Disney are
currently in a money-making trend to remake all of their classic animated films
into live action remakes with little to no change. So far, they have been good.
Maleficent may have meant to be some
sort of fantasy take on what is essentially a character being raped. Beauty and the Beast tried to fill in
the blanks for some plotholes in the 1990 film. Pete’s Dragon was a full on new take on its source material. And
now it is Dumbo’s turn to be
remoulded into a new story.
The first
trailer for the 2019 film, directed by Tim Burton, was released on June 13th.
A film based around a circus, focused on a misunderstood character who is
mocked by society? Sounds right up Burton’s alley. He’s told similar stories in
the past, most notably with Edward Scissorhands.
A lot of people think Tim Burton has lost his touch, and has been on creative
autopilot for the past few years. The two Alice
films were fun, but nothing to write home about.
Now, out of
all of the animated films, Dumbo may
be the most iconic. So much so, I expect whenever a new international
Disneyland is considered, the first two things on the checklist are the castle
and then the Dumbo ride. Still, the 1940s classic is actually the shortest of
the animated canon, barely being over an hour, mostly thanks to the huge
animators’ strike that occurred on the Disney studio lot at the time, and the
loss of European revenue during World War II. As such, the most noted things
remembered about the film is Dumbo himself, the trippy pink elephants sequence,
and the flock of singing crows, who haven’t aged well in the eyes of the
politically correct.
The live
action film’s first trailer dropped, and at least makes it clear it will follow
the basic beats of Dumbo. But,
interestingly, none of Tim Burton’s familiar traits are seen in the trailer. There’s
not even a trace of Danny Elfman. There is a moving rendition of “Baby Mine” by
Aurora, likely used to reignite those old feelings of nostalgia that Disney is
heavily relying upon to bring in the customers to view their often unnecessary
remakes of their greatest hits. How long will it be before they decide to
remake Frozen? Why not just
re-release the original films and watch the profits come rolling in?
So, what’s
the story in Balamory? Colin Farrell is our main character, presumably sharing
the spotlight with our leading elephant. Cause it isn’t like Dumbo couldn’t
carry the whole film on his own last time. Granted, Dumbo didn’t exactly
accomplish much on his own in the original, but still, it was about him.
Farrell’s character is a war veteran who appears to have lost an arm, and is
hired by ringmaster Danny DeVito to care for the young, orphaned baby Dumbo,
whose huge ears have made him a mockery in the struggling circus.
We see in
the trailer that Dumbo is separated from his mother, who even appears to be
removed from the circus grounds this time around. Great, punch us in the kidney
stones even more why don’t you! I also find it interesting that Farrell’s
character has a stump for an arm. This could form a connection between him and
Dumbo – both unusual creatures mocked and misunderstood by society. However,
this trailer is only a teaser and doesn’t really explore the story or
characters much beyond making it very clear this is a nostalgic piece first and
foremost.
The trailer
emphasizes the theme of family here, showing Farrell’s children, played by Nico
Parker and Finley Hobbins, becoming quite close to Dumbo. Strangely of all, a
scene shows Dumbo’s mother being removed from the grounds, and everyone is just
standing there letting her go. I would have assumed the film’s plot may have
involved Farrell trying to reunite mother and son. Apparently absent from this
film is Dumbo’s friend and confidante, Timothy Q. Mouse, who was essentially
the guiding hand throughout the film. I am assuming Farrell has that role, or
if Timothy appears, it’ll be as a normal mouse.
Since the
original film is barely an hour long, expansion is a necessity. I am only
speculating here, but Farrell’s family will discover Dumbo can fly somehow
(complete with some silly attempt to realistically explain it), and he’ll
become a sensation. Michael Keaton appears as an evil businessman who looks to
exploit Dumbo, make him and Farrell famous, there will be a moment of regret,
and Dumbo will be sent off to reunite with his wayward mother.
It may just
be me, but the story that the remake is going with sounds both a little cliché,
and akin to The Greatest Showman –
about a troubled, impoverished man who finds fame and fortune through the circus
and exploiting social outcasts, ends up abandoning them for bigger things,
makes mistakes, expresses regrets, and returns to his original sense of family.
Though in this case, Dumbo will be
entirely fictional, whilst The Greatest
Showman made great use of artistic licensing when it came to P.T. Barnum’s
life.
In
conclusion, the trailer admittedly doesn’t give much away about what’s in store
for this new version of the tale. But, it doesn’t need to. Disney knows just
how beloved Dumbo is, and they will
milk this flying elephant for all that it is worth. This film is nostalgia
incarnate, and combined with Christopher
Robin, they will have a swimming pool’s worth of money to swim in, and then
build eight more swimming pools to swim in too.
But, one is
guaranteed though. The pink elephants are glimpsed in the trailer. Now imagine
what Tim Burton could do with one of the most frightening moments in children’s
entertainment?
Oh, and
Dumbo looks adorable. My one complaint is that they didn’t capitalise on his
signature ears by actually focusing on them, and his iconic flight is a
blink-and-you’ll miss it moment. Hopefully, whenever the second trailer comes
out, it’ll focus a little bit more on the story.
