I’m sure you’ve heard the news by now. Tim Burton is going to direct a live-action remake of the 1941 animated Disney film Dumbo. What did you think when you heard this choice of director? Or of the idea of a remake itself? Disbelief? Fear? Intrigue? I felt all three. This is coming from someone who loves Tim Burton and who loves Disney. But is the prospect of them colliding for this project a good idea? And what should we come to expect from a movie that will henceforth be known as Tim Burton’s Dumbo?
What do we know so far?
We know the film is going to be part live-action and part GGI. I’ll give you one guess as to who is going to be computer animated. This makes me wonder what a CGI Dumbo will look like. Does anyone remember Dumbo in the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? His cameo appearance was pretty much all for the sake of the joke, “He works for peanuts,” but he actually blends fairly well in this movie. There are a few reasons for that. Our suspension of disbelief was already achieved in the set up of the movie where Toons live amongst us. But I believe the main reason was that he was still represented as a two-dimensional drawing. We recognize him from Disney’s animated film because he is the exact same design. But could a CGI Dumbo look as cute and endearing as the drawing?
He will most likely look more like a real elephant as our suspension of disbelief will have to be pushed a little further if we’re to see a big-eared flying elephant in live-action. What about the other characters? In my humble opinion it would be a mistake not to include Dumbo’s supporting pal Timothy Q. Mouse. If featured, he could be similar to the mice character in the latest live-action remake of Cinderella. These little creatures had a realistic design and yet their subtle actions every so often were human-like. Could we expect something like this?
Disney and Live-action
We know there is a new surge of live-action remakes of Disney animated movies recently, but back in the day Walt Disney did love his live-action projects too. All you have to do is look at Treasure Island or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to know the studio was more than capable of delivering spectacular, and yes I’ll say it, masterpieces. A studio has to keep on top of its game somehow. So why not utilize its previous successes like Beauty and the Beast and Dumbo to create something we’re both eager to revisit and curious to rediscover.
When I imagine a live-action Dumbo movie I remember those fantastical Disney movies from the 1970s. Those comedy dramas that usually starred Dean Jones with a talking cat from outer space or a living VW Beetle. There’s also Pete’s Dragon, which had both live-action actors and a giant 2D animated dragon. But there is always something that warms your heart in these live-action Disney movie. So it’s safe to say they’ll be emotional scenes as well as light-hearted moments. Let’s just hope they don’t reuse the ‘Baby Mine’ song from the original movie or I’ll end up using all my tissues. Regardless of the song, can’t you just envision that in live-action? A scene where humans lock away the elephant mother from her baby? This is why I’m sure the remake of Dumbo will still pull at our heartstrings.
Disney and Tim Burton
The collaboration of Tim Burton and Dumbo sounds more shocking than Sam Raimi directing Oz: The Great and Powerful, but it really shouldn’t. Not when you think about the controversial horror movies Raimi has made compared to Burton movies that are simply deemed ‘dark’.
Think about this for a moment: why does Disney keep using Burton? Let us take a look at Burton’s work at Disney to help us out. He worked for Disney in the 1980s on movies such as The Black Cauldron and The Fox and The Hound. Not surprisingly the latter kind of ‘cutesy’ animation was not his forte, so he looked for other projects elsewhere. It was with the success of the live-action movies Edward Scissorhands and Batman that Disney welcomed him back to make his own stop-motion animation project in 1993. Though he did not direct The Nightmare Before Christmas – that can be credited to Henry Selick – his influence and creativity is prominent in the movie. He returned to Disney and stop-motion in 2012 for Frankenweenie, this time as director. I’m sure Disney were after another financial success similar to Nightmare, especially when it came to merchandising. But this wasn’t to be.
Unfortunately, there were more than enough Sparky plushes left in the stockroom. It just didn’t have the unique charm that Nightmare had. However, it did get positive reviews and was nominated for an Oscar so it wasn’t all bad for Burton and Disney. Now Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland in 2009 on the other hand was a huge success. Something about that film maker’s name above that familiar story peaked audience’s interested. The story of Alice in Wonderland, even the Disney animated version from 1951, is whimsical and a little dark at times. So it easily lends itself to Burton’s macabre style. This is why when you think about Dumbo in the hands of Tim Burton you can understand why he was chosen in terms of financing. It’s a very well known name. It’s not much of a gamble to hire him because of the basic fact that people see his movies. But from a creative point, is he the best choice?
The Other Side of Burton
There is a lighter more child-friendly side to Burton that is actually perfect for Disney movies. I know Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a little strange and creepy at times but can you deny that it’s a children’s movie? I’ve never thought of that movie as being too dark or creepy for kids. And it’s proof that he’s no stranger to the magical and surreal. But Burton always seems to know what he’s doing.
He’s not going to push a character or a certain piece of imagery so far that it will enter your nightmares for weeks, particularly when it’s a family movie. And when I think of ‘the other side of Burton’ I go directly to the movie Big Fish. It’s a fairytale pastoral paradise. It’s so bright and colorful at times that it could easily have been a children’s coloring book. His latest movie Big Eyes even strayed away from the grim and Gothic. It’s because of movies like these that actually make me stay positive for the movie’s potential.
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