The Vietnam War was unique in that, more than at any other time, combatants on both sides depended on the villagers for their cooperation. The VC demanded that the villagers be loyal to the cause and punished them severely if they were not, and the U.S. depended on the villagers to keep them safe and their whereabouts a secret. Once the U.S. convinced a village to be friendly with them, they did whatever they had to do to keep the loyalty of that village, knowing it could mean the difference between life and death. This is the background behind the movie “Operation Dumbo Drop.”
Captain Doyle (Ray Liotta) is a by-the-book kind of guy. When he is assigned to take over command of a unit that is stationed near the Ho Chi Minh trail, he goes in expecting to be obeyed. When he meets Captain Cahill, the man he’s replacing (Danny Glover) he’s dismayed to discover that things don’t go quite that way. Cahill was a very laid back, friendly type of commander, and the men aren’t used to the kind of absolute obedience Doyle expects.
That night, as the men from the Army are down surveying the Trail, officers of the VC come into the village and find a candy bar that was taken from Doyle’s kit. Knowing Americans have been in the village, the VC decide to teach them a lesson by killing their elephant, an animal they depend on to help cultivate their crops. Without their elephant, the villagers will have a hard time growing enough food to stay alive. Cahill explains to Doyle that they need that village to remain friendly so they can keep their proximity to the Trail. The village leaders blame Doyle for the loss of their elephant, and Cahill feels that Doyle needs to make it up to them. The solution? Get the village a new elephant.
The movie takes a turn from its rather somber beginning and turns into a comedy as these Army men try to figure out how to transport an elephant to the village. The VC figure out what they’re doing, so they’re not only having to combat the elephant’s own natural stubbornness, but the very real danger present as the VC pursue them across the country. We see the elephant sedated to go on an airplane, only to wake up mid-flight. We see the elephant get seasick when they try to go by boat, the VC torpedoing them all along the waterway. It’s tense, funny, and touching all at the same time.
While I wouldn’t recommend this film for very young viewers because of the war elements, I would definitely recommend this as a film for your family comprised of older children. It would be a great jumping-off point to answer questions about the Vietnam War as well.
This film was rated PG.
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