Blaine: It’s always exciting to see a film done by Tim Burton. I was very, very curious to know how a big eared elephant like Dumbo would like live action when I found out Tim Burton was going to direct “Dumbo”.
Plot(Spoiler Alert)
Holt Farrier, a once circus performer, returns from World War I to the Medici Family circus. The circus isn’t doing too well with itself these days. Max Medici, the guy who’s in charge, gives Holt a new job to look after the elephants. One of the elephants, Miss Jumbo, gives birth to a newborn with ears bigger than any other elephant. Dumbo becomes a laughing stock at the circus and his mother gets taken away after causing a disaster, when really she was just trying to protect her baby. Holt’s children, Milly and Joe, discover that Dumbo can fly and they know there is hope for him. Dumbo shows he’s no clown when he flies in the air in front of an audience. Word spreads of a flying elephant and a businessman named V.A. Vandevere wants to make Dumbo a star.
Blaine: In his teen years, Tim Burton was the type of guy who didn’t really fit in. He was an outsider and instead of making friends, Tim would always be going to the movies or exploring his creative side. There are times a director will choose a project they either feel connected to or it reminds them of something in their personal life. Tim Burton has done a lot of movies that were personal to him through his career as a director. For “Dumbo”, it was the idea of a flying elephant that couldn’t fit in. There were other reasons Tim wanted to do “Dumbo”. He liked how Ehren Kruger’s script expanded and was a completely new storyline compared to the original “Dumbo”. This live action version of “Dumbo” does have a few things that are traditional to the original. Like Dumbo needing a feather in order for him to believe he can fly and Dumbo’s mother being claimed dangerous. Tim Burton also liked the other characters in the script and how they are trying to find their place in the world.
Tim has a list of actors he would like to work with in the future and Colin Farrell was on that list. Colin had watched several Disney animated features as a kid, but never in his life did he see “Dumbo” until this job came his way. Colin was desperate to be apart of the live action version of “Dumbo” because it was the perfect chance for him to work with someone he has admired since “Edward Scissorhands”, Mr. Tim Burton. Colin has worked with a lot of skilled directors, but working with Tim Burton was not only a dream, it was magical. Being in a war can damage a man. Colin’s character, Holt, returns after being in World War I and he has lost so much. His wife died while he was away, his left arm was lost in battle and he has lost himself. Holt was a cowboy in the circus and he wants to perform again. Problem is he’s rusty after being in the war for a while. Holt is ashamed of who is now and wishes things were as they used to be. Holt is even having trouble connecting with his kids, Milly and Joe. He wants to be a good father, but he doesn’t know how. He’s trying to pull his life back together as best as he can, but it’s not good enough. Another performer, Colette Marchant, tells Holt he doesn’t have to do anything. He just has to open his mind and listen.
Instead of there being a mouse wearing a band uniform, Dumbo has two kids, Milly and Joe, to help guide him and be his top supporters. There’s a connection between the kids and Dumbo. Milly and Joe understand the pain of losing a mother. Their mother died and Dumbo’s was taken away. Both Milly and Joe are very mature. They look after Dumbo and know how to take care of things sense their father is having problems doing that himself. Milly wants to be something like Thomas Edison, where as Joe wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and be in the circus. Nico Parker, who plays Milly, is the daughter of actress Thandie Newton. Nico didn’t know what she wanted to be in life, but when she auditioned for “Dumbo”, it was clear to her that she wanted to be an actress. After doing one audition she had a taste for acting. Nico didn’t want any advice from her mother about acting because she felt she could figure out how she was going to perform herself. Nico was very proud of herself for the work she did during that audition and she shows Milly is a strong spirited woman in “Dumbo”.
The rest of the cast have a history with Tim Burton. Tim has worked with a lot of the same actors before in the past and they are like members of his club. They love working with him and being apart of his imagination. Tim’s an actor’s director. He always claps after shooting a take because he’s proud or impressed with the work his actors are doing. Tim is always having his actors transform into a new character every time they work with him and they get to explore new worlds or new adventures through his direction and that’s really cool.
