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'Dumbo' - A Movie Review

A Live-Action Remake of the Famous 1941 Disney Animated Classic

By Marielle SabbagPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Get ready to soar through the skies on the back of an elephant. Except make sure you pin those long ears back so they won’t flap in your face.

Dumbo is a live-action remake of the famous 1941 Disney animated classic. Born with overly large ears for an elephant, Dumbo is separated from his mother. Living a life in the circus, bystanders soon find out that his ears give him the ability to fly. When a large profit is declared to make the elephant more popular, Dumbo’s life soon becomes more of an attraction than the freedom he desires.

The instant I heard about a live-action version of Dumbo I was excited. It has been a while since I have seen the Disney animated version, but it will always tug at my heartstrings. After seeing the live-action rendition I did not feel that inner emotional levity come to play. Although it was magical, Dumbo was less about the famous elephant and more about the human characters.

If Danny DeVito weren’t in this movie then that needed comedic spark wouldn’t exist. He sells the movie with several awesome one-liners as the owner of the circus, Max Medici. He makes a big impact. It almost felt like he was the main character of the film, as he went through the most character development out of anyone.

Dumbo’s live-action co-stars tend to steal, or try to steal, his screen time with their own subplots. Colin Farrell (Holt Farrier), a widowed one-armed war amputee father and his two children, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins), support the elephant and arrive at Dumbo’s rescue.

Although the children did a nice job, I was a little disappointed. The child actors rarely expressed any emotion whether happy, surprised, or frightened. Acting is so much fun! However, a possible reason behind their lack of emotion could be their own grief from their mother’s passing.

Sadly, none of the actors really stood out or were developed. Eva Green made a memorable performance as Colette, a circus performer who flies on the back of the elephant. Michael Keaton appears as the villain. And there is a delightful appearance from Alan Arkin. He and DeVito ham up their scenes together.

The film has a multitude of characters such as the carnies. They’re not given enough screen time to develop their personalities and I really wish they were. Movies that take place in a carnival have characters with exotic personalities. Their stories needed to be expanded more.

Aside from the acting, Dumbo has stunning visual effects. In some scenes, it feels like you’re flying through the air on the back of the elephant. I applaud the visual effects team for creating a fun atmosphere and even beautiful cinematography. This film is really beautiful to watch.

I am really surprised that Tim Burton directed this film. Usually, he never holds back and his movies have exotic storylines and memorable characters. His direction lacked getting into the eyes of Dumbo. No, I don’t mean the constant closeups of the elephant’s eye, but the film should have been in his perspective more.

Dumbo is a silent character. In fact, he is the only Disney character to never speak. The animated version succeeded in giving Dumbo a voice only through expressive faces. Dumbo should have been given more of a voice to gain a better perspective on what he wanted.

As more animated Disney films are being been remade into live-action, creators should largely focus on making the story different. The film has different elements and characters from its predecessor, but it did not do as well in finding its emotional boundaries.

Dumbo is still a lovely movie that I would recommend, especially to child audiences. It’s cute, funny, and has beautiful special effects. The message about being different is very important to all. Tag along on the journey and you may have a chance to soar through the skies.

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About the Creator

Marielle Sabbag

Writing has been my passion since I was 11 years old. I love creating stories from fiction, poetry, fanfiction. I enjoy writing movie reviews. I would love to become a creative writing teacher and leave the world inspiring minds.

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