Dumbo is a 2019 American fantasy period adventure film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger. It is a live-action adaptation and reimagining of Walt Disney's 1941 animated feature film of the same name, which is based on the novel by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, the film stars Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green and Alan Arkin, and follows a family that works at a failing traveling circus as they encounter a baby elephant with extremely large ears who is capable of flying.
Plans for a live-action film adaptation of Dumbo were announced in 2014, and Burton was confirmed as director in March 2015. Most of the cast signed on for the feature in March 2017 and principal photography lasted from July to November 2017 in England. It was the first of five live-action adaptations of prior animated Disney films released in 2019, along with Aladdin, The Lion King, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Lady and the Tramp.
Dumbo premiered in Los Angeles on March 11, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 29, 2019. The film grossed $353 million worldwide against a $170 million budget and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its ambition but criticized its lack of emotional depth and Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins’ performances.
Plot[]
In 1919 Sarasota, Florida, equestrian performer and World War I amputee Holt Farrier returns after the war to his previous employer, the Medici Brothers' Circus, run by Max Medici. The circus has run into financial troubles; Medici reveals he was forced to sell his stable of horses after Holt's wife and co-performer, Annie, died from the Spanish flu outbreak. After Holt reveals that he lost his arm in the Battle of the Argonne, Medici instead hires him as the caretaker for Mother Ella Jumbo, the circus' pregnant Asian elephant. She gives birth to a calf with unusually large ears, and Medici orders Holt to hide them, fearing how the public might react to such a deformity.
However, the calf accidentally reveals his ears in his debut performance in Joplin, Missouri, and the crowd laughs and mockingly calls the calf "Dumbo" while pelting him with peanuts and other objects. Mrs. Jumbo, angered by her son's mistreatment, rampages into the ring, causing extensive damage, collapsing the big top, and accidentally killing Rufus, a handler who antagonizes her. Anticipating public outrage over the incident, Medici sells Mrs. Jumbo. Holt's son and daughter, Joe and Milly Farrier, comfort Dumbo and discover that he can fly by flapping his ears and that feathers benefit his willingness to fly.
Dumbo is then forced to play the role of a firefighter clown tasked to put out a fire with water sprayed from his trunk, but the performance goes awry, and Dumbo is trapped on a high platform surrounded by flames. Milly delivers a feather to Dumbo, giving him the confidence to fly to safety. The audience is astounded, and word of his talent begins to spread. V. A. Vandevere, the wealthy owner of the Bohemian amusement park Dreamland, approaches Medici and proposes a collaboration: If Medici becomes Vandevere's business partner, the Medici Brothers' Circus' troupe will permanently be employed to perform at Dreamland, solving their financial problems.
Dumbo's debut performance at Dreamland with Vandevere's star performer, French trapeze artist Colette Marchant, quickly goes wrong when he nearly falls off a high platform and starts trumpeting in panic after realizing that there is no safety net available to prevent possible injuries and fatalities. Hearing his mother's response to his call and realizing that she was placed in an exhibit at Dreamland called Nightmare Island after being sold, he flies out of the circus ring and reunites with her, greatly disappointing the audience. Annoyed by Dumbo's disobedience and fearing the possibility of his mother becoming a distraction to him, Vandevere fires the Medici troupe and orders Mrs. Jumbo's exhibit to be shuttered to secure his sterling reputation.
When Holt and the Medici troupe learn that Vandevere intends to have Dumbo's mother euthanized and that it is no longer safe for the two elephants to live with them, they make plans to free both of them. The circus performers utilize their various talents to break Mrs. Jumbo out of her enclosure, while Holt and Colette guide Dumbo to fly out of the circus. Vandevere attempts to stop them but starts a fire by mishandling Dreamland's electrical system, which spreads and destroys the park. After Dumbo saves Holt and his family from the fire, they are joined by Colette and the rest of the troupe to bring Dumbo and his mother to the harbor, where they board a ship back to their native home in India.
Sometime later, the renamed Medici Family Circus is reestablished and flourishes with Colette as the newest troupe member, Milly as host of a science lecture exhibition, and performers dressed as animals, in line with the circus' new policy of not using wild animals in captivity for entertainment. It is implied that Vandevere was convicted of burning down his own park for the insurance money. Meanwhile, Dumbo and his mother reunite with a herd of wild elephants, who applaud Dumbo as he flies with joy.
Cast[]
- Colin Farrell as Holt Farrier, an amputated World War I veteran and former circus equestrian performer from Kentucky who is reassigned by Max Medici as handler of the circus's elephants.
- Michael Keaton as V.A. Vandevere, a greedy and ruthless enigmatic entrepreneur and amusement park owner who buys Medici's circus to exploit Dumbo for his bohemian amusement park, Dreamland.
- Danny DeVito as Maximilian "Max" Medici, a boisterous but goodhearted ringmaster and owner of the Medici Brothers' Circus who is loosely based on the ringmaster from the original film.
- Devito's daughter Lucy cameos in the film as a Coat Check Girl.
- Eva Green as Colette Marchant, a virtuous French trapeze artist and Vandevere's faux girlfriend who performs at Dreamland.
- Alan Arkin as J. Griffin Remington, an investor.
- Nico Parker as Milly Farrier, Holt's feisty and benevolent daughter who, unlike her parents and brother, wants to make scientific discoveries.
- Finley Hobbins as Joe Farrier, Holt's son who wants to help out with the circus. He shares a special bond with his sister.
- Roshan Seth as Pramesh Singh, a snake charmer.
- DeObia Oparei as Rongo, a strongman who also works as the circus accountant.
- Joseph Gatt as Neils Skellig, a South African hunter and Vandevere's assistant.
- Douglas Reith as Sotheby, Vandevere's former butler.
- Sharon Rooney as Miss Atlantis, a mermaid performer.
- Michael Buffer as Baritone Bates, a Dreamland ringmaster.
- Zenaida Alcalde as Catherine the Greater, an illusionist and Ivan's wife.
- Miguel Muñoz Segura as Ivan the Wonderful, an illusionist and Catherine's husband.
- Frank Bourke as Puck, an organ grinder.
- Ragevan Vasan as Pritam Singh, a snake handler and Pramesh's nephew.
- Phil Zimmerman as Rufus, a sadistic animal trainer.