At least we know Dumbo got his name from the name Jumbo that changed the first letter for something less appropriate.
Dumbo is born from a circus elephant that was bought to help fight the declining visitor rate and save the circus. Then the plan was that the unexpected baby-elephant would attract the press and then more visitors. However a plot twist unraveled. The baby had huge ears even for an elephant. The two children that took care of the baby found out that Dumbo could fly with the psychological help of a feather. Now, I am not a biologist or animal expert with a degree or anything but Dumbo should be about 1 week old at maximum. Not even birds fly in their first week. And he flew! Please do not start about being a cartoon. Workarounds were possible. Yet, I have been wrong before.
Knowing that Dumbo could fly, the owner of the circus “sold” his services to a bigger player in the entertainment business just because of a flying elephant. So, everyone’s jobs and lives where hanging from the flying ability of an elephant. Also, I would like to discuss about our “bad guy” here. He is the rich guy that bought the circus and the name of the actor is Mr. Michael Keaton. Before our bad guy appeared as a bad guy, he is polite, likeable and says phrases like “you made me a child again” when something exciting happens. Please convince me that this is a person I should not connect with and be identified as the bad guy. Any takers?
Comparing the film to the original one, it stayed true to some parts like the feather. A very pleasant detail was the scene of the bubble elephants. Deep inside however, I wanted Dumbo as a character to be more active and more like a protagonist, so it is not mostly about the two children and their father. It is like the attention pieces are equally shared to Dumbo, the children, the father, the rider of Dumbo miss Colette, the circus owner, the bad guy and the circus. I, honestly, wanted more attention to be given to Dumbo. Surely, nice messages pop up here and there due to the fact of the children and father but I wanted more of the film to be around Dumbo.
Conclusions
Fun and nostalgic film. Could have been a lot worse indeed, but it could have been a lot better too. They were no weird songs, so this is a big plus for Disney. A solid performance from anyone that appeared on screen but I just wanted more.
Favourite quotes
- “Max: Why me? Why me? A face only a mother could love. Atlantis: Sir, many of us find you handsome. Max: I was talking about the elephant!”
- “Joe: Dad, wake up! Let’s go! The elephants need us! Holt: Good God, son, you’re going to make me miss the war.”
- “Joe: Do something. Milly: Mom would have done something. Holt: Mama’s not here.”