Dumbo – Reimagined for 2019

Thanks to a request by the two delightful young girls in our care on a rainy afternoon, we attended a viewing of Disney’s classic film, ‘Dumbo’, as reimagined for 2019.

Dumbo 1941

Comparing The Two Versions of Dumbo

The two films are distinguishable in several ways. Most obviously, the 1941 film is animated, while the 2019 version utilises visual effects to supplement real life. Also, unlike the 1941 version, the animals do not speak in the 2019 film. One other noteworthy difference is that in the 2019 version, Dumbo’s mother, Mrs Jumbo, is not merely protective of Dumbo, but is removed from the circus for killing a cruel animal keeper/trainer.

The Cast

The film’s trailers highlight a high calibre cast, and indeed it is. Danny DeVito plays Medici, the owner of a struggling circus. Colin Farrell plays Holt Farrier, the father of Milly and Joe, who in turn are played by Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins. Michael Keaton plays Vandemere, the film’s chief baddie. Vandemere’s female companion and trapeze artist, Colette, is played by Eva Green.

Other Reviews

Although aware of the film’s poor reviews, I hoped that this would prove to be yet another case of, ‘what appeals to kids does not necessarily appeal to critics’. Sadly, to a large extent, I was wrong.

The Plot

The film’s storyline is fairly straight forward. A circus elephant (Mrs Jumbo) gives birth to (Dumbo) an elephant with huge ears. When found to be capable of flying, Dumbo is seen as the struggling circus’ saviour. The death of an animal keeper, indirectly caused by Mrs Jumbo when protecting Dumbo causes her to be taken out of the circus. After Dumbo becomes a star, Vandemere, the owner of ‘Dream Land’ a futuristic theme park, tries to exploit Dumbo’s talents for his own gain, and to destroy Medici’s Circus. To give away any more of the plot would simply be wrong, but I must mention that as part of the film’s happy ending you should expect an animal rights twist to the story.

The Acting

The acting is good. Predictably, DeVito plays himself. Farrell is believable as the maimed veteran widower rebonding with his children. And, Keaton is menacing as the evil Vandemere.

The Kids’ Verdict

Yet, it all just doesn’t gel. We didn’t hate the movie, though we found little to get excited about. Our six and eight year old companions obviously shared our sentiments and became restless well before the ending. They very clearly stated that the film was OK but that they found the film too sad and too scary. Keeping in mind that these two thrive on kids shows that are also scary and sad, I suspect that th Dumbo’s scary and sad was not right for kids. Yet, even though many of the themes were meant for adults, the film while not scary was sad for adults too. I sense that the sadness the girls mentioned does not refer to sad scenes in the film, but rather to the pervasive sadness that seems to override any happiness the film might otherwise generate. Tellingly, neither of our girls seemed to take a liking to cute Dumbo, or have since mentioned him or his flying.

Lacking Focus

The film clearly lacks focus. If it’s aimed at children, then it appered to be a flop with the children in our cinema, failing to elicit an audible laugh, giggle, sob or comment. Having said that, it can’t be aimed at adults either as the film’s  storylines are individually superficial and collectively unconvincing.

Sticking to the story of Dumbo, as the 1941 film did, would have made the remake so much more satisfactory. But even if the introduction of additional storylines was appropriate, the parallel story of the Farrier family isn’t  adequately intergrated and developed to be meaningful. Similarly, I’d suggest that progressing the attraction between Colette and Holt would not only have enhanced the Farrier family story, but would have also provided some rationale for the film’s focus on Colette’s character.

A couple of other aspects of this film disappoint me.

Making the most of the Special Effects

The special-effects of portraying Dumbo and his ability to fly are state of the art. Yet they failed to elicit any reaction from the audience, young or old. After all when you come to see a film about a flying elephant, you expect that to be particularly spectacular and memorable. More flying and a bit of slapstick and thrillseeking comedy would certainly have helped.

The Animal Rights Section

The circus postscript animal rights section, while providing some explanation of the happy ending, comes across as a tongue in cheek animal rights spin on this children’s tale – which would not be a bad thing, if it didn’t contribute to making the film feel even more disjointed.

Conclusion

In short, this is a film with great actors and effects that is OK but lacks focus. It targets neither children nor adults and consequently misses both. In confining the speaking roles to the humans, the film reduces the focus on the animals and expands the roles played by humans. This could have enriched the Dumbo storyline. Instead, the expansion fragments the main storyline, making the various themes more sketchy, superficial and consequently less satisfactory.