I understand that these live-action flicks generally have been bringing in the cash for the Mouse, but I’m wondering whether Disney went all the way back to Dumbo this time because they wanted to muddle the copyright waters. This dude is saying no, and he raises some fair points, but: I still dunno. I could see a remake of Cinderella, because it was a proof of concept; but why Dumbo? It’s not really a popular movie today, is it? Classic, sure — but popular?
5 thoughts on “Looks like the Dumbo movie ain’t doing so hot.”
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Dumbo definitely was an odd choice for a live-action remake. It may be that they’re hoping Tim Burton’s style would be enough to generate traffic? I understand his Alice in Wonderland was entertaining (I still haven’t watched it).
When I presented the trailer to my wife, prefixed with “Live action Dumbo trailer”, her immediate response was “Why?”. When I answered with “Tim Burton”, she was willing to watch the trailer.
Some things work as cartoons that just *don’t* in more realistic formats.
An anthropomorphized elephant is going to find itself in the uncanny valley very quickly, and exaggerated anatomy isn’t going to help matters.
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I’m not going to lie, my reaction to the brief glimpse we saw in the commercial was “Kill it! Kill it with fire!”
Which, I suppose could make the lessons of the movie more appropriate, but unless they’re going to go all Clockwork Orange on potential audiences…
As I recall, Dumbo was great for 1. the animation 2. the music and 3. the animation. I really don’t care to see Tim Burton’s vision of it. Anyone know if “Pink Elephants on Parade” or “When I See an Elephant Fly” are included?
I spotted a pink elephant in one of the ads. So they’ll be there in one form or another.
I liked the basic plot outline in Dumbo. But something about the actual film itself has always bugged me. I think it’s that up until the crows appear, the film is a mix of “grind the protagonist into the dirt”, and just plain weird stuff like the pink elephants. I might be interested if I’d never seen the original. But the thought of watching Tim Burton’s spin on an already largely depressing story doesn’t really excite me.
On the other hands, the kids and Russel Crowe’s character suggest that this movie might not be so utterly and completely depressing during the first half.
Mrs. Cat reports that it’s very depressing and manipulative.
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I report that I am not going. Nope. Not happening.
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Mew