"Pink Elephants on Parade" is a song and scene from the 1941

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...

'' in which Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse, having accidentally become intoxicated (through drinking

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

spiked with

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

), see pink elephants sing, dance, and play musical instruments during a

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...

sequence. After the sequence, Dumbo and Timothy wake up, hungover, in a tree. It is at this point that they realize that Dumbo can fly. The song was written by

Oliver Wallace Oliver George Wallace (August 6, 1887 – September 15, 1963) was an English composer and conductor.''Home Front Heroes: A Biographical Dictionary of Americans During Wartime'', Volume 3, ed. Benjamin F. Shearer (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 200 ...

(music) and

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

(lyrics) and sung by

The Sportsmen ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. The segment was directed by Norman Ferguson, laid out by Ken O'Connor and animated by Hicks Lokey, Karl Van Leuven, and Howard Swift. The song is featured in the Disney live-action remake, directed by

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

. The Pink Elephants themselves appear as human-made bubble sculptures which also come to life.

In popular culture

Covers

* The song was covered by

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

. A recording of this arrangement is available on '' Stay Awake'', a tribute album of Disney tunes played by various artists, and produced by

Hal Willner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...

. The song was also covered by

Circus Contraption Circus Contraption (founded in 1998) was the name of a one-ring circus, vaudeville and dark cabaret troupe based in Seattle, Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the ...

and

Lee Press-on and the Nails Lee Presson and the Nails is a swing band that formed in San Francisco in October 1994 during the late 1990s swing revival. History The band won a California Music Award (Bammie) in 1998 for Best Swing/Cabaret Act and an ''SF Weekly'' Awar ...

. * Daladubz samples the song in his dubstep song entitled "Pink Elephants VIP". * The song was re-recorded by Chicago-based electronic/industrial rock band V is for Villains. * ''

Disney's House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired for three seasons on ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001, to its finale ...

'' pays homage to the song in the episode "Mickey and Minnie's Big Vacation".

Parodies

* Scenes from this sequence are reused in the 1943 Disney

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

film ''

Der Fuehrer's Face ''Der Fuehrer's Face'' (originally titled ''A Nightmare in Nutziland'' or ''Donald Duck in Nutziland'' ) is a 1943 American animated anti-Nazi propaganda short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, created in 1942 and released on January 1, ...

''. *In ''

The Big Snooze ''The Big Snooze'' is a 1946 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon planned by Bob Clampett and was written by him, but was ultimately completed by Arthur Davis, both being uncredited as directors. Its title was inspired by the 1939 book ''The B ...

'',

Elmer Fudd Elmer J.''Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes''/'' Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheo ...

's nightmare includes a parody of the sequence with "ziwwions and twiwwions of wabbits" marching on top of Fudd while

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

is at an

adding machine An adding machine is a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations. In the United States, the earliest adding machines were usually built to read in dollars and cents. Adding machines were ubiquitous off ...

, literally multiplying them. *The ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who r ...

'' episode " Art Crawl" parodies the sequence with animals marching backwards with pink circles on their anuses. *The ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...

'' episode "Test Stress" includes a parody of the scene with a bunch of Albert Einsteins walking around and one of them uses an "E=mc" pump. *The ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' episode " Doubling Down" references this sequence in a brief segment in which

Eric Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to by his surname Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom '' South Park'', created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main chara ...

, while in a hallucinatory fit of rage, visualizes a group of pink Kyles marching out of a broken heart. *"

Heffalumps and Woozles ''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'' is a 1968 American animated featurette based on the third, fifth, ninth, and tenth chapters of ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and the second, eighth, and ninth chapters from '' The House at Pooh Corner'' by A. A. Mil ...

" from ''

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day ''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'' is a 1968 American animation, animated featurette based on the third, fifth, ninth, and tenth chapters of ''Winnie-the-Pooh (book), Winnie-the-Pooh'' and the second, eighth, and ninth chapters from ''The Ho ...

'' and ''

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ''The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' is a 1977 American animated musical anthology comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It is the 22nd Disney animated feature film and was first rel ...

'' bears a strong resemblance to "Pink Elephants on Parade". *The ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

'' episode "One Trick Sponge" features a short musical sequence with an instrumental and visuals bearing resemblance to "Pink Elephants on Parade". *The ''Simpsons'' episode "

D'oh-in' in the Wind "D'oh-in' in the Wind" is the sixth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1998. In the episode, Homer Simpson travels to a ...

" features a cameo of Pinky the Elephant who Barney summons by drinking a Duff beer after ingesting tainted juice that causes a monster to appear in his home.

References

{{Dumbo Dumbo 1941 songs Disney songs Songs about elephants Songs with music by Oliver Wallace Songs with lyrics by Ned Washington Music published by Bourne Co. Music Publishers

In popular culture

Covers

Parodies

See also

References