DUMBO

DUMBO

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2019 -- I can only assume Disney's reason for the remake of their venerable story "Dumbo" has something to do with the huge success of 20th Century Fox's "The Greatest Showman" which earned a whopping $434 million globally last year as well as the $117 million "Water for Elephants" earned back in 2011. Could circus movies be hot? Hmph!

The original animated film was a little over one hour long and was fairly lighthearted, though many called it a tearjerker. This new version, re-imagined by none other than Tim Burton stretches out to nearly two hours and adds stuff not seen in the original. He brings in talent he's worked with before: Danny Devito as the ringmaster, Alan Arkin in a small part, Eva Green as a trapeze artist, and Michael Keaton as a villainous businessman.

The film includes Dumbo being born with enormous ears and getting ridiculed for them. His mother protects him. But then there's Colin Farrell as Holt Farrier, a WWI veteran who lost an arm in the Great War and is now a trick rider trying to raise his two motherless kids around the circus. Unlike the original, there are no mice to teach Dumbo to fly, instead it's the children.

DeVito plays Max Medici who owns the small traveling circus and is the one perfect fit in the film. But he is approached by the greedy V.A. Vandevere (Keaton) who wants Dumbo to perform at his sprawling, but dead theme park. By now, Burton has thrown in enough social commentaries to please any protester of today's politics. (Especially when they take Dumbo from his mother! Oh paleeze!)

The film becomes so big and editorialized that you forget who is who and ultimately lose interest in any of the characters except Dumbo. But your only interest in him is how well the CGI fleshes him out.

Missing is the whimsy you would assume Burton would bring like he did for "Alice in Wonderland" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Nope, he locks in on expressing commentary about today's social issues.

"Dumbo" is a tough sell to young children who will be looking for more "oooos" and "aaahs" than social messages. Definitely not up to par with what you might be expecting from Disney. -- GRADE D+ -- GEOFF BURTON

GEOFF BURTON