(The early images of their separation, as they intertwine trunks and whimper for each other, may draw a few tears, but “Dumbo” never quite achieves the emotional wallop it seeks.) Milly and Joe figure out that when Dumbo sucks a feather into his trunk, it causes him to leap into the air and eventually fly. This is “Dumbo.” You know the baby is going to be ripped away from his mama so he can learn to achieve thrilling things on his own. But as is the case with all the major characters here, she makes you wish she had a richer role to play.)īut come on. (Aspiring scientist Milly is a fine role model for young viewers, and Parker shares her mom Thandie Newton’s quietly assured bearing. Jumbo gives birth, it’s to a baby boy with plaintive blue eyes and oversized ears who’s immediately shunned and misunderstood for his unusual looks-except for Holt’s sensitive kids, who rush to protect him. Holt now finds himself in charge of the elephants, including one in particular who’s pregnant. And he finds that his circus family – where he was once a famed trick horseman-is a shell of its former self.Ĭantankerous circus owner Max Medici (DeVito, with sharp comic timing as always) has sold Holt’s horses to keep the show afloat. But he also returns to a daughter and son, Milly ( Nico Parker) and Joe ( Finley Hobbins), who’ve lost a mother to disease while he was away. He’s lost a left arm in battle and seen horrors that have shaken him. The film begins at the end of World War I, with veteran Holt Farrier ( Colin Farrell) coming home to a couple different kinds of families as an understandably changed man. (Both films are inspired by the novel from Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl.) But they failed to develop those characters beyond a few superficial traits, and Dumbo himself-while an irresistibly sweet and sympathetic figure-enjoys an anthropomorphism that’s head-scratchingly selective. Burton and screenwriter Ehren Kruger (who’s written several “ Transformers” movies) have significantly expanded on the beloved 64-minute original feature, adding many more human characters to carry along the story. There’s simultaneously too much going on here and not enough. And among the recent slew of live-action re-dos of venerable Disney fare-from “Cinderella” to “ The Jungle Book” to "Beauty and the Beast"- it will surely end up being one of the least memorable. And the music from Burton’s decades-long collaborator Danny Elfman is frequently reminiscent of Elfman’s haunting score for “ Edward Scissorhands.”Īll these inevitable comparisons only highlight how inferior “Dumbo” is alongside the best of Burton’s work. “Dumbo” also offers a “ Batman Returns” reunion, with both DeVito and Michael Keaton reteaming with Burton, albeit with their hero and villain roles reversed. Specifically, though, the century-old circus setting can’t help but call to mind “ Big Fish,” especially with Danny DeVito once again serving as ringleader. With his oversized ears that make him the subject of both awe and ridicule, Dumbo is a classic Burton misfit-the kind of character the director has focused on in twisted yet kindhearted fashion for the entirety of his career. Tim Burton’s “Dumbo” feels like one of the big-eared baby elephant’s early flights: It’s adorable and earnest but it causes a lot of commotion, and it only sporadically, haltingly soars.īurton’s live-action incarnation of the 1941 animated Disney classic consists of pieces of better Burton movies stitched together.
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