"Dumbo" Teases
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 at 11:20AM by Nathaniel R
click to enlargePrediction: By 2040 Disney will have remade all of their animated features as "live-action" movies. Well, maybe not Song of the South or The Three Caballeros. Live-action is in quotes because some of the remake titles are basically still half animated -- like The Jungle Book in 2016, or Beauty and the Beast in 2017. Next up in the Disney remakes department is Tim Burton's take on Dumbo.
The name Tim Burton used to automatically thrill but he lost his mojo at exactly the turn of the century (just after Sleepy Hollow in '99) and hasn't been able to get it back. He's made 10 features since and the only uncompromised / totally satisfying artistic success among them, I'd argue, is the animated features Corpse Bride (2005). And to a lesser extent Frankenweenie (2012) if we're feeling a bit generous...
Maybe that "the animated ones are the good ones" qualifier should give us hope for his Dumbo? The movie has a beautiful teaser, just released today, rich with promise and a feeling of wonder and trademark Burton whimsy.
But making a good movie is a lot harder than making a good teaser! We truly wish Burton a major artistic success because Dumbo (1941) is a true classic and deserves a worthy remake (if it has to be remade that is).
And because Eva Green.
Where is Eva Green? I need her.
— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) June 5, 2018
We'll save the Yes No Maybe So until a full trailer but what's your take on the tease?
Reader Comments (26)
I had zero interest in this, and totally agree re: 21st century Burton, but damn this teaser is an effective, reach-deep-into-your-heart hope-giver.
In case the original "Dumbo" wasn't already sad enough for you, now we have tiny children who care deeply about him.
IDK, at least it looks like "Dumbo" is at least less lonely in this one, but adding human audience surrogates telling us why to care about his situation doesn't feel terribly inspired. I just don't need this, and if anything is going to test Disney's resolve to remake everything over and over, I feel like this could be the one.
It's Tim Burton, which means it's an automatic no for me, dawg.
Agreed Nat he's been going toward the earth's core since 2000,I only liked Big Eyes of his output recentlyand that was more to do with Amy Adams performance.
If it means upping Colin Farrell's status so he can finally get an Oscar nomination (for something else, obvi), I'm all for it.
Big Fish wasn't perfect but it was still a beautiful movie (Jessica Lange has never been more beautiful and moving than in the bathtub scene).
And then i know Sweeney Todd has a lot of haters, but i saw the movie before i heard anything about the musical and it was a revelation. I used to think it was a mesterpiece, and then i saw the show on stage and i understood how flawed was the Burton movie. But it's still a success in my opinion.
"Sweeney Todd" is among his best films. "Big Fish" is very good in places.
I really liked Big Fish and Big Eyes (Christoph Waltz was amazing). So maybe if he retitles this one Big Ears he'll have another winner!
Danny DeVita's Max Medici looks a lot like his Amos Calloway from Big Fish!
Big Fish is my favorite Burton. I cry EACH TIME.
I have less than zero interest in seeing this, but I also want to defend Big Fish. It's his only post-2000 film where Burton's tremendous visual sense and skill at fantasy is wonderfully well used entirely in the service of a relatable story about actual human beings.
Despite their varying quality (even within a single film!) I like several of his other films too - Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd, Big Eyes, Dark Shadows - but Big Fish is the only one from this century with real heart. I always find that tremndous one-two punch at the climax (the son telling the story his father's death; the revelation of how many of his father's stories were based in real people at the funeral) very moving.
The Baby Mine sequence from the original legit makes me bawl. Sorry Bambi's mom but I think it's the saddest scene in any Disney movie.
As a child Dumbo was my fave. I swear I had like a dozen stuffed animal toys of that elephant (and also Timothy who better be in this!) but I wasn't looking forward to this at all given that I haven't cared for any of Disney's recent live action films and Burton's track record hasn't been great but it's a lovely teaser and definitely got me interested so there's that.
Dumbo(41) and Pinocchio(40) are two of the most distressing, depressing, and touching Disney cartoons parents need their children to see. Sadism like only Walt Disney knew how to do. And of the most beautiful. Nothing of the safe computer movies of today, Pink Elephants On Parade still impresses.
I was skeptical until I heard the song and saw Dumbo as... I started to get the feels. Maybe this will be a major return to form for Tim Burton.
I will/must see it for the designs of Coleen Atwood and Rich Henrichs, two masterly people at creating visual worlds, also: Colin Farrell. Anything that puts him in front of me for a couple of hours is fine by me.
Nathaniel, you are being very unfair with Big Fish. Best film on its decade.
Went from nonchalant indifference to eager to see it anticipation.
"Ed Wood" is classic movie about making movies- this looks like a nice teaser
I finally gave up on Tim Burton after that stupid Planet of the Apes remake (or maybe it was that Willy Wonka travesty?) - I never looked back.
I got the chills, expectations are set...but somehow, if "Baby Mine" is done well enough, my childhood memories will win over my emotions, and all logical film assessments will be cast aside. I mean, I watched the original 100x a week as a kid - it's embedded in my brain.
My aversion to 21st century Burton is well-documented but I'll give the propers to this trailer - it's very well done.
Critical response will have to be positive for me to consider buying a ticket. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me like 12 times in a row...
I'm probably a no until I can rent it. I'm doing a relatively decent job of avoiding remake culture (I skipped Jungle Book and Beauty & the Beast in theaters), and Dumbo is perfect the way it was.
Unless this is a second circus musical in as many years, I'm not sure I'm seeing the attraction to it. Looks like overly-polished CGI mash-up again. And people said THE GREATEST SHOWMAN was too shiny.
Dumbo not only is my favorite Disney movie, it might be the only movie I like from their catalog (yeah, I think they're crap, shoot me) and this doesn't look good (besides the fact that I like only one movie from Burton).
Definitely sounds like this is right up your alley, Me34. Haha!
What a coup, though, if you end up liking it despite all of the cards literally being stacked against this being so.
Justice for Big Fish!
So far, they've released a live-action remake of Cinderella, a retelling of The Little Mermaid titled Finding Dory, a live-action version of Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson, and a live-action adaptation of Aladdin slated for release in 2019 and also you can read it here for more information. They're also working on a live-action version of The Lion King set to be released in 2020.