AC4: Random Movie Review - Dumbo (2019)

So Disney had a big year this year and with it came four remakes of their classic animated films. Now for financial reasons, we're probably only going to look at the first three this month and the fourth on a later date. So first up is the remake of Disney's fourth animated classic Dumbo which was quite a long time ago that it came out. Its widely known as being the shortest of the animated classics at only 64 minutes and before gaining renewed recognition many years later, it only existed so that Disney couldn't reclaim the money they lost with Fantasia which like Dumbo got much needed attention later on, but was released during World War II which was a very difficult time for the film industry. It is a beloved classic that lots of people love so of course it would eventually get a remake. There are lots of debate about why Disney are remaking their animated films. I'm of the opinions that they are making them to show to a new generation so that they can also get into the original film. Also so that fans of the original can enjoy a newer take on them with each of the remakes trying to build upon what made the originals so good. So let's look at the amazing flying elephant that is Dumbo:

So this version is a lot different than the original in that the story is largely different but is still about Dumbo. In 1919 just after World War I ended, circus performer Holt Farrier (played by Colin Ferrell) returns from the war to his duties at the Medici Brothers' Circus that's run by its ringleader, Max Medici (played by the legend that is Danny DeVito). Due to financial troubles, Max had to sell off some of the horses largely due in part to the death of Farrier's wife due to the Spanish flu outbreak. So Farrier is left to be the caretaker of the elephant Mrs. Jumbo who gives birth to a calf who has big ears. At first Max has the calf hide its ears, but the ears are soon revealed in its debut performance in which the crows mock and call it "Dumbo". This enrages Mrs. Jumbo who manages to accidentally destroy the Big Top and its decided that she and Dumbo would be separated. Though as time goes on, Dumbo learns the harsh reality of life, but manages to befriend some children and some of the performers.

I think Disney made the right call to have Tim Burton direct this film because it is right up his alley. So I actually enjoyed this new and different take on the original film. I like all the characters, I enjoyed the visual effects and I thought the extra 48 minutes manage to make this more feature length than the original. It did have some call backs to the original film like the famous fire fighter performance, the pink elephants and the fact that Dumbo was originally a joke act. But yeah, its a pretty decent remake with lots to like despite some story issues. 8/10