Dumbo (2019)
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Dumbo Movie Review
Dumbo is a 2019 fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Danny DeVito, Colin Farrell and Eva Green. It’s such a wonderful, shamefully underrated Disney remake.
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“Never do anything I tell you,
without checking with me first“
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The 1941 original is one of Disney’s better films, certainly belonging in the top twenty. It’s a minor classic by all means so remaking it was a risky choice that ultimately paid off. First off, I love Tim Burton. I adore most of his movies. I live for Disney. And I am an animal activist at heart so of course I was going to love this one no matter what.
But, the movie is to me objectively very strong and I found the critical reception needlessly harsh, vague and simply problematic in many reviews where reviewers went against Burton while in actuality he should be congratulated for making such a strong remake. His direction here truly is remarkable and he is the man most responsible for the quality of this picture overall.
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Let’s talk about the plot. The film wisely doesn’t follow the original at all. Yes, its heart and overall story idea is here which was crucial, but overall at least eighty percent of the movie is purely original and that I hugely appreciated. Unlike the pointless ‘Lion King’ remake or 2017’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’, this movie is its own beast and literally a new version of this story and never a rehash in any way. This is how remakes should be done, Hollywood, take notice.
The original stuff is mostly good. Some of it wasn’t though with some characters being mediocre and some of the plot points felt prolonged in the middle so the movie could be two hours long. As for the flying itself, I did find the emphasis on flying overall a lot of fun and especially how it was emphasized and followed in every scene is reminiscent of today’s superhero films, but that led to a less magical movie as more was less in this instance.
But back to the positives. The movie is extremely politically correct by not including the crows which was a shame and giving black people, disabled people and the circus misfits terrific, inspirational story arcs. That was all done very subtly so I didn’t mind it at all and I even found it wonderful.
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This remake is very much modernized in every way and the standout in that area is what they did with the animals themselves. The big message here is that circuses with animals should remain a thing of the past as they are inhumane and simply horrible in their treatment of animals. This movie is a giant plea for the rights of animals which I absolutely loved and admired to death. It’s very progressive and very important in that area.
And that brings me to that ending. Boy, what an ending that was! I was floored and I had to hold back my tears literally! Seeing Medici open a new circus without animals was so inspirational and following Dumbo with his mother joining the other elephants in Asia was a sight to behold. That scene was so beautiful, so emotionally rewarding and simply perfect in every way that it elevated the rest of the movie in an instant for me. It truly is an unforgettable finale.
Let’s talk about the characters. Dumbo himself is so cute and adorable. I loved his facial expressions and little walks. He definitely needed more screen time, but whenever he was on screen, he was wonderful. The same goes for his mom. The other animals are also well emphasized in some scenes, but overall the choice to focus more on humans than on other animals was a good choice as animal sidekicks only work as well in animation.
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Colin Farrell continues to be a very underrated actor and he excelled as a disabled war veteran. I liked his relationship with his kids who are unfortunately very weak. Their performances, especially that from the girl, are so bad and downright horrible at times that they really took me out of the movie. Again, they got their beautiful moments with the baby elephant, but the child actors really made the characters problematic.
But Danny DeVito is so good! He was typecast and he basically plays his usual role, but again no other actor could play this role better than him and he plays a wonderful character who in the end stands for what is right and I loved that. He’s also the funniest character for sure.
Eva Green was also wonderful and a very likable character throughout. But the same could not be said for Michael Keaton who is here very over-the-top and his character is simply a theatrical, cartoony villain who’s not grounded in reality whatsoever whereas all the others are so he doesn’t fit at all. As for the circus crew, I loved how they used their tricks to help the cause near the end in one terrific action sequence.
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This Dumbo soars thanks to its technicalities. The CGI has rarely been better on animals as the elephants here look real and unpolished with their wrinkles and flaws, but are still so damn cute. I really admired how grounded in reality the entire movie is not just in the effects, but also in its dramatic, historical approach with only just one fantasy element being present.
The score’s also wonderful and referencing the classic songs from the original well, but I wanted full songs nonetheless. The cinematography is strong and the production design is splendid with the circus looking great and the theme park itself was a great choice in terms of storytelling. The pacing is so-so and the humor is lacking, but the dramatic elements worked and the dialogue did too.
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The 2019 Dumbo remake, instead of being a rehash, is at least 80% different from the original and I loved the movie for that. Certainly some parts did not work, especially the prolonged middle ones, Dumbo himself needed more screen time, the child acting is so distractingly bad and Michael Keaton’s villain is too over-the-top, but the other characters are great with Danny DeVito stealing the show in a wonderful role whereas Eva Green and Colin Farrell are great too. The movie’s an important showcase of how horribly inhumane animal circuses were and its plight for animal rights is so affecting, resulting in that astonishing, unforgettable ending which almost moved me to tears. The CGI on the elephants is superb, the theme park addition was really clever and the entire movie was very modernized while never losing its heart in the process. It’s thus one of Tim Burton’s most underrated films and one of the best Disney remakes so far.
