Taglines: In 2019, a beloved tale will take you to new heights.
In 1919, equestrian performer and World War I amputee Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns after the war to the Medici Brothers’ Circus, run by Max Medici (Danny DeVito). The circus has run into financial troubles and Medici has been forced to sell the circus’s horses after Holt’s wife and co-performer, Annie, passed away, so Medici reassigns Holt as the caretaker for the circus’s pregnant elephant, Mrs. Jumbo.
Mrs. Jumbo gives birth to a calf with unusually large ears and Medici orders Holt to hide the ears before allowing the public to see the calf. However, the calf accidentally reveals his ears in his debut performance and the crowd mockingly names the calf Dumbo while pelting him with peanuts and other objects. Mrs. Jumbo is distressed by her son’s mistreatment and rampages into the ring, causing extensive damage and accidentally killing an abusive handler.
Afterwards, to prevent a public relations problem, Medici results to selling Mrs. Jumbo. Holt’s son and daughter, Joe and Milly Farrier (Finley Hobbins and Nico Parker), comfort Dumbo and realize he can fly by flapping his ears. The children also discover that feathers are the key to Dumbo’s willingness to fly.
In another performance, Dumbo plays the role of a firefighter clown to put out a fire with water sprayed from his trunk, but the performance goes wrong and Dumbo is trapped on a high platform surrounded by flames. Milly risks her life to deliver a feather to Dumbo, giving him the confidence to fly. The audience is astounded when Dumbo flying and word of his talent begins to spread.
Meanwhile, V. A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), the owner of Dreamland, a bohemian amusement park, approaches Medici and proposes a collaboration; Medici would become Vandevere’s partner and the Medici Brothers’ Circus’s troupe would be employed to perform at Dreamland. Later, Vandevere demands that Dumbo should fly with the French trapeze artist, Colette Marchant (Eva Green).
Dumbo is a 2019 American fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, with a screenplay by Ehren Kruger. The film is a live-action reimagining of Walt Disney’s 1941 animated film of the same name, which was based on the novel by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl. The film stars Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green and Alan Arkin. The story follows a family that works at a failing traveling circus as they encounter a baby elephant with extremely large ears who is capable of flying.
Plans for a live-action film adaptation of Dumbo were announced in 2014, and Burton was confirmed as director in March 2015. Much of the cast signed on in March 2017 and principal photography began in July 2017 in England, lasting until November. It was the first of four live-action (or photo-realistically computer-generated) remakes of prior traditionally-animated films that Disney released in 2019, along with Aladdin, The Lion King, and Lady and the Tramp.
Dumbo premiered in Los Angeles on March 11, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 29, 2019. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $353 million worldwide on a $170 million budget, and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its ambition but said it lacked “heart”.
Dumbo (2019)
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin, Joseph Gatt, Nico Parker, Deobia Oparei, Sandy Martin, Sharon Rooney, Lars Eidinger, Lucy DeVito, Jo Osmond
Screenplay by: Ehren Kruger
Production Design by: Rick Heinrichs
Cinematography by: Ben Davis
Film Editing by: Chris Lebenzon
Costume Design by: Colleen Atwood
Set Decoration by: John Bush, Cosmo Sarson
Art Direction by: Andrew Bennett, Dean Clegg, Gregory Fangeaux, Mark Harris, Chris Lowe, Oli van der Vijver, Loic Zimmermann
Music by: Danny Elfman
MPAA Rating: PG for peril/action, some thematic elements, and brief mild language.
Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: March 29, 2019
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