Every time Danny DeVito works with Tim Burton it’s a circus thing, except for that one time Danny played a guy who loves to gamble in Vegas in “Mars Attacks”. That was their second time working together. The first time Danny worked with Tim was playing the Penguin in “Batman Returns”. The Penguin was the head of this group of circus freaks who did as he commanded. And then the third time, Danny was a ringleader in “Big Fish”. The fourth time, Danny is a ringleader again in “Dumbo”. Tim told Danny “Dumbo” would be the conclusion to what he calls their "Circus Trilogy”. Danny DeVito cares for Tim Burton and he’s always happy to be working with him. Danny was even more happy to be apart of “Dumbo” because he had been a fan of the animated classic since childhood. Danny feels like he is apart of a pallet when working with Tim Burton because Tim has an artistic approach. Danny DeVito said Tim is painting a scene with his mind. Danny’s character, Max Medici, starts off as someone under stress because his circus, The Medici Family Circus, is losing business. He wants to keep The Medici Family Circus alive, but he doesn’t know how he’s going to do it. Then when Dumbo flies in front of an audience, becomes a popular entertainer and the main attraction for the circus, it gives Max hope. Then businessman, V.A. Vandevere, shows up offering Max a deal that he and his circus performers can live at his theme park, Dreamland. Max doesn’t know what to think because being at a big amusement park is more from what he wanted. It doesn’t make him happy though because he hardly understands the business. Later, Max is informed by one of Vandvere’s assistants that Dreamland only wants Dumbo and that the circus performers don’t have a future there. Max doesn’t want that. There’s a reason Max’s circus is called the Medici Family Circus and that’s because these performers are his family. Max has had so much going on in his mind with the business that he has forgotten why he put together a circus in the first place and that’s to show people wonderful things, put these performers’ talents to good use and have fun with it. Like Holt Farrier, Max Medici finds himself again.
Screenwriter Ehren Kruger wrote the villain part, V.A. Vandevere, with Tom Hanks in mind, but Tom Hanks turned down the part. Tim thought Vandevere was more of a character meant for Michael Keaton. The first time Michael Keaton worked with Tim Burton was playing Beetlejuice……careful don’t say his name three times. And then Tim helped Michael Keaton become a superstar when he decided to have Michael play Batman. It was a big responsibility for Michael to play an iconic character like Batman, but with Tim in charge Michael felt he was in good hands. Tim has always been a director Michael felt comfortable with because Tim knows what he wants and is very responsible. V.A.Vandevere is someone who only knows business and doesn’t know the meaning of the word family. I think it’s because he was never close with his family. My friend, James, said Michael Keaton brought some of his comedic performance into his character from the looks of it. I did see it during the scene where Vandevere is playing with the controls while trying to get the power back on in Dreamland. It was Michael’s idea to wear a wig in “Dumbo”, but he was trying to avoid that idea because he didn’t want to wear a wig. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut about the wig and he was upset with himself for saying it.
Eva Green played a jealous witch, Angelique Bouchard, in “Dark Shadows” and then Tim Burton had her play a mistress of children who are special and who could transform into a peregrine bird in “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”. Eva once said she would play a mop for Tim because working with him is very special. She has a lot of respect for Tim because not only is he brilliant, but he is also a wonderful man. Eva loved “Dumbo” growing up and the relationship between Dumbo and his mother was very powerful to her. Eva’s job required more than any other actor who was in “Dumbo”. The other actors just had to act, but Eva had to act and do stunt work. Eva’s character, Colette Marchant, is a French trapeze artist. Eva had to face her fear of heights if she was to be in “Dumbo”. Eva had to train for two months and she had help from real trapeze artists. The more Eva did it, the more she was conquering her fears. Eva had a stunt double, but a lot of the stunt work she did herself and she amazed herself while doing it. When Dumbo meets Colette Marchant for the first time he takes a bit of a liking to her and then he thinks a lot of her as she performs right in front of him. Colette is like royalty in the beginning because she is the girlfriend of Vandevere, although she really doesn’t show any love for him. She’s just with him. Colette takes more of a liking to Holt the more she gets to know him.
There were a couple of scenes where I thought Dumbo would be the hero. For example, the first time people see Dumbo fly he starts off being in danger. Dumbo is on a set that’s on fire, Milly climbs up a ladder to give Dumbo a feather so he will fly. Milly falls off the later and it looks like her life is in danger for a second, but then she hits a tub of water, so she’s fine. I thought Dumbo would jump, catch Milly and fly her to safety. And then there was the scene where Dumbo and Colette perform for the first time, but it doesn’t go as planned. Colette notices there is no net on the bottom to give her a soft landing just incase she falls. Something goes wrong and Colette nearly falls to her death. Holt grabs a rope for her to hold on to. I thought Dumbo might catch Colette, but no. You would think Dumbo would have the guts to save the people he cares about. Dumbo may be a miracle elephant, but he’s still a baby. Dumbo does find his courage at one point. He saves Holt, Milly and Joe from a burning building. Colette knows she can’t work for someone who is as heartless as Vandevere. He hardly has any concerns for what should happen to her. Holt shows he cares when he saves her life.
