Dumbo movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Dumbo

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour, 52 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B-

IN A NUTSHELL: I remember riding the Dumbo attraction at Disneyland when I was a little girl. I had seen the original animated Dumbo film and thought Dumbo was so cute. Years later, it seemed to be such a boring, dumb ride that my kids quickly walked past to get to something more exciting.

This live-action adaptation of the original Dumbo is directed by Tim Burton and has a certain Steampunk, darker look and feel to it that is unique to his style, rather than the warmth and charm of the original movie.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

A man loses his arm in the war.
The little girl is interested in science and wants to be known for her brain. She talks about researching and testing things to learn.
“Light” profanity a couple of times, both times by Collin Farrell. In fact, they kept a swear jar on set and the majority of the money that was put into the jar when someone used profanity was put there by Collin Farrell. The money collected by the end of filming was donated to charity.
Some violence, destruction, and people in peril.
Baby Dumbo actually gets drunk in the original movie when a clown congratulates him with a bottle of champagne, but this time, Danny DeVito’s character says that babies should NOT have booze, so there is no drunken “Pink Elephants on Parade” musical number. That was a weird scene in the original movie, right? I mean, it was a children’s movie!
A man dies.

THEMES:

“What the heck can you tell by appearances?” – Holt (Colin Farrell)
“Some men cheat the rules. Others change them.” – Vandermere (Michael Keaton)
“No animal should live in captivity.” – Holt
“Miracles happen. Believe me, they do.” – Holt

THINGS I LIKED:

Baby Dumbo is undeniably adorable and those big, blue eyes! He’s really the highlight of the movie and the one character who really brings the only warmth and emotion.
Michael Keaton was hilarious but over-the-top.
The elephant bubble scene seemed super Disney and magical.
Danny Devito does a great job. This is actually the third time he has played a circus character in a movie. His daughter, Lucy, got to play a coat-check girl in the movie.
Michael Buffer gives a cameo performance as the ringmaster/announcer at the circus and did a great job incorporating some of the famous lines from the original Dumbo movie such as “You’ve seen a dragonfly. You’ve seen a house fly…” Instead of saying his trademark line, “Let’s get ready to rumble!”, he says, “Let’s get ready for Dumbo!” Awesome.
As soon as I saw Nico Parker, I immediately knew she was related to the beautiful Thandie Newton because they look so much alike. As it turns out, Niko Parker is her daughter. This is her film debut! Her mom was filming Solo: A Star Wars Story (Theatrical Version) in a nearby studio at the same time.
I liked the side story with Collin Farrell losing his arms. The movie could have easily spent more time connecting that disability with how Dumbo was perceived by others, but sadly, they didn’t for some reason. His “Cowboy of the Future” hand at the end was pretty cool.
The sweeping soundtrack had one particular song that I thought was really sweet called Baby Mine (From “Dumbo”)sung by Sharon Rooney. It only took her a week to learn how to play the ukulele to go with the song.
One of the animals that was NOT CGI was the real snake that was wrapped around Roshan Seth, who played a snake charmer.
I smiled when the movie included an exhibit that reminded me of Disney World’s “Carousel of Progress” where children can imagine the future.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some of the CGI was not very good, and there was a LOT of CGI. In fact, not even the outdoor scenes were filmed outdoors. Thankfully, Dumbo’s CGI was really great.
Medici’s reaction to seeing Dumbo and his large ears for the first time seemed strange since the circus is all about oddities, right?
I hate it when parents don’t listen to their kids.
A lot of scenes are at night, which will make it difficult to watch the movie on small devices when it comes out on streaming.
It’s always so heartbreaking when mothers and their babies are separated. I recently watched Blackfish and was so saddened when humans did that to some whales. Why are humans so blind sometimes? The almighty dollar sure makes humans do stupid and mean things. By the way, in the original Dumbo movie, a stork delivers baby Dumbo to Mrs. Jumbo, but in this one, a stork sits nearby while Mrs. Jumbo actually gives birth (but you don’t see it happen.)
It bothered me that the “good guys” thought it was totally fine to break their contract and steal property (Dumbo) that technically belonged to someone else. Yes, it was great that they were looking out for Dumbo’s best interest, but does it teach our kids that they can break the rules and steal whenever they decide it’s best? Careful, Disney.
The mouse character from the original Dumbo movie makes only an extremely brief cameo.
Some of the elements from the animation and this live action are very different from one another.
Collin Farrell’s accent comes and goes. In fact, he’s from Ireland and the actors who play his kids also struggled with the American accent. Finley Robbins and Nico Parker are both British. The children were just ok, although a bit stiff, and certainly not the highlight.
Academy Award winner Alan Arkin popped in for a short cameo and seemed miscast somehow. Don’t get me wrong; I really like him. I thought he was absolutely fantastic in the Netflix show called “The Kominsky Method.”
Eva Green is perfect for a Tim Burton movie, but she seemed a little too creepy for a children’s movie. She was supposed to be French, but her accent seemed to shift from Russian to British at times. This is her first Disney movie.
No speaking animals in this adaptation, unlike in the original.
More humor would have been nice.

INTERESTING LINES:

“My momma told me there would be times in my life that would seem locked behind a door.” – Milly Farrier (Nico Parker)
“Nobody wants to be alone.” – Milly

If you haven’t seen the original, be sure to check it out!

Dumbo