Dumbo (2019) – Review

Well… not all can be winners when it comes to Disney’s Live Action Adaption of Dumbo

Much like the hyper-realistic CGI rendering of an elephant at its center, Tim Burton’s modern update of Dumbo is a visually impressive feast diminished by an unmistakable manufactured feeling.

While the decision to remove talking animals could have been taken as a sign for a more human take on the classic story (the script by Transformer’s scribe Ehren Kruger). The movie quickly reveals itself to be uninterested in developing any of its human characters. Told largely from the perspective of the two young kids (played by Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins), there is little depth provided to any of the adult characters, especially Michael Keaton’s Vandemere who is little more than a sleazy business man than a genuine loathsome villain. Moreover, the film’s rushed conclusion offers little by way of payoff to any of the human characters and only Dumbo’s narrative is concluded in a satisfying manner.

Still, Burton is nothing if not a distinct visual stylist and his penchant for lavish set designs and a striking colour palette meld well with the whimsical story. Overall, the film’s striking visuals ensure that it goes down easy, but Burton’s Dumbo is an affable remake whose sense of awe and wonder is in short supply of genuine emotion.

6/10