While it's still not clear how many discs or what improvements it will boast, Dumbo: Special Edition has been pegged for June 13th.

Some controversies have arisen in regard to the version of Dumbo found on this DVD. I’ve heard rumors that the 64-minute edition here represents an edited cut of the film. Allegedly the black crows received much more screen time in the original rendition as they acted as a form of Greek chorus and commented on events. According to this concept, they were cut because of racial considerations; the crows were viewed as negative stereotypes so most of their material was sacrificed to the gods of political correctness. These alleged edits were made decades ago, which is why virtually no one remembers the original material.

There’s no reference to any deleted footage anywhere on the DVD, and I looked through some Disney sources and could find no mention of this editing. The only person I could discover who made this claim was the “DVD Savant”, who stated in May 2000 that he saw the footage at a college screening back in the early Seventies.

In support of his case, the Savant mentions a number of fairly abrupt fade-outs that occur during the film. I can’t argue with these, as the movie indeed does include some awkward shifts. However, these don’t prove anything.

Was Dumbo butchered from its original length? Maybe, but at this point, I consider Disney innocent until proven guilty. I’ve consulted plenty of sources that make no mention of the change, and if one considers the magnitude of the alleged alteration, this would be a bizarre oversight by all those people. Even documentation of a longer running time would show something, but everyone states the movie lasted 63 and a half minutes.

As such, right now I lean to the side that feels Dumbo wasn’t edited. One claim that the film was cut that comes based on decades-old memories doesn’t do much for me since I can find no other verification of the changes. These alterations may well have occurred, but until I discover more compelling evidence, I’ll stick with the belief that the DVD presents the original, unedited film.

Walt Disney's distributor, RKO Radio Pictures, had qualms about releasing this 64-minute feature as a major motion picture. They tried to persuade Disney to either cut it to short-subject length, extend it to at least 70 minutes, or have it released as a B picture. Disney stood his ground, and the film was released as an A picture as Disney intended.