The Medici Brothers Circus is struggling to stay afloat after years of success, and the head of the show, Max Medici (Danny DeVito) is doing all that he can to find a new act to propel him and his circus family toward continued success. With the help of Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins), and an unsuspecting elephant named Dumbo, Max believes he has found a solution to all of his financial woes. Like any feel-good story, however, an individual, V.A. Vandervere (Michael Keaton), arrives to throw a wrench in the plans. Now Dumbo and friends must do all they can to get themselves back on track.
Director Tim Burton’s usual aesthetic, artificial coloring and overly-animated sequences, scourges Dumbo in its entirety. Walt Disney Pictures has, time and time again, produced films that are visually pleasing and exceed expectations in that regard. Films like The Lion King (2019) and Beauty and the Beast (2017) rely heavily on computer generated images (CGI) to bring the stories to life, and those films succeeded in recreating fan favorites such as Simba and Lumiére nearly flawlessly. The reality is that Disney is the reason that the visuals are so beautiful and relatable, but here, in Dumbo, they abandon what has been developed for so long and create a spectacle that falls so short of visual expectations that they simply cannot be overlooked. Every animal, prop, and set that appears either is or looks fake, taking so much away from the film’s potential. As the film plays out and each and every piece of Dumbo’s story is brought to life, I felt cheated by what could have been. In many ways adhering to Burton’s usual visual nonsense felt like a cop out, a cheap (not financially) way to bring Dumbo and his cohorts to life and make a quick buck.
With the flaws that lie within the visual aspect of Dumbo there has to be something to help keep the film afloat. The story, the acting, or something else entirely; but there needs to be something to balance the negatives in order to help find the film success. Sadly, I struggle to find that thing. Things like the inclusion of world renowned Michael Buffer (Baritone Bates) and the shots of Hollywood greats DeVito, Keaton, and Alan Arkin (J. Griffin Remington) are wonderful and exciting, but they aren’t enough. While there are blips of success (like the aforementioned instances) sprinkled throughout Dumbo, that one significant aspect of success fails to ever appear and save Burton’s film.
Most everyone knows the story of Dumbo, and while the original film wasn’t exactly exciting, the world had hoped that this telling of Dumbo would take that story in a better, and more enjoyable, direction. That’s just not the case. In fact, I was nothing short of bored throughout the duration of the film and failed to enjoy most of what occurred. Dumbo is quite boring and never gets itself going, failing to entertain as previous Disney films have for years.
In addition to the slew of flaws that plague Dumbo, the acting is simply alright. With spectacular talents like DeVito, Keaton, and Farrell, I expected superb acting, but the acting, like nearly everything else, is average–and for some of the lesser-known actors, the acting is even bad. Many of the actors lack emotion, fail to provide an accurate depiction of what’s occurring, and, as a result, are unimpressive. With the exception of Alda, who has a rather small role in the grand scheme of things, I was unimpressed with nearly all of the acting.
Dumbo has been a fan favorite for nearly eighty years, and those who have fallen in love with the somewhat depressed, extraordinarily goofy elephant expected something grand, but instead they got this. This is subpar in nearly every way, and I can say that I haven’t been this bored and unimpressed with a film in a long time. It’s hard to find a reason, other than the fact that it’s a Disney film, for anyone to watch; so, this is what I leave you with: if you’re a fan of Disney and feel compelled to see each and every one of their films, give Dumbo a shot, other than that, walk away. With everything that fails throughout the course of Burton’s Dumbo, it’s fair to say that this is Disney’s most disappointing film to date.
Directed by Tim Burton.
Written by Ehren Kruger, Helen Aberson & Harold Pearl.
Starring Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin, Nico Parker, Finley Hobbins, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
