Hi all! 

Welcome to Day 16 of the 30 Day Disney Blogging Challenge! 

Today we are talking about the Disney moment that makes me cry every single time I watch it. If you are new to Disney, which I highly doubt you are, you’ll know the films aren’t all happy, joyous cartoons for children. Disney can be quite deep, dark and downright tragic. Nowadays, when I re-watch all my favourites, I find myself saying out loud ‘this really isn’t a kid’s movie.’ The moment I have picked today doesn’t just make me cry, it makes me sob. In fact, I cannot even talk about it without my eyes welling up. It makes me weep for reasons I’ll explain below. The scene that breaks my heart is: 

‘BABY MINE’ FROM DUMBO! 

Dumbo is essentially born in captivity, in a travelling circus. He is an elephant, with abnormally large, floppy ears. His mother, Mrs Jumbo, is besotted with him the moment he is delivered by the stork but the other elephants are cruel, teasing him mercilessly (and giving him the awful name Dumbo.) One day, when a bunch of children are given a tour of the circus animals, Dumbo is spotted by some bullies. One child in particular, pulls at his ears, laughing unkindly. Mrs Jumbo, naturally protective of her baby, tries to protect him. She is imprisoned and chained as punishment. Dumbo is miserable, missing his mother. His friend, Timothy the mouse, takes him to visit Mrs Jumbo and through the song, Baby Mine, we watch them share a heartbreaking moment together. Mrs Jumbo lets out her trunk from a hole in the cage and rocks Dumbo like a baby, while they both cry. Honestly, I’m crying as I write this. Don’t believe me? Watch this clip: ‘Baby Mine.’

Great, now I have tears running down my face again. Firstly, this is sad because a mother and her baby are unjustly separated. From the beginning, we see just how much Mrs Jumbo wants a child. She is absolutely in love with Dumbo from the second he arrives, accepting him exactly as he is. I’ve been bullied as a girl and it’s horrible. There is nothing pleasant about watching it happen to a cute elephant. Secondly, as a vegan, seeing animals caged and forced to perform in a circus as entertainment is 100% cruel. This scene is so emotional for me because I know it happens in real-life. We need to stop imprisoning other creatures and exploiting them for our own amusement. It is not our right. All animals deserve to be wild, free and with their families. If you love animals, please do not support things like this. Luckily, this movie has a very happy ending for mother and baby! 

This is a highly sensitive topic for me so I hope you understand. It is definitely the most confronting post in the Disney challenge so far. Let me know what you think and which moment makes you cry.

Honourable Mention 

Bambi’s Mother Gets Shot from Bambi 

I will see you all tomorrow for hopefully a more light-hearted post! 

Peace & Love xoxo