song gives it away: "THEN how the reindeer loved him..." The other reindeer only started being nice to Rudolph after he did something for them, after he made their life more convenient in some way. I never understood why other kids and adults seemed to love that song so much. I guess my cynicism was born at a truly early age! I never liked any of those "other reindeer" because even at 5 years old, I knew their friendship wasn't genuine. As soon as Rudolph stopped being useful, I thought they'd all drop him like a hot potato.

But not Timothy. Dumbo was of no use to him whatsoever. Indeed, he was probably a hindrance if Timothy had been concerned about "getting along" with everyone else. That's the only kind of friend worth having, in my book.

I'm glad that Disney never made a "Dumbo II". (Or if they have, that I've never heard of it.) I think that would ruin the tenderness and wonder of this deceptively simple story.

I wonder if I can get "Baby of Mine" on my iPod? *Sniff, sniff...*