Tim Burton’s ‘Dumbo’ is a bumpy ride that flies, but doesn’t quite soar.
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The live-action remake of the 1941 animated film of the same name centres around the young calf who was born with large floppy ears. With the help of two lovable children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins), Dumbo learns to fly and becomes the featured act at a circus and ultimately saves the day with his ability to fly.
In Tim Burton’s live-action-CGI remake, the story gets expanded in numerous ways, especially an additional plot about Dumbo being exploited by an amusement park tycoon and the storyline about Dumbo’s mother.
The ugly duckling-turned-swan flick has its endearing moments and overall, a lovable treat at best, but when nostalgia fades within the first hour or so, Dumbo feels like it lacks the consistency of tone, as well as the development of its human characters.
If you were to compare the similar elements and story plots with the original, then perhaps you may be a tad disappointed at this near-180 remake. While it’s a pity that Timothy the mouse didn't have much of a friendship with Dumbo in this remake, the pink elephants made up of bubbles sequence sure did leave an impression.
Burton’s Dumbo hit the right notes in making us tear up in some parts of the movie, but less can be said about the most famous scene - the twining of trunks between Dumbo and his mum because Mrs Jumbo is shackled and imprisoned in a tiny cart, and the baby elephant can only feel its mothers’ touch at night. Sure, that scene with a ‘mad elephant’ sign was featured, but the heartbreaking moment wasn’t sadder than what the animation could provide. It was pretty much a touch-and-go bit that quickly resulted in the departure of the mother.
Colin Farrell stars as Holt Farrier, a circus performer who has just returned from World War I and lost an arm while he was serving the country. There wasn’t much discussed about his missing arm, except for the fact that he can’t perform tricks as a stallion rider and is pushed by circus ringmaster Max Medici (Danny DeVito) to take care of Dumbo instead. Farrell is charming to watch on the big screen, along with Eva Green as the French trapeze artist. Both have so much potential to show, but much is left to be desired. Perhaps only Michael Keaton as V.A. Vandevere, the villainous circus mogul of his Dreamland amusement park is one that stood out. Even the other circus performers didn’t have much to explore, and though they don’t break out into big musical numbers like those in The Greatest Showman, Rooney the mermaid sings a beautiful rendition of ‘Baby Mine’, the Oscar-nominated tune from the animated Dumbo.
Almost all the scenes that feature the little Dumbo were great, and you can see that there is a lot of attention spent at creating an endearing animal that audiences are able to connect with. Apart from that, Dumbo doesn’t soar high in recreating a movie that is loved and treasured by many.
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