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Not unlikeAlice, this live-action take onDumboonly borrows the bare bones of its story from the original.
The Farrier kids take over most of the narrative duties handled in the original by the scrappy Timothy Q.
Mouse, who was basically a poor mans Jiminy Cricket.
But theyve been given a lot more to do here.
), Max gets a visit from V.A.
Could the picture be an allegory for the directors own time toiling in the Disney factory?
This is not the man who gave usEdward Scissorhands, and he hasnt been for a while.
It helps also that Burton never lets us forget that were watching anelephantflying.
The way the creature bops along awkwardly with each flap of his ears enhances the weirdness.
We want to cheer, but we also want to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
I could watch the circus scenes of this film forever, and thankfully, there are plenty of them.
So thats whats good aboutDumbo.
Heres whats bad: The story.
Luckily there isnt much of either.
We can sense Burtons familiar empathy for those regarded as freaks in his portrayal of the creature.
The actors do what they can.
But theres only so much anyone can do to spruce up figures this one-dimensional.
And yet, its not hard to enjoyDumbo.
