‘Dumbo’ Remake Sees Success

Screen Grab via Walt Disney Entertainment

Amanda Berry

Staff Writer

Review

“The very things that held you down are going to carry you up and up and up,” Timothy Mouse once said.

The past few years have been filled with magical live action remakes of classic disney movies. There have been adaptations to Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and just recently Dumbo.  

Disney took a modern twist on the classic tale with a live action story of Dumbo and how he overcomes bullying by embracing who he is, a baby elephant with abnormally large ears.  

The new Dumbo uses people to tell Dumbo’s story, rather than the classic movie which has talking animals and is more from the animals point of view. 

We are introduced to a family who is tasked with taking care of Dumbo after the father, and former star of the circus, returns from war having lost an arm. 

The two children begin to help taking care of Dumbo whose mother has been ripped away from him. Milly bonds with him the most because they both are outcasts. Milly doesn’t want to take up an act for the circus, but rather become famous for her mind and inventions.

Dumbo and Milly work together as she teaches Dumbo to fly with the use of a feather, and that if he flies he can use this talent to save his mother.

Throughout the course of the movie, Dumbo overcomes obstacles and challenges with his new friends and is able to be reunited with his mom and return to the jungle.

Overall, the live action adaptation to the classic is stunning and clever. Since the original movie is a cartoon it is easier to get away with the use of talking animals, but Disney strays away from that this time around. 

Disney has made other live adaptations such as the Jungle Book, but chose a different route for Dumbo.

This works really well with the movie because it gives a modern twist without changing the whole story too much.

The new Dumbo also shows an important lesson that young girls can be successful through jobs that are normally considered taboo for women, especially in the time period of the film.

While the movie was a fantastic live action version of a classic Disney film, it still holds up to being an extremely sad movie at times.

The entire beginning portion is heartbreaking when Dumbo is ripped away from his mother and made fun of, and the music will surely bring anyone to tears. 

This movie is not for those looking for a happy go lucky movie, but it does have a happy, feel good ending. 

Curious to see what other students felt about this movie, a twitter poll was conducted. It circulated for a few days and got a total of 27 votes. The majority of the voters hadn’t seen the movie, with the next most votes being in the “I enjoyed it” option.

While some people may be tired of the Disney remakes, this one is very much worth the watch as long as you’re prepared to cry for the first half. It warms your heart and shows that anyone can do anything and being different isn’t a bad thing.  

Dumbo will be in theaters for a few more weeks, and discounted tickets for Cinemark in the Stroud Mall can be purchased from ESU CAB on the second floor of the union. Cinemark also offers five dollar tickets on Tuesdays as well.

Check the movie out and let us know if you enjoyed it or not!

Email Amanda at:

aberry1@live.esu.edu