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IMDbPro

Operation Dumbo Drop

  • 1995
  • PG
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
10K
YOUR RATING
Operation Dumbo Drop (1995)
To keep the loyalty of a village during the Vietnam war, a U.S. Army officer and his unit struggle to deliver it a live elephant.
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
69 Photos
ActionAdventureComedyDramaFamilyWar

To keep the loyalty of a village during the Vietnam war, a U.S. Army officer and his unit struggle to deliver it a live elephant.To keep the loyalty of a village during the Vietnam war, a U.S. Army officer and his unit struggle to deliver it a live elephant.To keep the loyalty of a village during the Vietnam war, a U.S. Army officer and his unit struggle to deliver it a live elephant.

  • Director
    • Simon Wincer
  • Writers
    • James Morris
    • Gene Quintano
    • Jim Kouf
  • Stars
    • Danny Glover
    • Ray Liotta
    • Denis Leary
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.2/10
    10K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Simon Wincer
    • Writers
      • James Morris
      • Gene Quintano
      • Jim Kouf
    • Stars
      • Danny Glover
      • Ray Liotta
      • Denis Leary
    • 39User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
    • 48Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 0:31
    Trailer

    Photos69

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    Top cast36

    Edit
    Danny Glover
    Danny Glover
    • Capt. Sam Cahill
    Ray Liotta
    Ray Liotta
    • Capt. T.C. Doyle
    Denis Leary
    Denis Leary
    • Lt. David Poole
    Doug E. Doug
    Doug E. Doug
    • SP4 Harvey (H.A.) Ashford
    Corin Nemec
    Corin Nemec
    • Sp5 Lawrence Farley
    Dinh Thien Le
    Dinh Thien Le
    • Linh
    Tchéky Karyo
    Tchéky Karyo
    • Goddard
    • (as Tcheky Karyo)
    Hoang Ly
    • Col. Nguyen
    Vo Trung Anh
    • Lt. Quang, NVA
    Marshall Bell
    Marshall Bell
    • Col. Pederson
    James Hong
    James Hong
    • Y B'ham
    Long Nguyen
    Long Nguyen
    • Jhon
    Tim Kelleher
    • C-123 Pilot
    Scott N. Stevens
    Scott N. Stevens
    • C-123 Co-Pilot
    Kevin LaRosa
    • Irish - Huey Pilot #1
    • (as Kevin Larosa)
    Christopher Ward
    • Cowboy - Huey Co-Pilot
    Robert Kevin Miller
    • Huey Gunner #1
    Michael Ming-Yang Lee
    • Village Elder
    • (as Ming-Yang Li)
    • Director
      • Simon Wincer
    • Writers
      • James Morris
      • Gene Quintano
      • Jim Kouf
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews39

    5.210K
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    Featured reviews

    5ccthemovieman-1

    The Good & Bad Of 'Operation Dumbo Drop'

    This movie had some typically-good Disney aspects to it but also some typically- bad Disney agendas in here that just about made me puke.

    With modern-day Disney films - or at least the ones in the 1980s and 1990s - you can expect the following "good" and "bad:" This movie proves to be no exception.

    GOOD - Slick-looking photography with beautiful Vitenamese scenery; low profanity; an interesting story that moves well.

    BAD - Political-correctness run amok......an annoying kid who knows more than the adults; an ending that's always drawn out too long; a reverence for Eastern religions or anything that is not Christianity; a black and a white lead character in which the black is always the better of the two, etc. etc.

    A SURPRISE - Danny Glover and Ray Liotta losing their tempers but not swearing a blue streak. Wow, now that's different!
    vballbabi757

    Underrated

    Operation Dumbo Drop was actually a nice movie in my opinion. Based on a true story it had a nice flowing story line full of action and family-appropriate material. Great actors such as Danny Glover helped the film come alive and send out strong messages. Not the best motion picture.. but it was fun and definitely did/does not deserve the type of criticism I often see it getting. It is a great film for a family movie night or even when you're alone and simply bored. Children and Adults alike can appreciate the exciting action (accompanied with only occasional mild violence), cute humor, and expressed morals and the importance of human kindness. History bluffs would also enjoy this since it takes place during the Vietnam War and shows some interesting details. Overall I believe the movie as a whole deserved at least a 7/10 rating.

