Dumbo (2019 film): Difference between revisions

| director = [[Tim Burton]]

| screenplay = [[Ehren Kruger]]

* {{based on|[[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney]]'s ''[[Dumbo]]''|Otto Englander<br />[[Joe Grant]]<br />[[Dick Huemer]]<ref name="PressKit"/>}}

* {{based on|''Dumbo, the Flying Elephant''|Helen Aberson<br />Harold Pearl}}

| cinematography = [[Ben Davis (cinematographer)|Ben Davis]]

| editing = [[Chris Lebenzon]]

* [[Walt Disney Pictures]]

* [[Tim Burton Productions]]

}}

 

 

Plans for a live-action film adaptation of ''Dumbo'' were announced in 2014, and Burton was confirmed as director in March 2015. Most of the cast signed on for the feature in March 2017 and [[principal photography]] lasted from July to November 2017 in England. It was the first of five live-action adaptations of prior animated Disney films released in 2019, along with ''[[Aladdin (2019 film)|Aladdin]]'', ''[[The Lion King (2019 film)|The Lion King]]'', ''[[Maleficent: Mistress of Evil]]'', and ''[[Lady and the Tramp (2019 film)|Lady and the Tramp]]''.

 

 

==Plot==

<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, the plot summary should be 400-700 words. -->

 

However, the calf accidentally reveals his ears in his debut performance in [[Joplin, Missouri]], and the crowd laughs and mockingly calls the calf "Dumbo" while pelting him with peanuts and other objects. Mrs. Jumbo, angered by her son's mistreatment, rampages into the ring, causing extensive damage, collapsing the [[wikt:big top|big top]], and accidentally killing Rufus, a handler who antagonizes her. Anticipating public outrage over the incident, Medici sells Mrs. Jumbo. Holt's son and daughter, Joe and Milly Farrier, comfort Dumbo and discover that he can fly by flapping his ears and that feathers benefit his willingness to fly.

==Cast==

[[File:Colin Farrell by Gage Skidmore.jpg|right|upright=0.75|thumb|alt=A head shot of a dark-haired, bearded man smiling behind a microphone|[[Colin Farrell]] stars as the film's protagonist for director Tim Burton. The additional main cast of Keaton, DeVito, Green, and Arkin all previously worked with the director.]]

*[[Michael Keaton]] as V.A. Vandevere, a greedy and ruthless enigmatic entrepreneur and amusement park owner who buys Medici's circus to exploit Dumbo for his bohemian amusement park, Dreamland.<ref name="KeatonCast">{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/michael-keaton-talks-play-villain-live-action-dumbo-remake/|title=Michael Keaton in Talks to Play Villain in Live-Action 'Dumbo' Remake|last=Pressberg|first=Matt|website=[[TheWrap]]|date=April 4, 2017|access-date=June 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170614222841/http://www.thewrap.com/michael-keaton-talks-play-villain-live-action-dumbo-remake/|archive-date=June 14, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

*[[Danny DeVito]] as Maximilian "Max" Medici, a boisterous but goodhearted [[Ringmaster (circus)|ringmaster]] and owner of the Medici Brothers' Circus who is loosely based on the ringmaster from the original film.<ref name="DevitoCast">{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2017/03/danny-devito-dumbo-movie-tim-burton-disney-1202039965/|title=Danny DeVito Negotiating To Join Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' At Disney|last=Busch|first=Anita|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=March 9, 2017|access-date=June 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510180017/http://deadline.com/2017/03/danny-devito-dumbo-movie-tim-burton-disney-1202039965/|archive-date=May 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

*[[Roshan Seth]] as Pramesh Singh, a [[snake charmer]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bulus|first=Robbie|date=March 12, 2019|title=Disney's Live Action Film "Dumbo" Soars with Director Tim Burton and Cast|url=https://insidethemagic.net/2019/03/live-action-dumbo-rb1/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329222607/https://insidethemagic.net/2019/03/live-action-dumbo-rb1/|archive-date=March 29, 2019|access-date=March 15, 2019}}</ref>

