Dumbo – Review

Directed by: Tim Burton

Runtime: 112 minutes

The Disney live-action reboot is a phenomenon that, recently, has garnered a lot of scorn and eye-rolls. After a first glimpse of the CGI-fest reboot of The Lion King and a controversial Aladdin trailer, much of the conversation has surrounded the ‘pointless’ nature of remaking perfectly good animated films in an attempt to reap insane profits. A couple of years ago, I wrote an article in which I argued that live-action entries into the Disney canon are fun nostalgia-machines and I was, at the time, very much down for them. However, after more and more classic titles are being put in the reboot machine, I couldn’t help but feel the anguished question of “Why?” escape my lips.

Despite my trepidation, I did still maintain some hope for Tim Burton’s incarnation of Dumbo. Based on the 1941 classic, Burton’s live-action iteration of the bullied, big-eared circus elephant seemed a lot more interesting than the usual shiny remakes taken from the Disney renaissance era. The original Dumbo was Disney’s biggest box-office success of the ’40s, and while it has been a children’s staple for generations, it could have benefited from an interesting update in order to maintain a wide appeal. Long gone are the racist crows and talking animals; instead, Burton opts for a more human-centred flick with themes of acceptance and, surprisingly, animal rights.

Burton himself has fallen out of grace in recent years. Many, myself included, began to believe that he had ‘lost it’, opting for style over substance in most cases and making his dark and wacky tone into more of a meme than an actual creative niche. I longed for the days of Ed Wood and Big Fish and, it turns out, the director seems to have borrowed a lot from the latter in his latest. Following a southern, war-torn hero (played quite well by Colin Farrell) and a band of circus freaks (led by an increasingly likeable Danny DeVito… who also played a circus master in Big Fish), the film takes more of Burton’s whimsical stylistic elements, and there is no Johnny Depp in sight.

The human characters are interesting enough to keep you invested, but they are not necessarily complex. While for most this would be a criticism, I felt like further depth wouldn’t have been very necessary for a film such as this. Really, the focus is on the CGI-Dumbo who is absolutely adorable and charming throughout. Will the CGI date? Maybe. However, the character toes a fine line between realistic and stylised that avoids uncanny valley and may lend itself to becoming a little more timeless than we may think. The range of expression they are able to show on this tiny little elephant’s face is remarkable, and I spent the majority of the movie wanting to give him a hug.

A new branch of the story is also opened in this film. While this does add to a quite lengthy runtime—sometimes forcing the plot to drag a little—the Disma-land style theme park that Burton crafts is very interesting and left me wishing I could have explored it more. Michael Keaton goes full ham in his role as V.A. Vandevere and I found myself enjoying myself whenever he was on screen. After the convoluted mess that was Burton’s 2010 live-action Alice in Wonderland, it was nice to see this film take itself a little less seriously.

In essence, the film kept me entertained throughout and I didn’t really question its existence too much. While the whole thing was quite Disney-fied, it was very nice to be able to see Tim Burton work his magical realism once again. To me, the film felt like reading a new version of an old fairytale—it had some differences, sure, but overall it made me feel the same way as the original did by the end. As an Easter holidays family movie, I’m sure you could do a lot worse.

Now, I’m going to go watch Big Fish for the 50th time and unsuccessfully try to maintain dry eyes throughout.