Danny DeVito stars in Dumbo |
Let's Get Ready for Dumbo
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: 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.
Green's Marchant declares, "We make the impossible, possible." I can buy a flying elephant (it's Disney after all) but local boy Ehren Kruger's convoluted screenplay? Fat chance. Why saddle Farrell with a jive Southern accent and only one arm? And a pretentious daughter with a knack for science (and pouting.) Burton's film looks the (Disney) part, but there's no heart/soul to be found. The bad guys (Keaton, Phil Zimmerman) are insanely/unnecessarily bad, and the scenes with Dumbo... fake and preposterous. Where's the "connection" with the star attraction? I'm guessing it got left on the cutting room floor.
Grade: D-