A tale of bullying, bravery and ear-shaming, the Disney classic Dumbo was released in 1941. It was the fourth full-length animated feature from the studio, although at 64 minutes, it barely met that description. Its length and some short-cut animation were intended to save money following the budget overruns of its elaborately crafted predecessors Pinocchio and Fantasia.
Tim Burton's live-action remake is different in many ways from its predecessor. For a start, at 130 minutes it's more than twice as long. There is still an eponymous elephant whose supersized ears mean he can fly and who saves the day, but this time around the emphasis is on a set of human characters who did not appear in the original.
Colin Farrell stars in Disney's latest remake of Dumbo.
And this time around, the animals don't speak. Which means there is no Timothy the Mouse to be Dumbo's sidekick and lift him up when he's down. There are no racist stereotyped crows to teach Dumbo how to fly. And there are no gossipy matriarchal pachyderms to patronise Dumbo's mother, Mrs Jumbo. But there is still – ahem – no mention of a Mr Jumbo. There is, however, a front and centre group of humans who carry most of the story and a supporting cast of real-life circus performers recruited from big tops around the world.
It's a human story with animals in it, rather than a story about animals with humans in the background. Burton and his writer, Ehren Kruger, have transformed the original slight yarn into an extravagant tale of unscrupulous big business versus heart-of-gold, plucky little business.
Dumbo is born into a struggling circus owned by Max Medici (Danny de Vito) who enlists one-armed former circus performer Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) and his children to care for the over-endowed title character and figure of fun.
Farrell elaborates: "Farrier becomes the elephant [caretaker] without any background experience. It's humiliating and humbling for him. He's just shovelling elephant poop, until this baby elephant is born, with a somewhat displeasing set of ears to all who look upon it for the first time. Medici, who's the ringmaster and the owner of the circus, thinks it's going to sink his circus, until Holt's kids find out the elephant somehow has the power of flight."
Dumbo is not the only high flyer in the movie. Eva Green is also in there somewhere as French trapeze artist and love interest Colette Marchant.
When it becomes clear Dumbo can fly, the circus's fortunes take a turn for the better but also attract the interest of villainous V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) who must have Dumbo for his Dreamland theme park.
But please don't judge his character too harshly says Keaton who worked with Tim Burton on Beetlejuice and two Batman movies: "One reason Vandevere, my character, behaves the way he behaves – which is not too nice – is he never really had a family, and deep inside that ate him up. Although, he would never let you know that. And there's this little circus family that's not a 'mom, dad, and two kids' situation."
Unlike the original, the new remake of Dumbo will not feature talking animals.
Making this movie was no walk in the theme park for Burton. The fact that his elephant star is computer-generated didn't exempt him from having to deal with the likes of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who got in touch early on: "We're hopeful that in your adaptation of Dumbo, the young elephant and his mother can have a truly happy ending by living out their lives at a sanctuary instead of continuing to be imprisoned and abused in the entertainment industry," said Peta senior vice-president communications Lisa Lange with a straight face. The film reportedly carries a strong anti-animal cruelty message.
Dumbo fun facts
Dumbo was being made in May 1941 when Disney staff went on strike, interrupting production for five weeks. It's alleged some of the strikers are caricatured in the film among the group of clowns who gang up on Dumbo and try to get more money out of their boss.
This is not the first second Dumbo movie. A direct-to-video sequel was already in production when a new Disney boss canned all direct-to-video productions. It would have seen Dumbo and pals adrift in a city when the circus moved on without them - sort of Home Alone with trunks – and some of its imagery was previewed in a VHS reissue of the original.
Mrs Jumbo's lullaby Baby Mine won the Oscar for best original song in its year. It too has been expended this time around, with Arcade Fire turning in a sublime, tear-jerking version.
This is the 12th live-action remake of a Disney animated feature. It will be closely followed by Aladdin, The Lion King and Lady and the Tramp.
LOWDOWN: Who: Colin Farrell and Danny DeVito What: Dumbo When: In cinemas next Thursday
