To more or less quote Polygon: Tim Burton? Wait, what?
Yeah, Tim Burton is directing Dumbo, and based on the plot description in the link above he decided to drop a couple of grenades down Disney’s ventilation shaft: “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.” …Gee. I wonder if there’s going to any, ah, resonances there?
To be fair, though: getting Tim Burton to direct Dumbo was possibly the one thing that would make me stop and reconsider my life choices with regard to Disney live-action films. I mean, I’ll go see the live-action Mulan, of course (there are going to be battles and avalanches and sword fights and things exploding and Mulan has a standing invitation to my adventuring party). But Dumbo? That was a hard pass. It is no longer a hard pass, and I wonder if Disney was counting on that.
Moe Lane
PS: Where will the crows be? The crows have no doubt been locked in a box that was wrapped in chains and tossed in a cement block until the block was hardened and then the cement was put on a ship which was then sunk in the Marianas Trench and eaten by Cthulhu. There’s no way that… wait, hold on: I’m getting something from the booth. Ah, the crows are there, and will be voiced by Steve Buscemi, Michael Sheen, Russell Brand, and… Cheech and Chong*. Goodness gracious, what kind of blackmail does Tim Burton have over Disney? And can he use it to get us a Squirrel Girl/Deadpool movie?
*Name an African-American actor who wants ‘one of the crows in the new Dumbo‘ on his resume. Go ahead, name one. I’ll wait.
Blackmail is what first comes to my jaded, cynical mind, but I dunno…
Burton just might be capable of magic, or perhaps some good old fashioned Charm on the level of say, Oberon. I had no intention of watching a live-action Dumbo, but now I’m thinking about it.
Prefer the trailer for the live action Pooh movie instead. Both feel unnecessary.
It looks like they’re keeping the pink elephants.
Key and Peele have the b*lls and the skills to pull off the crows.
Dream casting would have Redd, Eddie and Richard.