As noted by Gizmodo website, viewers will now believe that a “horribly depressed” elephant can take off and fly. The new Disney Film tells how his mother is taken away and the baby elephant is cruelly treated in the circus. Dumbo is further taken advantage of when it turns out the little guy can fly.
In the original 1941 animated film, Dumbo looked adorable, but some media outlets are already criticising the CGI (computer-generated imagery) used for the baby elephant in the new, live-action version, such as Slate.com who wrote “Oh my God,” asking what had they done to the poor elephant?
Probably referring to the clown makeup on the poor little guy, as pictured above.
Live action ‘Dumbo’ to hit the big screen
In Tim Burton’s version of the classic story, Danny DeVito plays Max Medici, overseer of the circus. Colin Farrell plays the role of a single father and one-armed war veteran, Holt Farrier, whose task it is to care for the newborn elephant. Apparently, he was initially named “Jumbo,” but this was changed to Dumbo. When Dumbo shows the ability to fly, Michael Keaton’s villainous character, V.A. Vandermere, decides to exploit the little elephant. Another star of the new film is Eva Green, who plays a flying trapeze artist, Colette Marchant.
More of the story of ‘Dumbo’ in the live-action version
So far it is clear that the new film does include some of the most famous scenes, like when Dumbo gets drunk on champagne and sees a “pink elephant parade.” But it is also darker, especially the heart-rending scene where Dumbo’s mother is taken away from her baby boy. There’s also more detail of the people involved in the story, especially the horribly villainous character played by Keaton. Watch the trailer below.
Slate reports the original “Dumbo” story started in the 1930s, where they came up with a novelty new toy called Roll-A-Book. This handy gadget presented children’s stories as a moving panorama, on one long scroll. According to that report some of the people involved in the “Dumbo, the Flying Elephant” were illustrator Helen Durney, Helen Aberson Mayer and Harold Pearl (Mayer’s husband).
However, that authorship is apparently disputed.
As noted by Gizmodo, this film is the latest of the Disney live-action remakes, which includes “The Jungle Book,” “Cinderella” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Maybe it’s all for their new online streaming channel, but they are also said to be working on “Aladdin,” “Mulan” and “Lilo & Stitch.” Another “live-action” one in the making is “The Lion King,” although obviously most of that will need to be computer generated.
Meanwhile, “Dumbo” is set for release in cinemas, clown make-up and all, March 29, 2019. Pity it won't be out for the kids at Christmas.