As most of you already know, Disney is knee-deep into delivering live action remakes/re-imaginings of many of its classic animated films. The next one on the schedule is Dumbo, its predecessor being the studio's fourth feature-length film ever. As we saw in the teaser trailer released back in June, the Dumbo remake is taking some creative liberties to lengthen the story, and now with a new trailer having arrived, we have an even better idea of what's in store.
At 64 minutes, the original Dumbo is one of Disney's shortest movies, so naturally this remake needed to find some ways to deliver something more substantial. Enter the human characters, like Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finely Hobbins) Farrier, the children of Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), a former circus star and one-armed war veteran who's been hired to look after the newborn Dumbo. Milly and Joe immediately take a liking to the elephant, and they get to be the first one's to see what he can do: fly.
Before going further, let's acknowledge how one of the mice that Milly and Joe bring to spend time with Dumbo is wearing a little, red uniform. This is clearly meant to be the remake's version of Timothy Q. Mouse, who cheered Dumbo on in the animated movie. For this remake, though, I doubt we'll be hearing Timothy offering any words of wisdom.
Moving on, when you discover that one of your elephants can fly, naturally you want to show this off to people attending your circus, which is what Max Medici (Danny DeVito), the owner, ends up doing. This attracts the attention of V. A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton), a sinister entrepreneur who acquires Medici's circus and incorporates it into his own entertainment enterprise. Everybody wins, right? Not quite.
Just like in the original Dumbo, the young elephant is separated from his mother, which is sure to ignite the waterworks in the audience. Fortunately, Dumbo isn't alone, and with the help of his human family, they'll try their hardest to bring his mother back. That's note to say that it will be easy, and it certainly looks like Dumbo be put through the ringer. Seeing the elephant in that humiliating clown makeup is particularly uncomfortable.
While we'll have to wait to see whether or not the Dumbo remake's story is as captivating as it looks, it certainly looks visually dazzling, from seeing the eponymous character in flight to the various set designs. Fingers crossed that this movie has just what the fictional circus has, according to V. A. Vandemere: wonder, mystique and magic.
Dumbo flies into theaters on March 29, 2019, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. In the meantime, look through our 2019 release schedule to find out what else is coming out next year.
