The Ringmaster is a major character in Disney's 1941 animated feature film Dumbo. He is the pompous and blustery, Italian-accented head honcho of the WDP Circus.
Background
Personality
The Ringmaster is a stereotypical showman and businessman, with his main objective being to put on a decent, and entertaining show for profit. While an average and human agenda, his manner of doing so is extremely dubious, with several moments throughout the film hinting at the Ringmaster's nature behind closed doors.
It is mentioned by the clowns that he underpays his employees greatly, with the clowns all eventually asking him for a raise. His treatment of the animals (specifically the elephants) is also an indication of the Ringmaster's callousness, as he carelessly has them perform impossible and life-threatening stunts as a means to draw in box office revenue, the best example of it is the Pyramid of Pachyderms (implied to not have even be rehearsed once). Though early drawings exist of the Ringmaster trying to teach Dumbo the pyramid.[1]
According to animation historian John Canemaker, this was purposefully done as Dumbo has a cynical outlook on the traveling circus industry, highlighting how the entire setup is nothing more than a cheap, often sadistic illusion.[2]
Despite this, he is never shown to be quite as outwardly malicious as other villains introduced before or after him: his antagonistic actions against the Jumbo family (including separating mother and son) can be seen as answers to their seemingly dangerous behavior (going crazy against circus guests and ruining an albeit already dangerous stunt). He may be, at his worst, a man running a circus in a questionable manner.
The animals of the circus, in particular the elephants and Timothy Mouse, do not think too highly of the Ringmaster, finding him pompous, oblivious and oafish—the latter two of which isn't entirely untrue, as he missed that Mrs. Jumbo only attacked Smitty because he went under the Circus' safety rope to harass her baby and a recurring gag with the Ringmaster involves him tumbling into a barrel of water. Despite his strictness, the Ringmaster does recognize talent and does honor all of Dumbo's requests upon seeing his flying capabilities even though Dumbo humiliated the Ringmaster during his first flight.
Appearances
Dumbo
He is first seen when a tender engine named Casey Junior is all loaded and ready to go, and shouts "All aboard!" and the tender engine whistles back "All aboard! Let's go!" He is seen again leading the circus parade after they've arrived at their first city.
When some mean kids start to make fun of Dumbo's big ears with one of them breaking into the pen, Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo's mother, starts attacking them in an attempt to protect her son, leading the kids to call for help as the guests of the circus start panicking and fleeing the tent. The confused Ringmaster is drawn in by the commotion and is shocked to see Mrs. Jumbo throwing a bale of hay at some kids, he tries to restrain her down with a group of circus guards, only to be thrown by Mrs. Jumbo into the barrel where Dumbo was bathed in earlier.
Furious and unaware of the kids provoking Mrs. Jumbo, the Ringmaster reaches the conclusion that Mrs. Jumbo snapped and went mad, having her locked up in a cage to keep her away from guests. Later, he talks to his assistant Joe about a pachyderm pyramid, but has no clue what his climax will be. Timothy the Mouse, who (along with Dumbo) heard this, convinces the Ringmaster in his sleep to make Dumbo the climax so that Mrs. Jumbo can be let out. The next day, the Ringmaster puts the act into use, but Dumbo trips over his ears and causes the pyramid to fall, setting off a catastrophic chain of events which leads to the tent itself falling down and leaving the Ringmaster angry and disappointed at the disaster that resulted from his big idea.
Seeing no other use for Dumbo, he teams the little elephant with the clowns so to give him a role without causing anything disastrous. During a show in which Dumbo jumps off a higher building, he sees Dumbo soar over the crowd. He points in amazement to see something he never saw before. He receives his comeuppance via public humiliation, as Dumbo uses his ability to fly by running the Ringmaster in a water-filled barrel (echoing what Mrs. Jumbo did earlier) then throwing one of the clowns' elephant mask atop his rear.
He is not seen onscreen again, but afterwards the Ringmaster made the now flying Dumbo the main star of his circus with Timothy as his manager, signing a Hollywood contract with them, giving the little elephant his own train car, and best of all, freeing Mrs. Jumbo from her solitary confinement. A deleted scene in the ending featured the Ringmaster reclining in Casey Jr whilst admiring his contract with Dumbo during the final scene.
Printed media
Return to the Isle of the Lost
He is mentioned in the book Return to the Isle of the Lost of the Descendants franchise, as one of the villains sent to the Isle of the Lost, where appears his daughter, Hermie Bing (whose name is inspired by her father's original voice actor).
Video games
Disney's Villains' Revenge
Ringmaster in Disney's Villains' Revenge.
In the video game, the Ringmaster, and several other Disney Villains, plan on stealing the endings of their respective stories, and altering them so that they may get the happily ever after. The Ringmaster alters the story of Dumbo and forces the baby elephant to perform nonstop. He also alters the circus' overall look, making it seem like a horror film-esqe area. However, thanks to Jiminy Cricket and Mrs. Jumbo, the circus and Dumbo are saved. In the climax of the game, he and the other villains attempt to stop the player and Jiminy from restoring the stories by each taking one of the happy ending pages. He is defeated when the player uses the book containing the stories as a shield.
Disney Parks
The Ringmaster at Tokyo Disneyland.
Disneyland Resort
The Ringmaster appeared in the 1971 edition of Fantasy On Parade as a walkaround character during the Dumbo unit, leading a herd of technicolor circus elephants. During the early years of the Main Street Electrical Parade, he is spotted pulling one of the unites for the first incarnation of the Dumbo Circus section of the parade.
While not appearing physically, the Ringmaster serves as the spokesperson for the Casey Jr. Circus Train, providing guests with the typical safety and tidbit lines normally given by cast members, albeit in his thick accent.
Walt Disney World
At the Magic Kingdom, the Ringmaster's likeness is prominently featured throughout the interactive queue area for Dumbo the Flying Elephant in Fantasyland.
Tokyo Disney Resort
For a period of time, the Ringmaster appeared as a walkaround character during the daytime parade Jubilation!, in Tokyo Disneyland.
Gallery
Trivia
- The Ringmaster's original voice actor, Herman Bing, actually worked as a circus clown at one point in his life.
- The scene where the silhouetted Ringmaster and Joe converse in the tent was inspired by German expressionist films.
- The Ringmaster is one of only two humans in the animated movie whose face is clearly visible at some point: the others are hidden or with low details. The second character is Smitty the bully.
- Its unclear if the Ringmaster is the "Bossman" mentioned by the roustabouts, given the size of the circus and the Ringmaster's position, its possible the boss of the Roustabouts is a different member of the circus.
- The Ringmaster releasing Mrs. Jumbo is revealed in the various novelizations of the film, such as the 1977 book by Golden Shape.
See also
References
- ↑ Video with images of deleted scenes
- ↑ Dumbo: Big Top Edition DVD commentary