*[[DeObia Oparei]] as Rongo, a [[strongman]] who also works as the circus accountant.<ref name="OpareiCast">{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2017/07/tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo-game-of-thrones-deobia-oparei-disney-1202136827/|title=Tim Burton's Live-Action 'Dumbo' Adds 'Game Of Thrones' Actor DeObia Oparei|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=July 26, 2017|access-date=August 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801044641/http://deadline.com/2017/07/tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo-game-of-thrones-deobia-oparei-disney-1202136827/|archive-date=August 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bishop|first=John|date=March 5, 2019|title="Baby Mine" by Arcade Fire Featured in New 'Dumbo' Teaser|url=https://dsnynewscast.com/2019/03/baby-mine-by-arcade-fire-featured-in-new-dumbo-teaser/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329222603/https://dsnynewscast.com/2019/03/baby-mine-by-arcade-fire-featured-in-new-dumbo-teaser/|archive-date=March 29, 2019|access-date=March 9, 2019}}</ref>

*[[Douglas Reith]] as Sotheby, Vandevere's former [[butler]].<ref name="PressKit" />

*[[Sharon Rooney]] as Miss Atlantis, a [[mermaid]] performer.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sanchez|first=Omar|date=2018-06-27|title='Dumbo': Everything to Know About Disney's Live-Action Remake Directed by Tim Burton|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dumbo-everything-know-disneys-live-action-remake-1123533|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202745/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dumbo-everything-know-disneys-live-action-remake-1123533|archive-date=June 27, 2018|access-date=June 27, 2018|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref>

===Development and writing===

[[File:Tim Burton by Gage Skidmore.jpg|left|upright=0.75|thumb|alt=A head shot of a dark-haired, bearded man smiling|[[Tim Burton]] was selected as director in March 2015.]]

 

The film does not feature talking animals, focusing instead on the human characters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/dumbo-movie-remake-changes-talking-animals/|title=The Dumbo Remake's Biggest (& Best) Change Is The Talking Animals|first=Becky|last=Fuller|date=June 13, 2018|publisher=ScreenRant.com|access-date=February 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209180217/https://screenrant.com/dumbo-movie-remake-changes-talking-animals/|archive-date=February 9, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Kruger wrote the script so that it "offered a way to tell that story in a framework that expanded it, but without redoing the original [film]", and a story that "was simple, with an emotional simplicity, and didn't interfere with what the basic through line of the original is about."<ref name="PressKit" /> As in the original film, ''Dumbo'' depicts the protagonist as a symbolic figure who does not fit in and uses their disabilities as an advantage.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://tnp.straitstimes.com/entertainment/movies/tim-burton-helps-new-dumbo-film-take-flight|title=Tim Burton helps new Dumbo film take flight|date=2019-03-20|website=The New Paper|language=en|access-date=2019-03-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321142319/https://www.tnp.sg/entertainment/movies/tim-burton-helps-new-dumbo-film-take-flight|archive-date=March 21, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Kruger wrote the script in order to "explore how the people of the circus world would relate to Dumbo's journey",<ref name="PressKit" /> while Springer said that "[the production team] really wanted to explore the human side of [Dumbo's] story and give it historical context. In the animated feature, Dumbo flies for the world at the end of the film. [They] wanted to find out how the world reacts when people learn that this elephant can fly".<ref name="PressKit" /> The group of crows from the 1941 film that had been criticized as being racist were excluded from the film, and their dialogue was instead said by a ringleader character.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Andrews |first1=Travis M. |title=The original 'Dumbo' was decried as racist. Here's how Tim Burton's version addresses that. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/03/29/original-dumbo-was-decried-racist-heres-how-tim-burtons-version-addresses-that/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=16 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113082315/https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/03/29/original-dumbo-was-decried-racist-heres-how-tim-burtons-version-addresses-that/ |archive-date=January 13, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

===Casting===

 

 

===Filming===

 

===Visual effects===

 

==Music==

 

