Wow! CGC Home Video Grades Early Sealed Dumbo a Nearly Perfect CGC 9.9 A++

CGC Home Video™ recently certified a sealed VHS copy of one of Disney’s most beloved classics: Dumbo! This early videocassette was released around 1982, when consumers could first purchase Dumbo on VHS, and it remains in excellent condition, earning a grade of CGC 9.9 A++.

Dumbo was Walt Disney Animation Studios’ fourth feature film. Intending to use Dumbo as a way to recoup financial losses suffered from Pinocchio and Fantasia, Disney intentionally cut the film’s running time to a mere 64 minutes long and kept the film’s animation simple, forgoing the special effects used in previous films. Although the film’s short 64-minute length and an animators’ strike posed challenges for the film, Dumbo opened in theaters on October 23, 1941.

The film tells the story of a young elephant named Jumbo Jr., who is mockingly called “Dumbo” because of his larger-than-normal ears. He befriends Timothy Mouse, who helps him gain self-confidence by giving him a “magic feather” that prompts him to learn how to fly using his large ears. Eventually, Dumbo gains fame and fortune by flying during a circus show, surprising and delighting guests.

Dumbo became the most financially successful Disney film of the 1940s and was considered a “financial miracle,” grossing $1.3 million (or $33,140,000 in 2023) during its initial theatrical release. Critics praised the movie’s story, humor and soundtrack, and it continues to score high on modern film review sites. In recent years, Dumbo has been criticized for its stereotypical depictions of African-Americans, which Disney has acknowledged and taken steps to rectify.

Despite releasing in theaters in 1941, Dumbo’s home video release wouldn’t come until 40 years later, when it finally released on June 26, 1981, on VHS, Laserdisc and Betamax. Dumbo was Disney’s first feature-length animated film to be released on home video (alongside Alice in Wonderland, which was released on home video that same year). Despite this, Dumbo was only available as a rental until 1982, when it was released for purchase to the public.

This sealed CGC-certified copy of Dumbo on VHS is remarkable because of how brilliantly it has been preserved. Despite being nearly 45 years old, it has a perfect seal and no visible blemishes or scratches, resulting in a nearly-perfect grade of CGC 9.9 and the top seal grade of A++. The VHS is currently being offered for sale in an eBay auction; click here to check it out. A collector would be hard-pressed to find a better example of Dumbo than this one!