Mocked by its comical ears, Dumbo has to learn to overcome his misfortunes and fly himself out to freedom.
Often times, a revamped interpretation of a timeless tale can be a surprise gift to newer generations, taking advantage of modern cinematic technology together with a well-thought out creative rewrite of the narrative to further elevate its value while keeping the things that made it popular intact.
This, however, wasn't true for this Tim Burton reintroduction of a 1941 classic, Dumbo.
Dumbo follows a baby elephant who was born in a circus and mostly known for its oddly oversized ears. Due to a failed circus act, Mrs. Jumbo, mother of Dumbo, was deemed a wild animal and was sold off back to its original owner for half the price.
Dumbo, now famed as a laughing stock due to his peculiarity, doesn't have much choice but to be of use, under the tutelage of Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) and his two children, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) and temporarily became a part of a clown act, well at least not until they discovered that it could fly.
To be fair, it's not that Burton doesn't have the credentials to back up his stylish and dark humor prose. Dumbo's CGI design looks cute and Burton's realistic take gave justice to its animated 2D roots.
I also liked when Dumbo finally learned to flap his wings and soar through the skies, like a child finally learning how to walk. When the film focuses on those moments, I was quickly reminded as to why Dumbo is such a beloved character.
However, the mesmerism stops there and this 2019 picture doesn't measure up to Burton's once admired feats when it comes to charm and overall emotional impact.
For one, Burton sucks out all the fun musicals and dramatic lightness of the original, operating on an already grim reality that is masked throughout to make it more appealing to any age groups.
Burton's take however focuses too much on the jarring problems of humanity which for the most part, only gets in the way and drowns itself with a depressing thematic that no one asked for. It also doesn't help that Burton, regardless of the intention, has decided to use muddled, muted hues to create a mid-century circus aesthetic that looks not only blatantly fake but aged.
It's not that the overall film is bad. It's just that, this Dumbo act lacked the Disney magic appeal and almost felt like a half-baked presentation brimming with a garish tone that's too on-the-nose.
Let's be Reel
Dumbo's retelling seemed like an awesome idea on paper. The final execution however was a missed opportunity and the Burton touch is nothing but a downer itself.
6/10
Reel Points
Comments
Post a Comment