Respond to these rapid questions in our Dumbo quiz and we will tell you which Dumbo character you are. Play it now.
It feels like one of the big-eared baby elephant’s early flights when Tim Burton’s “Dumbo” is shown: Even though it’s endearing and sincere, it causes considerable disruption and only occasionally soars above the horizon.
Pieces of better Burton films have been stitched together to create Burton’s live-action reimagining of the 1941 animated Disney classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Dumbo is a classic Burton misfit, with his oversized ears drawing both awe and ridicule at the same time. He is the kind of character that the director has focused on in a twisted yet kindhearted manner for the entirety of his career. Specifically though, the century-old circus setting can’t help but bring to mind Danny DeVito’s role as ringleader in “Big Fish,” especially with Danny DeVito returning as ringmaster. DeVito and Michael Keaton return to the big screen for the first time since “Batman Returns,” albeit in their respective roles as the hero and villain of Burton’s “Dumbo.” And the music by Burton’s long-time collaborator Danny Elfman is frequently reminiscent of Elfman’s haunting score for “Edward Scissorhands,” which was released in 1989.
All of these inevitable comparisons only serve to highlight how far “Dumbo” falls short of the best of Burton’s previous work. And, among the recent slew of live-action re-imaginings of classic Disney films—from “Cinderella” to “The Jungle Book” to “Beauty and the Beast”—it will almost certainly go down as one of the least memorable.
In this case, there is both too much and not enough going on at one time. A significant amount of material has been added to the beloved 64-minute original feature by Burton and screenwriter Ehren Kruger (who has written several “Transformers” films), and the story now includes many more human characters to carry the story forward. (The novel by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl served as the inspiration for both films.) These characters were never given much depth beyond a few superficial characteristics, and Dumbo himself, while an irresistibly sweet and sympathetic figure, is characterized by an anthropomorphism that is painfully selective.
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The film begins at the conclusion of World War I, with veteran Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returning home to a variety of different kinds of families, having clearly changed as a result of his experiences. He’s lost his left arm in battle and witnessed horrors that have left him speechless. But while away, his daughter and son Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) have suffered the loss of their mother due to illness while he was away. And he discovers that his circus family, where he was once a well-known trick horseman, has become a shell of what it used to be.
Max Medici (DeVito, as always, with razor-sharp comic timing) is a cantankerous circus owner who has sold Holt’s horses in order to keep the show afloat. Suddenly, Holt finds himself in charge of the elephants, including one in particular who’s expecting a child. Mrs. Jumbo gives birth to a baby boy with plaintive blue eyes and oversized ears, who is immediately shunned and misunderstood because of his unusual appearance—with the exception of Holt’s sensitive children, who rush to his side in an effort to protect him. (Aspiring scientist Milly serves as a wonderful role model for young viewers, and Parker possesses the same calm confidence as her mother Thandie Newton.) However, as is the case with all of the major characters in this film, she leaves you wishing she had a more substantial role to play.)
Dumbo Quiz
But, c’mon, come on. This is the story of “Dumbo.” You already know that the baby is going to be taken away from his mother so that he can learn to accomplish exciting things on his own. (While the early scenes of their separation, in which they intertwine trunks and whimper for each other, may elicit a few tears, “Dumbo” never quite manages to pack the emotional punch it strives to deliver. Milly and Joe discover that when Dumbo sucks a feather into his trunk, he is propelled into the air and eventually flies off into the distance. The visual effects, however, are a little off during this process – something to do with the ear flapping, which is jerky and distracting, and prevents us from being swept up in the grandeur of it all the way Burton clearly intended.
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But the legend of Dumbo continues to spread far and wide, all the way to Coney Island, where amusement park mogul V.A. Vandevere (Keaton) decides to make Dumbo the centerpiece of his latest development. When the circus’s entire cast is taken away, the entrepreneur and his girlfriend, the French aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green), promise to place the various freaks in prominent positions in the new circus. Keaton’s performance is befuddling; he’s clearly portraying a villain, but he’s also put a hammy spin on the character that clangs, as well as a vacillating accent and a questionable wig, all of which contribute to the film’s overall confusion. The dangerous magnetism with which he has captivated us in Burton films such as “Beetlejuice” appears to have been significantly reduced here. Green, on the other hand, is always a goddess, and she is one of the few performers who is given the opportunity to show glimpses of her inner life.
Where veteran production designer Rick Heinrichs’ work truly comes to life is in Vandevere’s Dreamland, a glossy and futuristic Art Deco extravaganza that bears more than a passing resemblance to Disney World. Also in this section, the costumes designed by Burton’s longtime collaborator, the legendary Colleen Atwood, are at their most dazzling—particularly the sparkly and vibrantly textured creations she’s created for Green’s elegant aerialist.
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The fact that a massive anachronism occurs in the form of a lame pop-culture gag serves as a watershed moment from which the film never recovers is particularly galling, given that “Dumbo” wasn’t doing a particularly good job of drawing us in in the first place. Burton refers to the joke not once, but twice, and the first time was particularly painfully groan-inducing. In addition, while it’s always a pleasure to see Alan Arkin, his shtick as the grumpy and impatient millionaire who’s invested in the theme park feels completely out of place, as if he’d wandered in from a completely different film.
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The sweet story at the heart of the film is lost amid all of the empty bluster and spectacle: that of a scared, young boy who longs to be reunited with his mother, who has been separated from him since birth. As the mother of a nine-year-old boy, I can tell you that if you don’t have me sobbing in a puddle of tears by the end of your film, you’ve done something wrong.
For more personality quizzes check this: Aquaman Quiz.
