Disney has another live-action remake of an animated classic coming out in 2019. This one is Dumbo, from director Tim Burton. We can expect that the story will be quite different from the 1941 film, which had hardly any humans with speaking roles.
From Disney and visionary director Tim Burton, the all-new grand live-action adventure “Dumbo” expands on the beloved classic story where differences are celebrated, family is cherished and dreams take flight. Circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) enlists former star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) and his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) to care for a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a laughingstock in an already struggling circus. But when they discover that Dumbo can fly, the circus makes an incredible comeback, attracting persuasive entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), who recruits the peculiar pachyderm for his newest, larger-than-life entertainment venture, Dreamland. Dumbo soars to new heights alongside a charming and spectacular aerial artist, Colette Marchant (Eva Green), until Holt learns that beneath its shiny veneer, Dreamland is full of dark secrets.Yeah, that sounds very different. Dumbo is scheduled to hit theaters on March 29, 2019. (via Laughing Squid)
'Dumbo' is a story about a flying elephant. Since real live elephants cannot fly, the makers of this 'live-action' movie will have to use either CGI, green-screen effects, or a combination of both to get the pachyderm airborne.... and I don't see a lot of difference (other than the technology used) between this kind of movie make-believe and classic paint-on-cel animation.
ReplyDeleteTrue! But it will also be populated by real people, the story will focus on the people instead of the elephant, and since it's Tim Burton, it will be dark and weird.
ReplyDeleteIn the original, the only 'people' were the circus's troupe of clowns and the ringmaster-cum-impresario who tried to cash on Dumbo; first by adding him to the clown act and then, when his flying skill was revealed, as a star attraction. The only other humans portrayed – circus roustabouts, the circus band, the circus patrons – were strictly background characters or window dressing. But I see Burton has already added the requisite cute kids, trainer, female eye candy, and nemesis, not to mention rewritten the story to include venues (Dreamland??) and interactions that never existed, just as James Cameron did with the fictional Jack Dawson in "Titanic" — or am I the only one who found it odd that in less than five days on board, Jack knew his way around that ship well enough to be able to go from his normal 3rd-class (steerage) accommodations to being able to make his way around the First Class environs, as well as knowing how to get to the boiler room and cargo hold (which, BTW, did not connect) so he and Rose could get it on in the back seat of the Renault?
ReplyDeleteI predict Burton's take on "Dumbo" will be almost as big a fiasco as 2013's Johnny Depp-as-Tonto reboot of "The Lone Ranger".