[[Arcade Fire]]'s version of "[[Baby Mine (song)|Baby Mine]]" was released as a single on March 11, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmmusicreporter.com/2019/03/11/arcade-fires-baby-mine-cover-from-dumbo-released/|title=Arcade Fire's 'Baby Mine' Cover from 'Dumbo' Released|date=March 11, 2019|work=Film Music Reporter|access-date=March 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190317052948/http://filmmusicreporter.com/2019/03/11/arcade-fires-baby-mine-cover-from-dumbo-released/|archive-date=March 17, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The soundtrack was digitally released on March 29, 2019 and physically released on April 26, 2019.<ref name="ArcadeFire">{{cite news |date=March 4, 2019 |title=Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' to Feature End Credits Song by Arcade Fire |url=http://filmmusicreporter.com/2019/03/04/tim-burtons-dumbo-to-feature-end-credits-song-by-arcade-fire/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043137/http://filmmusicreporter.com/2019/03/04/tim-burtons-dumbo-to-feature-end-credits-song-by-arcade-fire/ |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |access-date=March 5, 2019 |work=Film Music Reporter}}</ref>

==Reception==

===Box office===

 

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside ''[[The Beach Bum]]'' and ''[[Unplanned]]'', and was projected to gross $50–65 million from 4,259 theaters in its opening weekend.<ref name="LAbudget">{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-box-office-dumbo-us-20190327-story.html|title=Disney's 'Dumbo' remake is expected to fly high at the box office|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|author=Ryan Faughnder|date=March 27, 2019|access-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327125213/https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-box-office-dumbo-us-20190327-story.html|archive-date=March 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="projection">{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/03/dumbo-disney-global-box-office-opening-projection-1202583032/|title='Dumbo' Will Be Global Big Top Attraction With $137M+ Footprint|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|author=Anthony D'Alessandro|author2=Nancy Tartaglione|date=March 26, 2019|access-date=March 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326214630/https://deadline.com/2019/03/dumbo-disney-global-box-office-opening-projection-1202583032/|archive-date=March 26, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The film made $15.3 million on its first day, including $2.6 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $46 million, topping the box office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2019&wknd=13&p=.htm|title=Weekend Box Office Results for March 29–31, 2019|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=April 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331204405/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2019&wknd=13&p=.htm|archive-date=March 31, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-31/-dumbo-opens-as-no-1-film-but-liftoff-is-bumpy-for-remake|title='Dumbo' Opens as No. 1 Film, But Liftoff Is Bumpy for Remake|website=[[Bloomberg News]]|author=Hailey Waller|date=March 31, 2019|access-date=May 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525153742/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-31/-dumbo-opens-as-no-1-film-but-liftoff-is-bumpy-for-remake|archive-date=May 25, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The start was considered disappointing, given the $170 million budget and the Disney brand, with the blame put on the original film being 78 years old and the middling critical response versus poor marketing.<ref name="opening">{{cite news|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|title='Dumbo' Doesn't Soar With $45M+ Opening; Matthew McConaughey At Bottom With $1.8M 'Beach Bum' – Early Sunday Update|url=https://deadline.com/2019/03/dumbo-box-office-results-disney-us-jordan-peele-weekend-1202584883/|access-date=March 31, 2019|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330154524/https://deadline.com/2019/03/dumbo-box-office-results-disney-us-jordan-peele-weekend-1202584883/|archive-date=March 30, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In its second weekend, the film dropped 60%, to $18.2 million, finishing third, behind newcomers ''[[Shazam! (film)|Shazam!]]'' and ''[[Pet Sematary (2019 film)|Pet Sematary]]'', and then made $9.2 million in its third weekend, finishing fifth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/04/shazam-opening-weekend-box-office-the-joker-pet-sematary-1202589627/|title='Shazam!' Shoots To Super $53M+ Opening, $56M+ With Previews; 'Pet Sematary' Purrs $25M – Sunday AM B.O. Final|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|author=Anthony D'Alessandro|date=April 7, 2019|access-date=April 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406170455/https://deadline.com/2019/04/shazam-opening-weekend-box-office-the-joker-pet-sematary-1202589627/|archive-date=April 6, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/04/hellboy-shazam-weekend-box-office-1202594516/|title='Shazam!' Still The Man With $23M+; 'Little' Grows Up; 'Hellboy' Cold With $12M+; 'After' Works Overseas – Midday B.O. Update|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|author=Anthony D'Alessandro|date=April 14, 2019|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414084309/https://deadline.com/2019/04/hellboy-shazam-weekend-box-office-1202594516/|archive-date=April 14, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Conversely, [[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' lamented disappointment in the film, stating that the film "transforms a gentle and miraculous tale into a routine story by weighing it down with a lot of nuts and bolts it didn’t need".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gleiberman |first1=Owen |title=Film Review: Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' |date=March 26, 2019 |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/dumbo-review-tim-burton-michael-keaton-1203171521/ |publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=16 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404194415/https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/dumbo-review-tim-burton-michael-keaton-1203171521/ |archive-date=April 4, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> For ''[[IndieWire]]'', David Ehrlich gave split opinions on the acting, praising DeVito and Keaton's performances but criticizing Arkin's as "hilariously lazy" and stated it would invite the audience to "stop caring about the plot".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ehrlich |first1=David |title='Dumbo' Review: Tim Burton's Disney Remake Flies Just High Enough to Clear the Low Bar It Sets for Itself |date=March 26, 2019 |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2019/03/dumbo-review-tim-burton-live-action-1202053597/ |publisher=[[IndieWire]] |access-date=16 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224155409/https://www.indiewire.com/2019/03/dumbo-review-tim-burton-live-action-1202053597/ |archive-date=February 24, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'}}s [[Peter Bradshaw]] gave the film one star out of five, lamenting that "Tim Burton's new ''Dumbo'' lands in the multiplex big top with a dull thud. It is a flightless pachyderm of a film that saddles itself with 21st-century shame at the idea of circus animals, overcomplicating the first movie, losing the directness, abandoning the lethal pathos, mislaying the songs and finally getting marooned in some sort of [[steampunk]] ''[[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]]'', jam-packed with [[retro-futurist]] boredom."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/mar/26/dumbo-review-tim-burton-elephant-disney-thud|title=Dumbo review – Tim Burton remake lands with elephantine thud|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|date=March 26, 2019|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=March 26, 2019|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326171341/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/mar/26/dumbo-review-tim-burton-elephant-disney-thud|archive-date=March 26, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%"

