Operation Dumbo Drop (1995)

 

                In 1995, someone at Disney decided the time was right for a children’s movie about the Vietnam War.  But how to get a cute animal in it?  It turned out that a Vietnam vet had a story to be told.  Army Major Jim Morris remembered how the U.S. Army provided elephants to villages near Communist supply routes to win “hearts and minds”.  The elephants would be used for agricultural work.  Simon Wincer (“The Lighthorsemen”) signed on to direct and a nice cast was willing to go on location in Thailand. 

                In 1968, Capt. Doyle (Ray Liotta) is sent to the idyllic village of Dak Nhe to replace Capt. Cahill (Danny Glover).  Cahill has gone native and bonded with the Montagnard villagers.  It will take a while for Doyle and Cahill to bond, but you can count on it happening.  When Cahill takes Doyle to scout the local branch of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the village is visited by the North Vietnamese.  They kill the village elephant because of the collaboration with the Americans.  America owes them a new elephant and they need it in time for their annual ritual.  Cahill and Doyle enlist a comic relief black grunt named Ashford (Doug E. Doug), a hick named Farley (Corin Nemal) and a slimeball quartermaster named Poole (Denis Leary).  The elephant Bo Tat (Tai) comes with an orphan boy as his driver.  An elephant and an orphan boy – now we have a Disney movie.  The trek involves kid-friendly scenes that include chasing the elephant and falling in elephant poop.  There are also encounters with evil communists because this is a war movie.  Don’t expect anything graphic.  This all leads to the title air drop of Bo Tat.  But if you think the movie ends here with the elephant peacefully working in the rice fields, think again.

                Since I did not invest in it, I’m not going to wonder about how the Hell this movie was green-lit.  It’s a nice little movie and if your child is into Vietnam, they will probably enjoy it.  If they are not informed about Vietnam, you may have to do a lot of explaining.  Not that it is a complicated movie.  It’s just that you will have to account for the gunfire and explosions.  There is even a little suspense, although you clearly won’t have to worry about an Old Yeller ending.  The cast must have thought of their kids while making it because they give sincere performances.  They do not ham it up.  The best actor in the movie is the elephant.  Kudos to the animal trainer. 

                The movie won’t teach your kids much about the war, but it does pass on some cultural information.  The Montagnards are given some nice coverage and deserve it for all they suffered as loyal allies to the Americans.  It’s not a realistic portrayal, of course.  It’s a Disney portrayal.  The movie has something to teach about bonding and redemption.  It’s light-weight moralizing suited for kids.  Adults won’t see anything unexpected.  All the characters are stereotypes.  Kids will enjoy the humor, but none of it is aimed at adults.  You won’t have to explain any jokes.

                All things considered, it could be a lot worse.  The best I can say about it is it is not an embarrassing effort for those involved.

GRADE  =  C