Alan Arkin only worked with Tim Burton once and that was on “Edward Scissorhands” as the man trying to teach Edward about responsibility. Alan Arkin’s part isn’t that big. It’s more like a cameo. His character is this wealthy guy who invests in things.
Danny Elfman has written several great themes for Tim Burton’s movies like “Batman”, “Beetlejuice”, “Edward Scissorhands”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Alice in Wonderland”. It was shocking for Danny to be writing music for “Dumbo” because never in his life did he think he would write music for a movie with a big eared elephant, but Danny is up for anything. Danny Elfman had seen a few scenes from the original “Dumbo”, but he never saw the whole movie. He had seen that scene where Dumbo is drunk and is seeing a parade of pink elephants. Danny was also aware that Dumbo’s mother gets taken away from him. Danny loves to bring emotion into the music he writes and writing something sad is always good news for him. Danny usually likes to watch the fully finished cut of the movie first, so he can get ideas for how the music in it is going to sound. For “Dumbo”, Danny already had an idea for one sound. So he wrote it down and kept it for almost a year. Then when it was time for him to write music for “Dumbo”, he looked at that music he kept for a year and he felt it fit in with the movie perfectly. I don’t know what it is, but I think I have an idea what it is.
There’s a scene with pink elephant bubbles in the live action version of “Dumbo” and they march and divide into more and more elephants. That’s another thing that represents the original “Dumbo” and Danny Elfman’s music in the background sounds like the “Elephants on parade” song. When Dumbo first flies in front of an audience, the music sounds a lot like the “Ice Dance” theme from “Edward Scissorhands”. It sounds similar, but at the same time beautiful and it gives you a wonder feeling as you are listening to it while watching Dumbo fly in front of those people.
Dumbo discovers his mom is at Dreamland being treated like some sort of freak, like he was in the beginning. She’s in an exhibit for dangerous animals. The plan is to bust her out and reunite her with Dumbo. Everyone who helps Dumbo and his mother knows how important a mother is to her child. One of the messages of the film is saying “A mother’s love is important”. Dumbo thought the cause of his flying was always a feather, but eventually he needs to know that he doesn’t need a feather to give him the strength to fly. It amazes Dumbo that he can fly all by himself without a feather. All he needed to do was believe in himself. Watching Dumbo fly gives everyone a special feeling inside. It can also be special just to experience what it’s like to fly yourself. That’s what it like for Milly and Joe as Dumbo is flying them somewhere safe. Colette Marchant is the first person who gets to ride on Dumbo’s back. It was unbelievable for Eva Green to know she was going to be flying with Dumbo. In real life, Eva was surrounded by all this green screen and riding something that was like a mechanical bull, but she used her imagination and felt like a little girl while doing it. Dumbo and his mother need to get away from everything that is an act, so the Medici Family Circus sends them off to live life in the jungle. It’s hard for Dumbo to say goodbye to everyone from the circus because they are like family to him. The Medici Family Circus is back in business. Color can represent the mood of things. That’s one of the artistries of Tim Burton. At the beginning of “Dumbo”, the Medici Family Circus looks like a wreck. The colors are made to look like a wasteland. At Dreamland there’s more sharp colors. And at the end, when the Medici Family Circus is back to it’s old joyful self, there’s a lot of color. It’s like looking at a birthday cake. The circus doesn’t need a flying elephant to help them with the business. It just needs people who love to entertain. Colette Marchant is not only welcomed into the family of the Medici Family Circus, but the Farrier family as well. Colette has become a new mother figure for Milly and Joe and she looks like a love interest for Holt. It was her who advised him to be more open minded and listen to the children. Dumbo and his mother now live in the jungle and find their own kind. I like the music Danny Elfman wrote for that scene. Dumbo flies above the other elephants and they have that same special feeling everyone else felt while watching him. They’ve never seen an elephant fly before. Who knows, Dumbo could be their leader one day when he gets older.
