Dumbo

Dumbo

Starring Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, Eva Green

Directed by Tim Burton

The Story:
In a struggling traveling circus in 1919, former horse rider Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns home after the war without an arm, and finds that his horses were sold by the circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) to try to keep the circus afloat.  His two children, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) also lost their mother during the time Holt was away, and now he's resorted to taking care of the elephants.  One of the elephants - Mrs. Jumbo - gives birth to a baby elephant that has abnormally large ears, and Medici refuses to let the young elephant be seen.

Milly and Joe take a shine to baby Jumbo, and they discover that, once it sucks in a feather, it can fly.  Medici chooses to allow the public to see the elephant - now named Dumbo after being ridiculed by some of the patrons - and he soars above the crowd, but soon his mother is taken away when she tries to protect Dumbo.  This draws the attention of entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), who draws in Medici and his circus to his own enormous circus with Dumbo as the star, but also sets in motion events that could separate Dumbo from his mother forever.

The Synopsis:
As Disney continues to re-release their beloved animated classics to live action, there's bound to be some duds in the group.  While "Dumbo" shouldn't be considered an outright failure - or even a mediocre one - it still fails to deliver the true magic, heart, and emotion that the original 1941 film provided.  While the film is surprisingly more grounded than the original (here Dumbo doesn't get drunk and see dancing pink elephants), it also removes some of the heart that the original had, mostly due to the fact that this elephant can't talk, and seems to be more of a prop than a main character.

In fact, there doesn't seem to be a main character in this film at all, and everyone seems to serve as simply side characters to some invisible main character that's supposed to be there.  Dumbo is supremely adorable, and does exhibit some emotion through his eyes, but the lack of a voice really stints his growth, and he merely serves as an object that everyone else uses to their advantage, for good or ill.  While the children idolize him and want him to succeed, others want him to fly just as a gimmick to help drive revenue, and we don't really sense any emotion from Dumbo at all - he flies in hopes of getting together with his mother, but then there's moments where he seems to really love being apart from her, and then other moments when he can barely move at all.  It's relatively confusing, and there's not as much sadness felt like the original.

The actors around Dumbo perform admirably, but it seems that we're watching the middle part of a bigger story.  Colin Farrell's Holt was a famed horse rider in the circus, but after the war he comes back to find his horses gone, his wife dead, and resorting to taking care of the elephants.  We don't see any sort of emotion from the actor having to endure all these new hardships, and he seems emotionally disconnected from the project as a whole.  Michael Keaton - a longtime collaborator with Burton - takes on the semi-villainous role of V.A. Vandevere (I say "somewhat" because, for all intents and purposes, he IS the bad guy, but he hams it up to such an extent that it comes off as comical and downright silly) in such a vaudeville way that it comes off as an emotionless caricature.  Alan Arkin has an odd role of a millionaire who looks like he came on set one day for a visit and got thrust into the movie on a whim.

The decent performances came from Danny DeVito, Eva Green, and the young children.  DeVito is a perfect ringmaster, who balances desire for wealth and love of family equally, and is earnest in doing the right thing - eventually.  Eva Green plays Vandevere's girlfriend Colette, who's also a famed trapeze artist, and is the most developed character of all of them.  Nico Parker (daughter of actress Thandie Newton) and Finley Hobbins play Holt's children, who needed to be more explored than they were (especially Parker's Milly, who has a deeper story that needed to be told as she desired to be more of a scientist than a circus performer, and is the one who discovers Dumbo's true potential).

One thing that can't be denied about this film is that it is a Tim Burton affair.  His trademark unique style is seen throughout, especially with the lavish, beautiful, and extremely specified set designs.  We feel transported to 1919 - from the costumes to the set designs and everything in between - but also has the Burton trademark attached to it, especially when we get to Vandevere's circus known as Dreamland (which, simply put, looks like a darker version of Disneyland).

While the film does touch on the topics that the original did so well - dealing with family separation, having to overcome adversity, finding the strength within to achieve greatness - somehow it glossed over all of that in favor of...something else, something I can't quite put my finger on.  I feel like I should've been more emotionally invested, but at the end I just shrugged my shoulders and felt that it was a very well-done film, but not one I would likely revisit.  Simply put: this circus has left town, and while it was enjoyable, I won't be chasing after it as it hits its next location.

The Summary:
While supplying his own brand to a beloved classic, Tim Burton takes away some of the true emotion and heart that made the original "Dumbo" a classic, leaving a more hollow shell of a product - though still entertaining enough to keep your attention.

The Score: A-