MBTI Type: ISFP

Dumbo is a very self-contained elephant on an emotional level. When he loses his mother, he goes away from the others to mourn in private. He isn’t comforted by the children’s attempts to raise his spirits until they distract him with a feather. He cannot be motivated to fly, unless it contains some personal meaning for him – the idea that he can get his mama back if he earns enough money for the circus. Even at the end, when he’s so depressed he can hardly shift off the platform, he doesn’t fly until he’s told, “Do it for your mama, Dumbo.” He’s very sensitive, and easily hurt by people mocking his ears, but uses that pain to make himself into a hero. He takes what the circus taught him (to put out fires) and saves his friends – a direct action. Dumbo goes for quick solutions and instant actions, often based on his feelings (spraying people with water in the audience who were making fun of him). He is very tuned in to his environment and aware of what is happening. Dumbo mistakes a car horn for his mother’s trumpeting noise. He is quick to learn to fly and to adapt to his new life in the circus. He takes interest in and notices things in the audience – especially feathers, which are meaningful and fun to him. Dumbo shows no hesitation when it comes to rescuing his friends. He hurries to find his mama in Terror Island, he notices the water, he uses it to later put out a fire. He shows flits of Ni’s long term visualization and thinking, such as when he commits to the goal of working hard until he can afford to buy his mama.

Enneagram: 9w8 so/sp

Dumbo remains sweetly innocent, compassionate, and good-natured despite his devastating loss and trauma. He’s cheerful and kind, but also suffers from inertia due to his depression until the children inspire and encourage him into taking action. Then he works very hard to get his life back to normal and find his mama. His first instinct is to back away from conflict, but then his 8 wing kicks in and he shows his (muted) anger by spraying the crowd with water when they mock his ears. He is anxious about doing things without a support system – it takes great courage for him to realize he does not need the feather to fly, he can do it without it. Dumbo is happiest when he has his friends and family around him to lean on.