‘Dumbo’ manages to retell the classic Disney story in new, but familiar way

Posted on April 5, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

Disney appears bent on remaking all of its classic animated films into live-action affairs, with no less than three new movies this year, including “Dumbo,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King.”

This trend more or less began with 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland,” although that film was more sequel than an actual remake of the classic cartoon based on the works of Lewis Carroll. It wasn’t met with rave reviews from critics or audiences, and I’ve always appreciated it for what it attempted to do more than what it actually achieved.

That movie was directed by Tim Burton, and nine years later, he’s back at Disney with “Dumbo,” a loose retelling of the 1941 animated film about a flying elephant in a circus. The original film, based on a story written to sell a toy, remains one of Disney’s shortest animated features at just 64 minutes. As for myself, it’s been probably 30-plus years since I last saw the original, and I never really had much of a personal connection to the film, which is always helpful when going into a remake.

Perhaps because of that lack of reverence to the source material, or simply the fact that the remake is a quality film, I found a good bit of entertainment out of this live-action adaptation. Burton tends to get flack for his outlandish visual stylings — when he’s not being praised for the same — but in “Dumbo,” he tones down his eccentricities to deliver a solid story that somehow tells a grounded version of a tale involving a flying elephant.

One of the biggest changes from animation to live-action is the fact that none of the animals talk in this version, and much of the story is seen through its human characters, whose own journeys often parallel and compliment Dumbo’s.

Subscribe to our e-Edition and read the rest of the story. Already a subscriber? Click here to sign in.