Dumbo 2019
Disney seems determined to remake all of their classic animated features in live action with CGI and the fact that they don’t have a story to tell is not getting in their way. The original Dumbo was released in 1941, just their fourth animated feature and at 64 minutes, not even really full length. I watched it not long ago and thought it was pretty dark, with the only happiness coming at the very end. In this remake, they use the original sad story as the first act, so I was hoping things would turn out okay for Dumbo and his mother, but sadly it was back into the fire for them, though not for particularly good reasons. Dumbo becomes a big star, a bankable asset at the circus, but for some reason the circus owners feel like they need to continue to mistreat him and his mother. The story is full of weird choices by the bad guys like that. Oh, and also really bad acting by the children and Danny Devito. Bad acting by children is as much the fault of the director as anyone, though some of the clunky writing doesn’t help. Michael Keaton is wasted in a very flat role as villain. With Tim Burton directing, you hope for some great weirdness, but there isn’t even much of that, feeling more like a movie inspired by Tim Burton than one with him actually involved. The conflict that keeps the movie going seems a little too easily resolved with a surprising ending that continues a theme of recent Disney movies (not just killing the parents; here it is the kids’ mother, but before the movie starts at least).
There are still some positives. If you loved the original Dumbo, there are some great references to that movie, including the pink elephants and one of the saddest songs ever, “Baby Mine.” Even with the completely different pink elephant scene, someone has to call out “pink elephants” I guess so you won’t miss it. There were a few moments like that where they just tell you what the movie is trying to say so you won’t miss it, and it feels very off, like something a director’s cut would quickly remove. And it is always fun seeing Dumbo fly. The CGI is pretty good and was probably challenging since the whole giant-eared flying elephant thing isn’t easy to do in a realistic way given that there are no elephants like that in real life to reference (and elephants seem to have paper thin ears). This is an okay movie, but the main draw is just to see how they updated the original, otherwise it is pointless and bland.
Written: 13 Apr 2019
Owned on: Digital