Review of Dumbo (2019) by Rebecca31 — 31 Mar 2019

You've seen a horse fly, you've seen a dragon fly, you may even have seen a house fly, but you ain't ever seen an elephant fly. Well you have if you've seen the 1941 animated version, but these days Disney insists on remaking all their old classics because they're all out of ideas, they want to bring in a new generation of fans. In 2019 you can see Dumbo fly all over again in a live adaptation remake. A truly magical moment on the big screen again only with better effects, so does it hold up to the original animation? No, it doesn't. Sorry Tim Burton I'm a huge fan and all but this is nowhere near the standard it should be.

Dumbo isn't exactly a film that needs an introduction but you're getting one anyway. It's a baby elephant with oversized ears that allow him to fly, which turns out to be a blessing for a struggling circus but also attracts the attention of the shady entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton). This remake or reimagining as they like to call it, for the most part is pretty much the same story with the addition of some new characters, Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Eva Green and Michael Keaton. Honestly if it wasn't for Farrell and DeVito this would be so much worse, their characters are interesting and time has been spent developing their characters. I can't exactly say the same for everyone else. Eva Green is just there to look pretty and the rest of the cast if I'm honest don't add much. It all feels very generic. Michael Keaton just went full on with this role, yes Michael we all know you play a great villain but perhaps you should have toned it down a notch, I understand as a children's film certain things are embellished slightly but there's a line and Keaton goes well beyond it. I've mentioned this before, if you're going to remake a film you should at least try to make some changes and add your own spin on it. Well this may have Tim Burton's name on it but it doesn't really feel like a Burton film. It has the signature Danny Elfman score sure but that's about it. Dumbo 2019 doesn't tug at the heart strings like the original 1941 version. If like me you haven't seen the original since you were a child then maybe give it another watch because there's a lot of dark themes within the story. Whereas this remake has little to no impact which makes you think what was the point. No seriously Disney I'm actually asking you, what is the point? Remake everything almost shot for shot, or else make another sequel to one of your many franchises, is that all we're getting now? At this rate the trend of Disney making a live adaptation of their old movies is going to get tiresome real quick. The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast have done well but with Aladdin, The Lion King and Mulan on the horizon it doesn't look like we're getting anything original for a while. Dumbo is not terrible, but it's not great either. Recommended for anyone needing to entertain your kids for a couple of hours.