Also, Danny DeVito and Michael Keaton are in this thing
Disney doesn’t seem to know how to stop these live-action remakes of their classic animated films, andDumbo,from Tim Burton, isone of their latest efforts. Afteran initial teasershowed what the basic premise of the film will be, a full trailer expanded on what we may see from the film’s plot and characters. It also reminded us that Danny DeVito is in this thing.
My memory on the originalDumbofilm isn’t too fresh; I even got into a debate with a friend as we tried to remember whether or not Dumbo talked in that movie. Regardless, I don’t remember this many characters in that one. Burton’s film has Colin Farrell asHolt Farrier, a one-armed war veteran who works for circus ownerMax Medici (DeVito) and takes care of the magnificent baby elephant. Dumbo’s circus antics is enough to attract the attention of entrepreneurV. A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton), who enlists Dumbo for his “Dreamland” venture. You can tell he’s evil because he wears a suit.
Burton previously directed the live-actionAlice in Wonderlandfilm for Disney, which was a massive box office hit. It’s a film that I missed out on—in fact, I haven’t seen any of these live-action Disney remakes. It isn’t out of protest or spite or anything of the like; I’m just not interested in seeing them. I’m also a bit confused on what the point of these films are, and in one case, I’m baffled by what a“live-action”Lion Kingeven means when everyone is CGI—is Donald Glover filming in a motion capture suit on all fours?
That film andDumbohighlight a problem that I have: it’s simply harder for photorealistic, CGI animals to be as expressive as cartoon animals. Again, I don’t have a leg to stand on, as I haven’t seenThe Jungle Book, but it’s a concern I have nonetheless. The actual story itself seems sound, and I’m sure some business with Dumbo being separated from his mother will pull some heartstrings, but I’m having trouble feeling empathy for this CGI animal.
As long as Burton directed a remake ofthe scene where Dumbo gets totally wastedand starts seeing pink elephants, I’m content. We’ll find out whenDumboreleases in theaters on July 03, 2025.
