Dumbo is famous for being the flying elephant who everyone loves. The image of him sailing through the air with those big floppy ears is seen on posters, on the cover of videos and even his own ride at Walt Disney World. But Dumbo didn’t always know how to fly – do you remember how he learned?

As you might recall, Dumbo is the adorable, sweet, orphaned elephant who has been cast out by his herd because his ears are too big. His only friend in the world is a mouse named Timothy. Somehow, Timothy and Dumbo drink water that is tainted with alcohol, which makes them both pass out asleep. When they wake up, they are high up in a tree. The crows living in this tree make fun of them, asking how they got up there. The lead crow, Jim Dandy, sarcastically suggests that they flew and all of the crows laugh at and mock Dumbo with a musical number.

Timothy stands up for his friend, asking all of the crows how they could be so cruel to the orphaned young elephant. The crows feel terrible after Timothy’s speech, and Jim Dandy offers to teach Dumbo to fly. Persuaded and pushed far out onto a tree limb, Dumbo lets go of his painful past and learns that he possesses the gift of flight, thanks to those too-big ears.