French postcard by Imp. Georges Lang, Paris, offered by Chocolats Tobler. Image: Walt Disney.
Timothy Q. Mouse is a Brooklyn-accented mouse in Disney's animated classic,
Dumbo (Ben Sharpsteen, 1941). He becomes the guardian and mentor of Dumbo, the flying elephant.
Timothy is brazen, fearless, and shrewd in contrast to the soft and innocent nature of Dumbo. He has a New York accent and a rough, stereotypically Brooklyn personality, but he shows a sympathetic quality. Throughout the film, Timothy's primary goal is to make Dumbo happy and help him rescue his mother. Timothy is the much-needed protector in Dumbo's life, standing up for the saddened elephant when others attack him on account of his abnormally large ears. He cares for Dumbo and truly wants him to succeed in life. Not only does he acts as Dumbo's manager and motivator, but as his closest friend, and for a while, his only friend. With Timothy's determination, the duo manages to accomplish that Dumbo becomes a success. Because of their relationship and the absence of a paternal figure in Dumbo's life, Timothy has been cited by animation historian John Canemaker, as one of Dumbo's surrogate father figures. Bethany Cox at IMDb: "Dumbo for me is a mini-masterpiece, with beautiful animation, an inspiring message and the sweetest elephant on screen. Dumbo is an elephant born with big ears, but who cares? Timothy the Mouse is also memorable, a bit like Dumbo's conscience in a sense. For me, the highlight was Dumbo's dream, with the elephants dancing(a bit unrealistic but very imaginative), with ballet-like incidental music towards the end. I found the song "Elephants on Parade" catchy and I love how trippy the whole sequence is. In conclusion, I rejoiced when Dumbo conquered his fears when it looked impossible."
“Your ears! Just look at 'em, Dumbo! Why, they're perfect wings! The very things that held ya down are gonna carry ya up, and up, and up! I can see it all now: Dumbo, the ninth wonder of the universe - the world's only flying elephant!”
―Timothy Q. Mouse
After Dumbo (1941), Timothy had recurring appearances on the television series House of Mouse. He appeared with Dumbo, the crows, and the Pink Elephants and many other famous Disney characters. In The Stolen Cartoons, Timothy was the first of the house guests to question where is Mickey after Donald took charge of the club and was one of the first guests to leave alongside Dumbo. Timothy's most notable appearance is in Mickey and Minnie's Big Vacation where Donald and Daisy accidentally release the Pink Elephants and Timothy scares them away, saving the club. In Donald Wants to Fly, he, along with the Crows, unsuccessfully teaches Donald how to fly like the Elephants. In House of Scrooge, Timothy is forced to share his evening meal (one pea) with various other mice from Disney films, including Jaq and Gus, Bernard, Miss Bianca, and Ratigan. In Pete's House of Villains, he joins the others in saying "We want Mickey!". Timothy doesn't appear in the 2019 live-action remake of Dumbo, however, there is a homage to the character, an unnamed non-speaking pet white mouse of Milly and Joe, the son and daughter of Holt Farrier, the three of whom take the roles of best friends and father figure to Dumbo. The mouse is dressed like Timothy here and also has two other smaller mice along with him.
Sources: Bethany Cox (IMDb), Disney Fandom, and IMDb.
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