|- style="text-align:center;"

|<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 EDA Award Nominees – Alliance of Women Film Journalists|url=https://awfj.org/eda-awards-2/2019-eda-award-nominees/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220212714/https://awfj.org/eda-awards-2/2019-eda-award-nominees/|archive-date=December 20, 2019|access-date=15 January 2020|website=awfj.org/|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 EDA Award Winners – Alliance of Women Film Journalists|url=https://awfj.org/eda-awards-2/2019-eda-award-winners/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110163620/https://awfj.org/eda-awards-2/2019-eda-award-winners/|archive-date=January 10, 2020|access-date=15 January 2020|website=awfj.org/|language=en}}</ref>

|-

| [[Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film|Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film]]

| [[Rick Heinrichs]]

 

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumbo (2019 Film)}}

[[Category:2019 3D films]]

[[Category:2019 films]]

[[Category:American 3D films]]

[[Category:American children's fantasy films]]

[[Category:Circus films]]

[[Category:Dumbo]]

[[Category:Films about animals]]

[[Category:Films about elephants]]

[[Category:Films based on adaptations]]

[[Category:Films based on children's books]]

[[Category:Films directed by Tim Burton]]

[[Category:Films scored by Danny Elfman]]

[[Category:Films set in 1919]]

[[Category:Films set in amusement parks]]

[[Category:Films set in Florida]]

[[Category:Films set in India]]

[[Category:Films set in Missouri]]

[[Category:Films set in New York City]]

[[Category:Films set on trains]]

[[Category:Films with screenplays by Ehren Kruger]]

[[Category:Walt Disney Pictures films]]