Dumbo review: Disney’s animated film has a great story, but weakly executed

If you are a child-adult like many of us, we would like to have Dumbo as our pet. But will we endorse the film as a whole? Well, Dumbo lives up to its original, but is very loosely put together to have a high recall value. Dumbo comes out as one more experiment by Disney, of remaking their animated classics into live-dramas. The remake of the animated film in live-action was a good idea, adding the human touch was a better one, but the execution should have been best, which it sadly wasn’t.

What’s it about: Inspired from the 1941 animated film Dumbo, the new Dumbo is set in a circus whose owner has hired a former circus star and his two children to take care of Dumbo, an infant elephant born with oversized ears and separated from his mother because she was considered to be a threat. When they discover that Dumbo can fly and those ears serve as wings, he becomes the talk of the town, and a rich businessman has his eyes on him. The quest to find Mrs Jumbo (Mummy Elephant), saving them from the businessman, and giving them their life back is what the film is about.

The original film had Dumbo and a mouse, who together were on the quest to find his mother, and the story was about their banter. Unlike the original, the remake replaces the mouse with two children and humans who take up the mission of saving Dumbo. While Dumbo is a CGI elephant and is given no voice, the humans around serve the purpose. Criticised as ugly, by the end of the film, Dumbo wins our heart as his longing for his mother and an unbelievable super power takes centre stage.

Yay: It is quite difficult to attach to a character emotionally when you know it is a piece of CGI. Dumbo scores high in that department. Giving an elephant eyes that are almost human and also expressions that make him adorable to the level that you start loving him, is big! Anyone would love to have him as their pet. The CGI is amazing, though the amount is high, but it doesn’t look unreal even for a bit. Acting performances by Eva Green, Colin Farrell, Nico Parker, Danny DeVito and a few others are commendable. The only character that gets an arc is Holt played by Colin Farrell as he plays that with honesty.

Nay: Considering that the animated Dumbo was the shortest one in the Disney library, the attempt to stretch it to almost two hours diluted the purpose. Introducing humans was sure a good idea but then keeping all the characters one tone with one purpose looked lazy. The film passes as a film for children, but has too much of fire, destruction and darkness for kids to understand and absorb.

CineBlitz Verdict: Dumbo is super cute, but the execution has flaws. Plus, it isn’t a light-hearted Disney film, but is a bit dark. Watch it for the amazing CGI it has and how Dumbo with his new found human touch wins hearts. Don’t go in expecting to have an experience for life, because it isn’t.

Rating: 2.5 stars