Dumbo reviews are in

The latest live-action Disney remake comes in the form of Dumbo and the reviews are in.

Tim Burton was drafted into helm the CGI-leaden adaptation of the classic 1941 animation about a little elephant with massive ears that allow him to fly and the anticipation for its release has been palpable.

The movie features Colin Farrell, Danny Devito, Eva Green and Michael Keaton and introduces Thandie Newton’s daughter Nico Parker as one of the child leads who befriends little Dumbo, along with Finley Hobbins as her onscreen brother.

Read more: Teaser trailer for Rocketman





Ahead of its release the reviews embargo has finally lifted and this is what critics had to say.

Forbes argues that “Dumbo is a pretty good movie, with strong production values, excellent performances by a game cast and a third act that ends things on a very high note,” while Time Out says “the story is busied-up with subplots” involving the human characters so, “unsurprisingly, little Dumbo seems a bit lost in the hubbub at times.”

Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian was less keen saying, “all the charm and heartbreak of Disney’s classic animation is missing in this retro-futurist, live-action clunker.”

Angie Han of Mashable says, “Dumbo ends up feeling more like a sideshow than a main attraction,” and that rather than centering it around the titular elephant’s cuteness it “probably would have been better off letting its freak flag fly.”

While Geoffrey Macnab of the Independent says, “there’s plenty of humour and pathos in the director’s re-imagining of the animated Disney classic.”

Here’s what critics are saying on Twitter:

I don’t have much to fault in #Dumbo, but something has to have gone wrong for me not to fall in love with a movie feat. Eva Green swinging on a chandelier. My That Darn Movie Show review: https://t.co/oot9RYW77z — Clarisse Loughrey (@clarisselou) March 26, 2019





Story continues

DUMBO is the best Tim Burton movie in a long time, which makes it just "regular bad" instead of "Jeff Koons meets The Lawnmower Man bad." kinda tough to stomach an anti-corporate fable from the conglomerate that's eating hollywood! my review: https://t.co/e8eXRxYSZC pic.twitter.com/5SdUGAn3K5 — david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) March 26, 2019





While the visual effects are no doubt impressive, #Dumbo just doesn't hit the mark. My review: https://t.co/v7yRzdA1F0 — Danielle Solzman ✡️🎞️📽️ #OutOwes Me Money (@DanielleSATM) March 26, 2019





Here’s the film’s synopsis:

Struggling circus owner Max Medici enlists a former star and his two children to care for Dumbo, a baby elephant born with oversized ears. When the family discovers that the animal can fly, it soon becomes the main attraction — bringing in huge audiences and revitalizing the run-down circus. The elephant’s magical ability also draws the attention of V.A. Vandevere, an entrepreneur who wants to showcase Dumbo in his latest, larger-than-life entertainment venture.

Dumbo is in cinemas on Friday