Operation Dumbo Drop
Operation Dumbo Drop
PG | 28 July 1995 (USA)
Operation Dumbo Drop Trailers

Five Green Berets stationed in Vietnam in 1968 grudgingly undertake the mission of a lifetime -- to secretly transport an 8,000-pound elephant through 200 miles of rough jungle terrain. High jinks prevail when Capt. Sam Cahill promises the Montagnard villagers of Dak Nhe that he'll replace their prized elephant in time for an important ritual. But for Capt. T.C. Doyle, the mission becomes a jumbo-sized headache!

Reviews
GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.
Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
trickymisfit In 1968, I was the CA NCO (Civil Affairs Noncommissioned Officer) for Co. C, 5th SFG(A), 1st SF, HQed In DaNang, RVN. I was not directly involved with the mission but had a front row seat and the officers I worked under kept me apprised of the progress. These facts might be of interest:1. "Our" Top Secret operation had two elephants called Bonnie and Clyde.2. The elephants were not dropped in slings or standing up as depicted in the movie. They had to be tied down to airdrop cargo pallets. If they were hung in slings, their own weight would have suffocated them. If they had been dropped standing up, their weight would have caused fatal physical harm upon landing. 3. Two veterinarians were flown from England to sedate and revive the animals. 4. The purpose was not for a ceremony but for a much more practical reason. A sawmill had been built in the village to help its economy. The mountain trails were much too narrow to use bulldozers to drag the trees to the mill and someone came up with this idea. 5. The mission ultimately was a failure. The elephants were juveniles (weight!!!) and were much too small to drag the large logs. Growing elephants eat a lot. The village chief complained that the villagers were being forced to travel deeper and deeper into VC controlled territory to collect banana trees for their fodder. I don't know how this problem was resolved.The movie was much more interesting and fun, as the actual mission was pulled off without a hitch and had little entertainment value. My credibility could be verified on my website which I am required not to include, but I'll be glad to provide it to anyone who is interested. There is a direct contact link available.For those reviewers who chose this forum to again knock a war over 36 years gone, SHAME ON YOU! You have only exposed your own ignorance. As all soldiers in every war , some Americans conducted themselves better than others. As this mission actually went (and as depicted in this DRAMATIZATION), many of us worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the Vietnamese. I am most proud of my days in Vietnam when I was privileged to provide food, cooking utensils, clothing and other necessities to peoples displaced by the war. Many good American lives were lost directly attempting to prevent harm to Vietnamese people. I risked my life more than once, not in combat, but in aiding "common" villagers in tasks they could not accomplice themselves. My OIC (Officer in Charge) was shot down and killed while attempting to evacuate refugees from a besieged A-Camp. HE DID NOT HAVE TO BE ON THAT AIRCRAFT. You are welcome to your opinion and can state it per the First Amendment but, ethically, you should study and actually know a little bit about the topic before you share an opinion. And for Heaven's sake, keep political opinions on political forums. "Dumbo Drop" hardly glorified warfare. It just exposed the truth that a little bit of good can be found in most things, even things as tragic as warfare.And to the reviewer who doubted that anything funny ever happens in warfare: You too, speak out of ignorance. I spent two years in country and had many genuine good times, often with the fine Vietnamese soldiers with whom I worked.
Chris_hurte To all the haters out there, I have no idea what movie you people saw. This movie was a perfect, carefree, feel good story, perfect for sharing the ideas of peace and racial tollerance. Watch this movie early and often. To all the haters out there, I have no idea what movie you people saw. This movie was a perfect, carefree, feel good story, perfect for sharing the ideas of peace and racial tollerance. Watch this movie early and often. To all the haters out there, I have no idea what movie you people saw. This movie was a perfect, carefree, feel good story, perfect for sharing the ideas of peace and racial tollerance. Watch this movie early and often. To all the haters out there, I have no idea what movie you people saw. This movie was a perfect, carefree, feel good story, perfect for sharing the ideas of peace and racial tollerance. Watch this movie early and often.
MovieAddict2016 Great actors -- Danny Glover, Ray Liotta, Denis Leary (hilarious in "The Ref"!) -- unite in a not-so-great, "truth"-inspired film about an elephant drop. Need I say more? Typical Disney dreck that occupied their resume in the 90s. Came out a year after "The Lion King." Animation is just their thing. (Although sometimes Disney proves that wrong.)2/5 stars.John Ulmer
SamS Everything on Earth is accelerated by gravity at the same rate (about 10 meters per second per second), regardless of its mass, so heavy things fall as quickly as light things provided there is no air-resistance. As the elephant likely had a greater surface area, and thus more air resistance, a human (especially one consciously attempting to minimize air resistance) might have been able to catch it. Now as to the size of a parachute necessary for an elephant, I'll leave that as an exercise to you :)