Spinning such a classic animated film into a live-action yarn is no easy feat. Stick too close to the source material and it becomes redundant, veer too far away and you risk losing the essence of what made the original a classic in the first place. Tim Burton takes on the unenviable job and, unfortunately, fails to deliver. This is not a bad movie by any means, in fact there are many positives to be found, but this remake commits one unforgivable sin that trumps all else: it's boring. There are the usual Burton eccentricities splashed across the screen - an old-school circus is ripe for his weirdness - yet even this seems to be well and truly on his safe side, the oddness of it all quickly becoming a pastiche of his previous work. One can't help and feel like of all the changes made from the 1941 masterpiece, and there are plenty, some dampen the fun more than others. Humans now fill out all of the supporting roles which has a double downside: first, there's no Timothy Q. Mouse as Dumbo's lovably rapscallion sidekick; second, the animals no longer talk, making it less about Dumbo and more about the rather bland kids who take him under their wing. The spectacle isn't what you would expect either. The CGI Dumbo is neither photorealistic enough to be convincing, nor exhilarating enough in full flight to get the pulse soaring. The big-bang finale only barely conjures up a slither of excitement. The familiar trappings put this squarely in the comfort zone of Burton fans, but this Dumbo retelling is plodding, bland and devoid of any memorable splendour.
Review of Dumbo
