I have to start by saying that I had mixed feelings about a live action Dumbo, given my mixed feelings towards the other live action Disney adaptations of their animated classics.
Maleficent was one of the worst things to ever happen to me as a film fan. It took my favorite vintage Disney film, failed miserably in its attempt to create a take on it like Wicked, turned its haunting and captivating villain into a woman who was feeling hurt but decided not to do anything too bad in return, and then gave us a twist that copied the one in Frozen (which itself was dumb) in a way that made no fucking sense in the context. Pardon my language.
Beauty and the Beast took an original that was absolutely perfect, copied everything in there (which is at least better than destroying it like Maleficent did), and spent an extra hour answering questions no one really cared about (e.g. didn’t the servants’ families realize they were gone?) and adding crazy supernatural stuff that didn’t make the story any better. Still, at least the part that was copied didn’t worsen from when it was originally done!
Cinderella went about it right. It kept some of what worked in the original but also replaced some of that with its own great material. While I missed the mice who had played such a wonderful and large role in the animated movie, the fleshed out backstory in the remake was solid. Moreover, the attempt to modernize it by having Cinderella and her guy actually build rapport was quite well done. And how could any Game of Thrones fan not like seeing Robb as the prince?
Now we get to Dumbo. I was unhappy watching the trailer and not seeing Timothy. When confirming online that he wasn’t coming back, I saw the crows weren’t going to be back either, although I knew Disney would have been walking across hot coals if they brought those controversial birds back in our (somewhat) more racially sensitive time.
Nonetheless, I approached this film with an open mind. How could I not? I love that baby elephant!
I definitely didn’t love the movie at first though. The two little kids who replaced Timothy as Dumbo’s companions lack any of that mouse’s personality. I feel like a child actor as charismatic as Henry Thomas was in E.T. could have helped, but the writing is an issue. The boy has no personality traits whatsoever, while his big sister has none except for wanting to be a SCIENTIST (the movie really beats us over the damn head with that). Colin Farrell, as their widowed and newly handicapped father, is charismatic and talented enough to make his character memorable but not especially so.
It didn’t help that the first part of this movie basically tells the same story as the animated version but without the interesting supporting characters (the awesome Timothy, those crows who who also showed Dumbo rare kindness, and the mean adult elephants). Dumbo and his mom Mrs. Jumbo are cute (Dumbo looks as adorable in his CGI incarnation as he did in 2D!) but since they’re nonverbal strong supporting characters who can talk are a must. Besides the human family described, we get Danny DeVito who is entertaining as a circus master but basically playing the same stock Danny DeVito character we’ve been seeing for 40+ years. The supporting cast of circus performers is intriguing but don’t get enough screen time to help the movie that much.
Also, the story we saw in the animated film now basically ends on a cliffhanger. Instead of Dumbo and his mom being reunited after he shows he can fly, we get a whole additional movie that’s an hour or so! This features a new character played by Michael Keaton hiring the circus to work at an amusement park, a new invention at the time the movie takes place.
The sets in what I call the sequel-within-the-movie are gorgeous – and so is Eva Green as another new character. Then, although it takes a while to develop, the last act/climax of the movie is awesome. An adrenaline rush the whole time-enough to make me almost forget how bored I’d been up until that point!
Would I suggest watching Dumbo though? Yes. The movie is disjointed and unfocused but has enough strengths that I think Disney fans will enjoy it.
Up next: the better original.
Final Verdict: Slight recommendation if you’re not the restless or impatient type.
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