Tim Burton remakes timeless classic ‘Dumbo’

Dumbo+tells+the+story+of+a+baby+elephant+who+is+given+the+ability+to+fly+by+his+incredibly+large+ears.

‘Dumbo’ tells the story of a baby elephant who is given the ability to fly by his incredibly large ears.

By Amy Geldean

Tim Burton brings his own dark aesthetic to the 1941 animated Disney classic “Dumbo” as he tugs on the heart strings of viewers with the depressing but ultimately inspiring tale of an unusual pachyderm.

“Dumbo” captures the heartbreaking story of a young circus elephant and the overwhelming characters he encounters along the way.

After his birth, Dumbo is cruelly separated from his protective mother and is teased for his abnormally large ears. He learns he can fly with his ears acting as wings and overcomes the bullying on the journey to reunite with his mother.

The film stars Colin Farrell who plays Holt, a World War I veteran with one arm and is still grieving the loss of his wife. This whole situation takes away from Dumbo as more of the story goes on to focus on Holt and his two kids. However, this part of plot adds more sustenance to the film.

Circus owner Max Medici, played by Danny DeVito, struggles to fund his circus and is one of the first to condemn Dumbo for his ears. However, once he learns Dumbo’s talent, he exploits it but not in a malicious way like the villainous amusement park owner Vandemere, played by Michael Keaton.

Parallels from the original film show when the storks are seen flying over the circus the night before Dumbo is born. They even show one stork sitting on top of the car for Dumbo’s mother when, in the original, a stork drops Dumbo off.

The visual effects provide an interesting view as Dumbo innocently watches with his bright blue eyes as bubbles shaped like elephants dance around before his performance. The idea of a flying elephant was brought in well with the visuals.

The introduction of Vandemere’s park is overwhelming to the viewers and brings a new sense of corporate evil to the film. Vandemere controls the whole park and becomes enraged when things do not go his way.

The remake of “Dumbo” showed a sad story for the most part with new characters that added to the plot.