Description
1939 January 8 MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE COLOR SUNDAY COMICS SECTION Timid Elmer DUMBO
Elmer is theorized to be the precursor of Dumbo; the common trait of both characters being that they have insecurities about a specific body part they get ridiculed for (in this case, Elmer’s trunk) and eventually achieving success with the body part in question. Elmer would later go on to star in a serial in the . “The Life and Adventures of Elmer Elephant,” appearing from October 27, 1935, to January 12, 1936, retold the story of the Elmer short. Three years later, Elmer was featured in the strip again, in a continuity called “Timid Elmer”. This story was based on a planned second Elmer short, which was abandoned before completion. In this story, published December 4, 1938 to February 12, 1939, Elmer’s girlfriend Tillie Tiger is tired of his cowardice, and takes up with a bully, Gooch Gorilla. After talking to a wise giraffe, Elmer gains the confidence to fight the bullies and win back Tillie’s respect.
SOURCE: Duvall, Earl; Taliaferro, Al; Osborne, Ted; De Maris, Merrill (2016). Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 1. San Diego: IDW Publishing.
