Dumbo: Film Review

Synopsis

Dumbo follows the story of a young elephant named Dumbo with oversized ears. With the help of Millie and Joe (Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins, respectively), children of Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), Dumbo come into his own with his newfound power of flight. After being sold to a circus led by V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), Millie, Joe, and everyone from the Medici family circus help to escape Dumbo.

Review

The story is simple, thus making it easy to understand for kids, and the script is nothing special. The film is very much in the style of Tim Burton, meaning dark, but I think that hurts the appeal of the movie. It's almost too dark for a kids movie. Technically, the movie is great. You can always count on Tim Burton to give you a great-looking movie. The production design is great. I felt that some of the sets were a bit anachronistic because there wasn't technology in the 1920s. Although, I do think that the production design contributes to that very dark and bleak tone that hurts the movie. There were wooden acting jobs all around. Michael Keaton, I thought, was an odd choice to play this very eccentric, possibly younger guy. He was just weird and creepy with a very bad hairpiece. He did not give a great portrayal of a villain. The child actors - and I know they did their best - were very unemotive and blank. It felt like they were reading off a script, thus making it feel unnatural. It's almost like nobody came to put their best foot forward. Eva Green and Danny DeVito were the saving graces of the entire cast, compared to the stiff wooden acting coming from everyone else. I really like their work.