See It at the Movies

DUMBO

By DON & JOYCE FOWLER
Posted 4/3/19

DUMBO (Dark Disney classic) * * * Everyone remembers the Disney cartoon about the baby elephant with ears big enough to help him fly. Tim Burton has remade the story using live action with some very good special effects and some very dark moments, which

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See It at the Movies

DUMBO

Posted

DUMBO

(Dark Disney classic)

* * *

Everyone remembers the Disney cartoon about the baby elephant with ears big enough to help him fly. Tim Burton has remade the story using live action with some very good special effects and some very dark moments, which led us to wonder just who the audience would be. With a PG rating, it may scare some of the younger ones, while not appealing to the teen/young adult crowd. Adults should enjoy the nostalgic look at the old tent circuses and the story itself.

The acting is good, with Danny DeVito making a believable ringmaster and Colin Farrell playing the one-armed war hero who returns to find out he has been relegated to elephant keeper, complete with a big shovel. Michael Keaton and Alan Arkin make convincing villains and Eva Green is a gorgeous circus performer. The two kids who play Farrell's son and daughter are quite well.

You know the story. Dumbo is separated from his mother. The circus is bought out by a bombastic showman who feeds on Dumbo's ability to fly. (How the elephant gets his name is interesting). Dumbo yearns for his mother. The kids and DeVito's ragged cast of circus performers help Dumbo, and everyone except the bad guys live happily ever after.

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