Walt Disney Pictures
Dumbo is Disney’s latest live-action remake and Tim Burton’s 19th film to date. The original Dumbo was released in 1941 and is a Disney classic that I grew up watching often. Disney has a huge slate of upcoming theatrical remakes such as Aladdin (May 2019) and The Lion King (July 2019), and Lady and the Tramp (October 2019) for their new Disney+ streaming service. I was surprised to see Tim Burton take on the directing role for the film, but after watching the trailer, I think he was the perfect choice.
Dumbo isn’t a direct remake of the 1941 classic since many new characters and story elements were added to the film. The original Dumbo clocked in at 1 hour and 4 minutes and the new Dumbo almost doubles that runtime. Many of the same elements from the original film carry over to the new such as the iconic ‘Casey Jr.’ song in the beginning of the film. The relationship between Jumbo and Dumbo is still presented in the film but manages to feel more dramatic this time around. Certain characters from the original film are not in the remake, which I found to rather disappointing. I was looking forward to some character relationships with Dumbo but didn’t get that. Instead we got Dumbo interacting with the young children and Colin Farrell. I understand that the film wants to set itself apart from the original, but it shouldn’t completely forget what made the original film work as well. There was a certain scene that I was curious how it was going to translate into the film and after watching it I think Tim Burton did a great job. Tim Burton often creates odd moments in his film and the scene worked in his favor.
Dumbo is a visually appealing character. The original design for Dumbo has such an iconic look that I was always curious to see how it would translate into CGI. I was afraid that Tim Burton would make Dumbo look too unrealistic, but that is far from it in the movie. Dumbo’s design is probably the tamest character look in any Tim Burton movie.
Dumbo is stacked with a large cast of big-name celebrities from Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, and Michael Keaton. With having so many characters in the film, it takes the focus away from Dumbo. The movie is set up with Danny DeVito’s traveling circus which involves elephants, monkeys, and human acts. Traveling alongside the circus are two young children who are waiting for their father (Colin Farrell) to return home from war. Once he returns, he finds out that his precious horses that he uses for acts in the circus have been sold and he tends for the elephants from now on. Jumbo, a female elephant that is part of the show, gives birth to baby Jumbo, who later is known by Dumbo. People are immediately put off by Dumbo’s big ears and he catches the attention of Michael Keaton’s character who runs Dreamland, a huge amusement park looking for their next big show. The problem with all these characters is that they aren’t compelling or interesting. They take the focus away from Dumbo and make Dumbo never feel like the main character.
The moments with Dumbo are exciting and have a cinematic feel to them. A lot of the scenes involve Dumbo flying around and amazing people. I saw the film in IMAX and the scenes were stunning. Danny Elfman’s score feels grand when Dumbo is impressing the audiences. Danny Elfman has worked with Tim Burton over many films and always creates such eerie music to accompany the film. A lot of the music in the movie is either upbeat or dark, like movies Edward Scissorhands or Batman.
Dumbo is just an okay movie. It isn’t a film that I am going to remember down the road and I believe that it is one of Tim Burton’s weakest films. It is better than films like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Planet of the Apes, and Alice in Wonderland. I wish I would have gotten more of Dumbo in the film since the moments with him were astounding. The film’s focus is on the human characters and their relationships, which never feel strong. I wasn’t anticipating Dumbo as much as I am anticipating The Lion King or Aladdin, I just hope those two are better than this one.
Dumbo has a run time of 1 hour 52 minutes and is rated PG for peril/action, some thematic elements, and brief mild language.
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