The 2019 live-action version of “Dumbo” is as though Ehren Kruger watched the original Disney film, and instead of being inspired by the economy of storytelling in the animated classic, the “Transformers: Age of Extinction” screenwriter came away thinking nothing had happened. So the “Dumbo” remake takes the opposite route, turning a 64-minute film into one that runs nearly two hours, full of spectacle and story, but sadly, lacking in substance.
The 1941 movie isn’t the worst choice for an update; that short runtime shrinks down to less than an hour if you take out the racist stuff, a.k.a. the notorious crows sequence and the less infamous but still pretty terrible “Song of the Roustabouts.” It also doesn’t seem to be one of Disney’s more enduring, rewatchable films for current audiences, despite its creativity (that trippy pink elephants scene!) and emotional impact (“Baby Mine!”). With his filmography filled with misfits from “Edward Scissorhands” to “Ed Wood,” Tim Burton should be the ideal director for the story about an elephant ostracized for his overlarge ears. But “Dumbo” is too leaden to soar, weighed down by its overstuffed plot, lack of focus, and cardboard characters.
Set in 1919, the new live-action version takes the entire storyline of its animated predecessor and condenses it down to the first act. Dumbo arrives at the Sarasota-based Medici Bros. Circus, and is quickly adored by his mother, Mrs. Jumbo, and made fun of by everyone else, from ringmaster and circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) to cruel audience members. Only young Millie (Nico Parker) and her little brother, Joe (Finley Hobbins), see him for the sweet star he is, and they quickly discover that he can fly, though their World War I veteran father, Holt (Colin Farrell), doesn’t believe them. But Dumbo soon takes off in front of the audience at a show in Joplin, Missouri, and he catches the attention of V. A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), who wants him to perform in at his amusement park with acrobat Colette Marchant (Eva Green) in New York City.
Making it a live-action film foregrounds the human characters, pushing the beloved CGI elephant into the shadows for far too much of the film, and making it difficult to determine who really is at the center of the story. With his big eyes and bigger ears, Dumbo is adorable, perfectly engineered for a generation that coos over cute animal accounts on Instagram. But despite their increased screen time, the humans here are less interesting, more a combination of characteristics than fully-realized characters, with the best example of the problem being the young Millie. She is defined by her love of science, which is often mentioned in the film, but rarely given any depth. The adult actors bring more to their characters than what’s on the page, with Keaton, in particular, going very, very big as Vandevere. His odd delivery shouldn’t work, even in the weird world of a Burton film, but it’s mesmerizing.
The themes of the original “Dumbo” were pretty clear even in its economic run time–the powerful bond between a mother and child, the value of being different, and treating those who are with kindness rather than cruelty–but Burton’s film is a muddled thematic mess, despite its on-the-nose dialogue from Kruger. The relationship between Dumbo and Mrs. Jumbo is given cursory attention, and other than a sneer or two, there’s not much focus on Dumbo’s uniqueness. Oddly, this “Dumbo” isn’t all about acceptance, choosing instead to target the curvy mermaid Miss Atlantis (Sharon Rooney) for her eating habits in a few tone-deaf moments.
No one expects restraint from Burton, but “Dumbo” is especially garish with none of the emotional impact of either the original or the director’s best work. The film is filled with on-screen sadness–the requisite dead mother for Millie and Joe, their father’s amputated arm, Mrs. Jumbo’s caged existence, etc.–but none of it really lands how it should. Even this film’s version of “Baby Mine” didn’t bring out the concession stand napkins I’d grabbed in anticipation of the original’s tearjerking qualities. The film looks good, if you can decide where to look, but it’s a tonal mess, broken up by off-putting moments. “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” announcer Michael Buffer makes an appearance, saying, “Let’s get ready for Dumbo.” If you didn’t groan the first time, it’s okay; he comes back to deliver the exact same line again.
Beyond Dumbo’s cuteness (which was so overwhelming that I now want a baby elephant for a pet, which is surely not the point of the film) and Keaton’s perfectly over-the-top performance, there’s little to latch on to in this Disney film. It throws so much at the audience that nothing really sticks, leaving such a small impression for such a big movie. [C-]
