'John Lasseter's Disney reign': Ditching dumbo and the secret New York odyssey

Remember the floppy-eared star of Disney's classic, Dumbo? Of course, you do! He’s an emblem of our childhood, a sensation at Disneyland, and not to mention, the protagonist of the ear-worm tune, “Baby Mine.” Tim Burton gave the world a glimpse of a live-action Dumbo in 2019, but hold your horses; there's another Dumbo saga most of us have missed!

The Elephant-sized Secret: A Peek into Disney’s VaultBack in 2001, a curious tidbit surfaced on the MsMojo YouTube channel. Disney was gearing up for an animated sequel to Dumbo, a good six decades after the original graced our screens. A promotional trailer even hinted at retaining the "same flavor" as the original.

A Jumbo Adventure in the Big Apple?The plot, as reported by Screen Rant, was set to be a whirlwind. Envision Dumbo and his comrades, lost amidst New York City's dazzling skyscrapers and maddening crowds, navigating the concrete jungle and finding their way home. As outlandish as this concept sounds, a plethora of characters, from Fievel Mousekewitz of An American Tale to Kevin from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, have tangled with the city's allure. But, let's be frank - "it would be extremely hard to believe that Dumbo, an elephant, and his friends would be lost in New York for even a couple of hours without being captured, much less noticed and cornered."

But wait! Just when this sequel was preparing for takeoff, in swooped John Lasseter, the newly minted CEO of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006. In a decisive move, Lasseter decided to nix all upcoming sequels, opting to start on a fresh slate.

Rethinking Dumbo: A Look Back on What Could've BeenMany speculate the reasoning behind this cancelation, yet one thing is clear; Lasseter's vision shifted Disney's direction in a new, uncharted territory. And while Burton's Dumbo received a mixed reception, it was a visual feast, a commendable attempt to revisit a classic.

While the lost sequel remains a whispered legend among Disney aficionados, it leaves us to ponder: would Dumbo's urban escapade have soared or plummeted? We'll never truly know, but the thought alone keeps the magic alive.

Several parts of the text in this article, including the title, were generated with the help of an AI tool.