    -Amanda, Miss Movie Bluff
    Dr_RoButtnik

    Criticism

    Yah, hey I made a name just to argue with the idiot that made the last review for this movie. Laws of physics actually state that objects fall at the same speed no matter how heavy they are. Try it with a penny and a book at the top of your house. So don't talk about laws of physics if you are uninformed about something that is taught pretty much on Day One of Physics 101. So you may argue that it's still impossible to catch up with the elephant. Yah, it probably is, but if he went into a dive motion (a la James Bond in the beginning of Goldeneye) it's possible to decrease air resistance and increase aerodynamics in such a way to fall faster. Stunt sky-divers do it all the time. So that's the second reason why you're wrong. Talk to you later and hope you have fun posting opinionated comments about something when you have no basis or knowledge for opinion.
    coverme6

    Disney goes to Vietnam

    The Vietnam War makes a really unorthodox setting for a Disney movie, but this movie goes along quite well, thanks to its performances. Danny Glover and Ray Liotta star as the leaders of a rag-tag American platoon in charge of guarding an elephant and its young Vietnamese trainer on a trip to one part of the divided country to another.

    Because of its family-friendly base, OPERATION DUMBO DROP plays it

    safe with it's war violence. But who says you need bloody, graphic action in order to make a good war-oriented film? As long as the

    performances are stellar, the film wins. Case in point is OPERATION DUMBO DROP.
    7HotToastyRag

    The most upbeat Vietnam movie ever

    If you're in the market for the most upbeat Vietnam War movie ever made, rent Operation Dumbo Drop, a silly but true story of an unusual mission to make a small village happy. As you might be able to guess from the title, this is a Disney movie.

    Because of Disney Studio's unlimited budget, you'll also hear tons of 1970s songs to keep you in the mood. And the mood is comedy. There are no battle scenes, no "buy the farm" speeches from soldiers you've grown to love, and no real suspenseful plot points besides whether or not they'll get an elephant transported to the village. Ray Liotta plays the new captain who's by-the-book approach clashes with the already established captain, Danny Glover. When Ray first arrives, he finds Danny wearing a Vietnamese robe and meditating with the locals!

    This is one of those movies that is truly "family friendly". The kids in the audience will love any scene with the elephant in it, and the adults will like the cast. Men will appreciate the wartime setting and macho soldiers as the only characters. Women will appreciate how nice Danny Glover and Ray Liotta look in their uniforms. Does Danny's shirt have to be unbuttoned? Does Ray's hair have to be quaffed in every scene? Yes.

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    Related interests

    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Still frame
    Adventure
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
    Family
    Band of Brothers (2001)
    War

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Denis Leary has said that he, Danny Glover, and Ray Liotta only did the picture because they each wanted to buy property. Filming took so long, and got so bad, they all started carrying around pictures of the property and looking at them to get them through the shooting.
    • Goofs
      In the cast listing David Poole(Dennis Leary) is listed as Lt. Poole. In the movie he is actually a US Army Chief Warrant Officer Three. This can be seen by the right collar bar on his uniform that has a bar with three black boxes and by the Warrant officer insignia on the left collar.
    • Quotes

      Capt. T.C. Doyle: Does anybody else here know how to work an elephant?

      Harvey (H.A.) Ashford: I was in love with a fat woman once, but she never listened to me.

    • Crazy credits
      Before the end credits, there is a statement that says, "This movie was inspired by a true story."
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Waterworld/Operation Dumbo Drop/The Net/Babe/Country Life (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      Boom Boom
      Written by John Lee Hooker

      Performed by David Clayton-Thomas

      Courtesy of MCA Records

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    FAQ18

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 28, 1995 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Vietnamese
    • Also known as
      • Dumbo Drop
    • Filming locations
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
    • Production companies
      • Walt Disney Pictures
      • Interscope Communications
      • Polygram Filmed Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $24,670,346
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $6,392,155
      • Jul 30, 1995
    • Gross worldwide
      • $24,670,346
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 47m(107 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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