SPOILER FREE REVIEW FOR THIS MOVIE WHICH WILL MAKE YOU BELIEVE AN ELEPHANT CAN FLY (AND THAT COLIN FARRELL HAS ONE ARM)

Spare me your judgement, dear reader: I have not seen the original Dumbo. Despite my heart of gold, I’ve never got around to seeing the supposed Disney classic, but from what I can gather, it’s just over an hour long, Dumbo gets drunk in one scene (which is subtly alluded to in this remake) before going on an LSD-style ‘pink elephant dream’, it’s childhood-endingly sad, and once (minor spoiler, but you knew this) Dumbo gets the ability to fly, he attacks his captors by firing peanuts out of his trunk, or something to that degree (my apologies if I got any of those details wrong, fans of the original Dumbo). Nevertheless, I saw the next title on the Disney spreadsheet – I mean, next live-action Disney retelling – at the cinema anyway, and contrary to many of the critical opinions on this movie I’ve read, genuinely enjoyed it quite a lot.

Dumbo is a fantasy-adventure from the bizarre, unique and feverishly weird mind of director Tim Burton, based off a screenplay by Ehren Kruger. It features an ensemble cast, including Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton (I did fanboy a little bit when Keaton and DeVito were on screen together, as did any other fan of Batman Returns I would assume 🙂 ), Eva Green, Nico Parker, Finely Hobbins and Alan Arkin. The story centres around the Medici circus, which is suddenly catapulted into stardom by the discovery of a flying baby elephant called Dumbo. It’s a simple, heart-warming tale, one which is expanded upon with an entire extra half following the end of the original movie, with thankfully positive results.

Dumbo is the first time in quite a while in which Tim Burton has struck a strong balance between his own eccentricities and oddball filmmaking tendencies, and doing justice to the original source material, resulting in something heartfelt, but never overtly cutesy as could have been the case when adapting such a sad but ultimately uplifting animation to the big screen. Sure, you’ve got a lot of Tim Burton staples in there: clowns, the circus, a dead parent, etc. But Burton manages to make this feel like his movie, without overdoing it, as was the case with the dull (and harrowingly pale) Alice in Wonderland movie he did a few years ago (how did that movie make a billion dollars? Am I taking crazy pills?). Everything in this movie lends neatly to Burton’s vision, from the set design and costumes (wonderfully time-period accurate, but at the same time almost fantastical, as is the tone Burton wished to sustain with Dumbo), and this truly is a perfect match between director and project.

The movie isn’t just a more or less direct retelling of the original movie: it has that unique Tim Burton-movie feeling of course, but also expands upon the story of the first movie with an additional fifty minutes dedicated to Michael Keaton and Eva Green’s characters and the Dreamland amusement park. There are some themes in there antagonising capitalism, which I found somewhat hypocritical considering this movie was made by one of the biggest capitalist companies in the world (Disney are getting closer and closer to completing their quest and buying a country), however this was only a minor setback, and I enjoyed the story. What I will say is that it wasn’t as sad as I’d suspected the movie to be prior to going in to see it, although depending upon how easily you cry at the cinema, it could just break you (I for one am saving my tears for Endgame, The Lion King, and weeping over why on earth they’re making another Terminator movie). The score is very strong, and the spectacle is something I applaud. When Dumbo flies, you actually feel something inside (I experienced empathy! I’m a step closer to exhibiting a full range of human emotions (as it’s a well-known fact that I’m a robot)).

Let’s talk about the cast. Generally, it’s stellar, from a typically animated Danny DeVito playing a typically ‘Danny DeVito character’ (Max Medici), to Colin Farrell, cast in the place of Will Smith, who does an adequate job at giving the movie a bit of a human angle. I found the choice to give him one arm very bold, but I think it works well, and Farrell is great at physically acting with ‘one arm’ and making it feel convincing. The two child actors are… look, they’re not very expressive. When they first see Dumbo fly, I’ll cut any pretences, they’re eyes are pretty devoid of emotion (although it must have been difficult, considering the main character in this movie wasn’t on set when it was filmed, something Burton has elaborated on in past interviews). That being said, I’m probably being a little too scathing, as the two kids didn’t affect my enjoyment of the movie as such. I liked the Eva Green character, even if she is just a generic sort of French woman, and watching Michael Keaton’s hair grow increasingly more dishevelled towards the end of the movie is a real highlight for me. I love anything hat guy does, as I think he’s just an excellent actor (he’s amazing in Birdman if you haven’t seen that yet).

There are a few interesting little surprises in this movie, and I won’t get into spoiling them. I can understand the criticisms of the movie to a certain degree, although seeing as I’m not comparing the movie to the original in any way, I can say that my opinion is about as non-biased as they come. I did enjoy it, if most of all for the unique feel and heart of the movie, and I embrace its retro-futurist, oddball nature that’s just so Tim Burton.

VERDICT: STELLAR

Thank you for reading, as always. My apologies if this review is a bit shorter, I’ve been suffering with a bit of a cold (said as though I’m a plague sufferer), but hopefully this should inform enough of my opinions on this sweet movie with an oddball character at its centre. Otherwise, all there is left to say is that I bid you adieu! 🙂