A must see. 80 years after the eponymous cartoon, Tim Burton appropriated pertinently this story, preserving the magic and the poetry but modernizing it, by adding new characters and encrusting spectacular computer-generated animals. In particular, Dumbo is such a cutie and his look is a total success: his eyes are extremely expressive and he is so adorable. This is otherwise not a surprise for a Burton: the atmosphere is darker compared to the cartoon. In three words: I loved it!

Dumbo is the latest Disney remake this year and is directed by Tim Burton. It stars Danny DeVito,Micheal Keaton,Colin Farrell and Eva Green and tells the tale of a widowed father named Holt Farrier(Farrell) who just came back from World War I where he lost his left limb due to the war. When his kids witness an elephant giving birth to a baby elephant,they are both shocked that the baby was born with big ears,resulting in the elephant to be made fun of at the circus when he gets older. However when an evil businessman named V. A Vandervere(Keaton) wants to take over the circus,can Holt,Mike(DeVito) and Holt's kids save both Dumbo and his mother?

What I loved about this remake was it wasn't a beat by beat like say Beauty and the beast or Cinderella,and the visuals was very good. The acting was great,Colin Farrell was great with his Southern accent(his from Dublin in real life) and Devito was great too as always. Micheal Keaton was grand as the villian,he had this Joker vibe about him and this toupee. Plus for a Tim Burton film it wasn't as Gothic or weird and don't worry Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter doesn't appear in this film.

If you loved The Greatest Showman and Water For Elephants than you will enjoy this film. Roll on Aladdin and The Lion King.

8/10 4/5.

The original 'Dumbo' is still one of my favourites. Beautifully animated, with memorable songs and sequences (especially "Baby Mine" and "Pink Elephants on Parade"),a touching story that still moves me and inspires me and one of for me the most relatable characters ever in Dumbo, being someone who was bullied for being different and having to overcome adversity.

Part of me was excited in seeing this new 'Dumbo'. The trailer did look great. Have loved a few of Disney's other live-action remakes namely 'Cinderella' and particularly 'The Jungle Book'. Also love a good deal of Tim Burton's films, with my favourites being 'Edward Scissorhands', 'Ed Wood' and 'Beetlejuice', also love 'Big Fish', 'Sleepy Hollow', 'Sweeney Todd' and 'Batman'. Part of me was nervous too, because not all remakes fare well (with abominations like 'Psycho', 'The Wicker Man' and 'Rollerball') and will admit to questioning the point of it, did think how is one going to make a feature length film out of something that was merely an hour long. Burton is a hit and miss director as well, starting off great but has been particularly variable since his worst film 'Planet of the Apes'.

As far as Burton's films go, 'Dumbo' is in the lesser half. Certainly better than 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'Dark Shadows', 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Planet of the Apes', but 'Edward Scissorhands' and 'Ed Wood' it is not. It is not Disney at its best either and among the weaker Disney live-action remakes. Do not think it is as bad as some have said but am also somewhat mixed in my opinion of the 2019 'Dumbo'. A case of pretty good first half and disappointing second half.

'Dumbo' does look great. It is lavishly photographed and produced, showing the glamour but also hardships of circus life. Then again, what does one expect from Burton? Regardless of how his films are overall, they always are very well made visually. Dumbo himself hardly looks fake (a long way from it),moves smoothly and an example of a CGI animal on film with soul and heart, he also has such expressive eyes that tell so much and makes one relate to and feel for him without feeling they have to. Danny Elfman's sumptuously orchestrated, sometimes sensitive and at other times soaring score is one of his best in a long time.

There are some great scenes here with two scenes having genuine pathos, one being "Baby Mine" (not quite as devastating as in the original, but still touching and well used) and the somewhat bittersweet ending. Standing out too is the visually quite jaw-dropping bubble take on "Pink Elephants". The circus sequences look great in design and photography, are cleverly choreographed making for some heart-stopping spectacle and the fun and danger of the circus is well depicted. The first half does have poignancy, while Dumbo is absolutely adorable with expressive eyes and expressions and a sense of innocence. Some of the acting is not bad, the liveliest contribution coming from a full of live Danny De Vito. Colin Farrell and Eva Green make the most of their fairly under-explored roles.

However, the second half was not near as good for me. The main problems being that it felt padded and with its darker tone it felt like a different film. The pacing is affected, well it could have done with a tightening up in the first half too admittedly as the first portion of 'Dumbo' is slight, very like the original but that was part of the charm, but it is more problematic later on. Momentum was mainly lost due to some of it feeling like padding and unfortuanately it was relatively overlong padding. The darker 'Dumbo' got, the more the charm, innocence and pathos vanished until all three were completely lost not long after the villain's intentions are revealed.

Not all the acting registers that much. Finley Robbins and Nico Parker are rather bland, with Parker being particularly one-note, while Michael Keaton is a one-dimensional cartoon. The other circus performers are not fleshed out or shown enough to register that much. The characters are thin, too many promising plot points and such are not followed enough after being introduced and the script is cluttered and sometimes repetitive. There isn't really enough story to fill a feature-length film, with the original's plot done away with not too far through, and the film, especially evident in the second half, felt over-stretched. The climax brought a little energy back but again too far apart tonally from the first half of the film.

In conclusion, plenty of good things but also a good deal of short-comings. Just a touch above mixed-bag quality. 5.5/10