The playful bright-eyed elephant with the large ears is back!

Only he is not so bright-eyed and more prominent in his character is the sense of abandonment and grief, reflecting in his sad large eyes. Set in 1919, it incorporates the concept of animal rights and how important it is to let animals be free.

While the story of the 1941 Dumbo (set in the present day back then) had a very sweet and optimistic feel to it, the 2019 version is quite dark in comparison. With no anthropomorphic characters and the focus on its human cast, Dumbo markedly features greed, cruelty and exploitation in its storyline. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, the film is directed by Tim Burton, better known for works like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland, as well as numerous horror flicks. It is probably his flavour, which makes this remake different from the original.

One of the best parts for me was the song, Baby Mine, performed pretty much in sync with the sweetness as the 1941 original and mesmerisingly magical as always.

As the story goes, Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns from World War 1, with one of his arms amputated. Holt is a horseback rider and performer for the (now) financially distressed Medici Brothers’ Circus, run by Max Medici (Danny DeVito). Max had to sell off the circus horses after Holt’s wife died in a flu outbreak, and Holt is put in charge of Mrs Jumbo, a pregnant elephant in the circus. She gives birth to a calf with unusually large ears, which the circus management tries to hide initially, yet they get revealed accidentally during a performance and the crowd starts pelting the baby elephant with trash, coining the name Dumbo.

Appalled and infuriated, Mrs Jumbo charges into the ring to rescue her son, but ends up creating chaos and accidentally killing one of the handlers. Medici sells her off to avoid any problems and Dumbo finds friends in Holt’s children, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finely Hobbins). The children soon realise that Dumbo can fly with the help of a feather using his ears. Some ring performances later, word starts to spread about his unique talent and he becomes a sensation at the circus. Enters V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), who proposes partnership to Max. Once Max is onboard, Vandevere demands that Dumbo rides with Colette (Eva Green), Dreamland’s French trapeze artist, in his debut performance in the new ring. Things reach get more chaotic but it all ends well for Dumbo and his mother.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 15th, 2019