After 78 years, the animated little elephant with oversized ears we all loved as kids has made his way back to the big screen.
This time, brought to life by Tim Burton, “Dumbo” showcases a new era of technology and imagination working together to make this film a similarly great success that it was back then.
“Dumbo” first hit theaters in 1941 as a part of Walt Disney Productions. This was the fourth feature in Disney’s animated canon and was based off of the children’s book published in 1938, written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pear.
To start off, this new production has a more complex storyline in comparison to the previous one. In this new version, the humans in the circus are of more importance, as opposed to the communication solely between the animals in the original.
Milly and Joe Farrier, children of Holt Ferrier and members of the circus, go hand-in-hand as companions to Dumbo, just as Timothy the mouse was in the first movie.
They are the two that help him discover his hidden talent and aid him in the pursuit to reunite with his mother, Mrs. Jumbo.
Tim Burton did a great job shedding light on real-life issues and scenarios.
The compassion the kids have for Dumbo hits home in more ways than it did back when many viewers initially saw this movie as kids.
With people involved, it allows the viewer to put him/herself in the shoes of the characters.
Not to mention, the relationship between Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo as mother and son could not have been better portrayed. Multiple scenes were definitely tear-jerkers, to say the least. Milly Farrier, while only a child, is an epitome of this new era of strong and independent women.
She is courageous and thinks with her head. She wants more than to be an act in a show; she wants to be known for her brain.
Though this is a children’s film, the movie shows the cruel reality of this world and the people in it. It is not always sunshine and butterflies. There is pain and there is malice. It just takes awareness and a person of courage to stand up against them.
The movie will also have you giggling and obsessed with Dumbo and his floppy ears. That little bundle of joy is just a baby; he is curious and he is silly. How could you not love him? He also provides the Disney “anything is possible” leap of faith that we all need.
Lastly, what ties the entire movie together is the use of color in the cinematography. It takes you back to the old Disney that we all once knew. Few would argue that modern Disney productions do not do the classics justice.
This movie brought back the fun and liveliness fans were dying to have. This was done through dancing scenes, the circus, costumes and acting — all working together to create something so bright and extravagant.
The film is perfectly manifested to light up the eyes of not only children, but adults who once watched this movie as children and are perhaps now taking their kids through the same experience.
It is no secret that this movie, like the first, has a happy ending. The difference is what this happy ending consists of.
It is something people should go see for themselves to unfold.
