The
Director: Tim Burton
The
Cast:
Danny
DeVito – Max Medici
Colin
Farrell – Holt Farrier
Eva
Green – Colette Marchant
Michael
Keaton – V. A. Vandevere
Alan
Arkin – J. Griffin Remington
Nico
Parker – Milly Farrier
Finley
Hobbins – Joe Farrier
Sharon
Rooney – Miss Atlantis
Deobia
Oparei – Rongo
Roshan
Seth – Pramesh Singh
Certificate:
PG
UK
cinema release: 29th
March 2019
The
Plot:
When
a baby elephant is born with over-sized ears, he is met with scorn on
all sides. The circus he is born into is struggling to stay in
business. Holt Farrier (Farrell, Saving
Mr Banks)
has returned from the Great War to find his wife has died, and his
children (Parker and Hobbins) are growing up fast. With their help,
you'll believe an elephant can fly.
The
Review:
The
original Dumbo
is
my favourite Disney movie. There. I said it, but that isn't to say
the cartoon version is perfect, oh no. The cartoon was made in 1941,
and has been accused of pandering to those racial stereotypes ever
since. It is also just over an hour long.
The
screenwriter, Ehren Kruger (whose writing credits also include the Transformers trilogy...oh dear) has tried to flesh out the
story with more human characters; however all the emotional arcs have
already happened off-screen. Before the story begins, Joe and
Milly's mother has already passed away, and Holt has lost his arm
before we know who he is.
What
bothered me most was Eva Green's character, Colette. She is the
acrobat/trophy-wife of Vandevere; he demands that she performs with
Dumbo. Then she rides him while he flies. It sounds terrible, it
looks terrible, and ultimately threatens to make a joke out of the
whole thing. If he's going to have anyone ride him, it's gotta be one
of the kids...or Timothy Mouse, who doesn't speak in the film.
So,
what part do the children get to play in this? Milly spends most of
the film stating the obvious, like we're all too dumb to figure out
how Dumbo feels. There's an interesting story arc where she wants to
become a scientist, rather than be a circus performer like her
father. Their heart-to-heart scene in the 'House of The Future'
exhibit in Vandevere's park looks like it was savagely cut from the
resulting product. As for young Joe, I'm still not sure why they
featured him as a character because he barely does anything!
Most
of the music numbers have been shrunk down to the slightest of nods
to the original. The crows are nowhere to be seen – “When
I See An Elephant Fly” is only referenced by the announcer at the
circus, followed by a bizarre “Let's get ready for Dumbooooo!”
He. Is. A. Baby. Elephant. Not a wrestler.
Through all this, Dumbo remains
the hero of the tale. He is just as cute here as he is in the
original...but is it better than the 1941 film? No. Is it worse? No.
It's bland, but is still fairly entertaining. Just don't expect
anything new and exciting out of it.
The
Verdict:
** 2 STARS OUT OF 5
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