Ostracized from the rest of the circus animals, poor Dumbo the elephant is separated from his mother, who is chained up in a separate cage after trying to defend her child. Only brash-but-lovable Timothy Mouse offers the hand of friendship to Dumbo, encouraging the pouty pachyderm to embrace what makes him different. Ostraciseret fra resten af cirkusets dyr bliver den stakkels Dumbo-elefant adskilt fra sin mor, som er kædet til i et separat bur, efter at have forsøgt at forsvare sit barn. Kun den frelskede, men kærlige Timothy Mus tilbyder vennenens hånd til Dumbo og opfordrer den bulede elefant til at omfavne det, der gør ham anderledes.