DUMBO:
YOU WILL BELIEVE TIM BURTON CAN DIRECT A DECENT DISNEY REMAKE!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
DISNEY
The wonderous flying elephant makes his live-action debut in Dumbo
Disney and director Tim Burton (Batman (1989)/Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas) join forces once again with Dumbo, the latest of Disney’s live-action remakes of their classic animated films with Aladdin and The Lion King soon to follow later on this year and the second live-action Disney remake directed by Burton after 2010’s Alice in Wonderland. I’m a huge fan of Tim Burton’s early work and remembered being hyped for his take on Alice in Wonderland…and was very disappointed in the final product thus beginning a long slog of underwhelming films directed by the once imaginative filmmaker with Big Eyes and the animated film adaptation of his short Frankenweenie being the only exceptions.
So, after failing to adapt a story that would have been perfect for him with Alice in Wonderland I had very low expectations when his version of Dumbo was announced. The original Disney animated film is a classic among both kids and adults with a simple but sweet story about a flying baby elephant in a circus, and one trippy sequence involving pink elephants.
I’ll admit despite watching a lot of Disney movies as a kid, Dumbo was one I didn’t watch that many times. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good movie but it didn’t quite grab me as much as films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, or The Lion King.
I was skeptical about Burton’s adaptation but open to it since Disney’s live-action remakes have gotten much better lately with Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and Beauty and the Beast, so maybe it could work. Not to mention I was secretly excited for Dumbo (2019) for one reason alone, Tim Burton’s version of the pink elephant scene, I had to see what it looks like!
Well, I can gladly say that the live-action Dumbo movie is…better than Alice in Wonderland (2010) and has a better understanding of its source material but undeniably flawed in certain areas. It doesn’t quite have the same magic as its animated predecessor, but the visuals and production design are impressive, Dumbo is just as cute and cuddly as his animated counterpart, and the story captures the original’s spirit without overcomplicating things or rehashing it word for word.
The film takes place at the Medici Brothers’ Circus run by Max Medici (Danny DeVito-Batman Returns, Big Fish, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as equestrian performer and World War I veteran Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell-Minority Report, Daredevil, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) returns to the circus after the war. However, the circus has been going through financial difficulties forcing Medici to sell his horses, so Holt is reassigned as the caretaker for the circus’ pregnant elephant Jumbo. Jumbo gives birth to a newborn baby elephant with abnormally large ears but after an incident at the circus Jumbo is taken away and Dumbo is left in the care of Holt and his children Milly and Joe (Newcomers Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins).
When they discover Dumbo can fly the circus makes a huge comeback attracting the attention of entrepreneur, V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton-Beetlejuice, Batman (1989)/Batman Returns, Spider-Man: Homecoming in his first collaboration with Burton since Batman Returns in 1992) who recruits Dumbo and the Medici troupe for his newest larger-than-life amusement park venue known as Dreamland. Dumbo becomes a sensation soaring alongside spectacular aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green-Casino Royale, 300: Rise of an Empire, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children) but Holt learns that this cutting-edge theme park may be hiding dark secrets.
The film also stars Alan Arkin (Edward Scissorhands, Little Miss Sunshine, Argo) as J. Griffin Remington, Roshan Seth (Gandhi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Street Fighter) as Pramesh Singh, DeObia Oparei (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Dredd (2012), Game of Thrones) as Rongo the Strongo, Joseph Gatt (Thor, Star Trek Into Darkness, Game of Thrones) as Neils Skellig, Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary, Two Doors Down, Brief Encounters) as Miss Atlantis, and boxing and professional wrestling announcer Michael Buffer as Baritone Bates.
Overall, Dumbo is a mostly faithful adaptation that hits all the key scenes from the original animated film with seemingly more laidback direction from Tim Burton and successfully avoiding the Alice in Wonderland (2010) trappings. The story is to the point and not once do they try to apply logic into Dumbo’s ears and being able to fly which still puzzles me as to why Burton would want to do that to Alice in Wonderland, the visuals and production design are stunning and do a solid job replicating the feel of the original movie, and the performances by the lead cast is absolutely spot on most notably Danny DeVito and Michael Keaton.
Both are similar but very different from one another, DeVito as the lovable but grumpy ringmaster of the circus trying to deal with its financial issues and Keaton as the owner of a successful amusement park and entrepreneur corrupt with greed who wants to bank on Dumbo’s flight ability. The best way I can describe DeVito’s character is if his Always Sunny character Frank had a good heart, there were scenes of him yelling at the other circus performers and a particular moment where he was telling Rongo the Strongo that he is also the security and the way it was executed it almost felt like something his character from that show would do, but because the circus is struggling to stay open and what he’s going through you understand why he acts like this.
Keaton on the other hand is hamming it up every time he’s on-screen as the film’s antagonist and he’s legitimately very funny. From his wardrobe, appearance, and how he speaks to people to psychotic Bond villain level crazy during the final act, while watching the movie I described him as a hybrid of clichéd businessman antagonist, Dr. Strangelove, and a Bond villain.
However, there was a particular cameo that I wasn’t a big fan of…Michael Buffer as the announcer at the amusement park during Dumbo’s show. It felt so out of place and they even do a take on his trademark “Let’s get ready to rumble!” that almost made me want to throw my soda cup at the screen, it’s not Johnny Depp dancing in Alice in Wonderland bad, but it’s pretty cringe-worthy.
Dumbo (2019) is a decent adaptation of the Disney animated classic that doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor or other recent live-action Disney films, but if you have a sense of wonder and imagination or just looking for a fun movie to watch with your family then this elephant might be for you…with no black crows required.
BY THE WAY: The pink elephant scene...worth it!
