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A struggling, travelling circus set in post WW1 America is an unlikely backdrop for a tale that soars above all expectation. A third Disney imagining by Tim Burton (after 2010’s Alice in Wonderland and 2013’s Through the Looking Glass) begins in a bleak setting with gothic undertones. Fallen war hero Holt Farrier – Colin Farrell, in his usual moody self-returns wounded in more ways than one, crippled by the death of his wife to Spanish influenza and the loss of his beloved show horses. He reunites with his precocious but grieving children Milly and Joe as they rebuild their act and their lives. Cinematographer Ben Davis (Captain Marvel) captures a world that is inspired by the 1941 film of the same name, infused with Burton’s outcast style.
Danny Devito is delightfully hilarious as the pushy but kind ringmaster Max Medici, whose dreams of running a grand circus are dashed with sub-par acts and financial burdens. He wears many hats (such are the woes of a small business owner), and worries about the fate of his staff, of which many are outcasts and who find solace in the troupe. It’s reminiscent of The Greatest Showman , sans the powerful ballad of the troupe in marching in unison. What does string them together is the expectant elephant Mrs Jumbo, whose risky investment might just be the star attraction that garners the crowds again. Her baby has ears that only a mother could love, and his shyness places isolates him from the theatrical grandeur required of a circus. Resourceful Milly (Nico Parker), enables her scientific pursuits to encourage Dumbo to fly, aided by her brother Joe’s (Finley Hobbins) discovery that a feather will trigger a flight response from the shaky but determined baby elephant.
In this world, the adults are in charge, and the conniving conglomerate V. A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton, in what is ostensibly a Batman reunion at this point) wants to expand his burgeoning theme park and acquires Dumbo like he would any other sale. As the stylish, elegant French trapeze artist Colette (Eva Green) hanging on his arm quiffs “I’m one of his gems, to reflect the light back onto him.” It’s the intimacy of a family business threatened by a corporation that seizes dominion of all its subjects, under the guise of fulfilling the desires of desperate people. That said, Keaton’s Vandevere is the ultimate salesman, his menacing side masked with his own showman antics and efforts to woo a Wall Street tycoon
J. Griffin Remington (Alan Arkin). Remington’s brash nonchalance sees him unimpressed, but underneath the bravado is a childlike wonder that captures the spirit of the film. The score by Danny Elfman is exciting, and the magnificent CGI of the bubble shapes that transform into transparent, effervescent circus animals is nostalgic of the original.
At times, the CGI is otherwise iffy, visually delightful but not always as whimsical as it should be. Dumbo himself retains a special twinkle in his eye, which outshines his otherwise wrinkly, weathered exterior. Casting becomes the standard that elevates everything else. Danny Devito manages to steal most scenes he is in, and the young cast are talented for their age. That said, when the tense scenes are laid out, there is an immense joy in seeing an ugly duckling of a elephant rising above a crowded room.
It’s definitely worth booking a seat in the tent.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Walt Disney Studios
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