Dumbo 2019 Directed by Tim Burton - 1 hr 52 Rated PG
Wow! That was different. The first of three live action releases from Disney.
I made it perfectly clear, I am not happy about the live action remakes of the classics. I grew up on Disney, we still watch the classics today with our own children. So when I heard about the live action remakes that were coming to the big screen, I was always going to be sceptical.
The Movie starts off slow, but does stick with the original at first with the train and the storks that deliver the baby to Mrs Jumbo.
Dumbo is soon mocked by the circus workers for his rather strange appearance. In the ring the other elephants make fun and Mrs Jumbo gets angry which leads to the separation of mother and baby but brings Dumbo closer to the kids. Leading to the discovery that Dumbo likes feathers!
Mrs Jumbo is then sent back to the place Max (Danny Devito) bought her from.
Unfortunately what really let the movie down for me was no animals train Dumbo, in fact no animals talk in the movie. This would have made it absolutely magical if there was more involvement from the mice and talking animals were involved.
Dumbo is then trained by Holt, ( Colin Farrell) an amputee who has just returned from the war, and his two kids, Milly & Finley, using a feather.
News spreads fast about a "Magical" Elephant that can fly.
Soon the circus is bought by an amusement entrepreneur (Michael Keaton) after a quick and shifty deal with Max.
The Movie features realistic animation, created by Tim Burton, and the cast features an array of characters such as a Mermaid, Snake charmer and strong man, plus lots more.
The ring announcer was cringe worthy and absolutely terrible, taking such well known lines from the original and completely ruining them by lacking in WOW.
And a major issue with this movie NO CROWS!
I am still a little unsure as to what Michael Keaton was actually doing, in fact I didn't even realise it was him until the end credits rolled and I was really shocked at this.
Not the right role for him. (He is a fantastic actor just not for this part)
Good Points:
Great realistic animation
Good casting for most of the actors
I really liked the happy ending
Bad Points
They missed so much out from the original, yet it was even longer. I was expecting more references to the original, given it was made by the same company.
No talking animals
Not enough music/songs
I left feeling like I was still waiting for something to happen
Little involvement from the mice
The Boys give this movie a 7/10
I still prefer the original 1940s version but I was brought up on the classics from Disney.
Who knows maybe with time we can fall in love with the character we all once knew.