A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer.
Holt was once a circus star until he went off to war and returned terribly altered. Circus owner Max Medici hires him to take care of Dumbo, a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him the laughingstock of the struggling circus troupe. But when Holt's children discover that Dumbo can fly, silver-tongued entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere and aerial artist Colette Marchant swoop in to make the little elephant a star.
During the summer of 2017, DeObia Oparei, Joseph Gatt, and Alan Arkin joined the film. DeVito said that "[he loves] Tim and [he] would do anything to be in a movie with him." DeVito said that Burton is "[a]lways spirited, always an artist, always thinking about the craft, always painting with his mind" and that he felt like "part of some kind of palette, a color scheme" while filming the movie. See more »
Goofs
The first time Dumbo flies inside the big tent, some of the clowns high-five each other. That gesture did not exist in 1919. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Max Medici:
Come on, time to go. We haven't got all day. Get that monkey on the train. The Medici Brothers' circus is taking off!
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Crazy Credits
At the end of the closing credits a brief bit of "When I See an Elephant Fly" plays, which was heard at the end of Dumbo (1941). See more »
...because this film is rather dull, and the direction is certainly dull, and 10 years ago I would not have called Tim Burton a boring director. He's certainly working with two of his "regulars" - DeVito, who has not lost a step in all these years and next to CGI Dumbo is the best thing about the film.
And then there is Burton's other "regular" - Michael Keaton, as the rich villain. How weird for Disney to make a film with a guy who could be Walt Disney as the villain! "Dreamland" is certainly an allegory for "Disneyland".
The worst thing about the film? The child actors. They are that bad and deliver their lines in a kind of drugged monotone. Not since Larry Mathews played Ritchie Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke Show has a child actor dragged everybody else down with them every time they appear like these kids did.
I actually liked the CGI Dumbo - the little guy was very expressive in a way that 1941's animated Dumbo could not be. Ultimately there is probably a 50/50 chance you are going to like this.
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...because this film is rather dull, and the direction is certainly dull, and 10 years ago I would not have called Tim Burton a boring director. He's certainly working with two of his "regulars" - DeVito, who has not lost a step in all these years and next to CGI Dumbo is the best thing about the film. And then there is Burton's other "regular" - Michael Keaton, as the rich villain. How weird for Disney to make a film with a guy who could be Walt Disney as the villain! "Dreamland" is certainly an allegory for "Disneyland".
The worst thing about the film? The child actors. They are that bad and deliver their lines in a kind of drugged monotone. Not since Larry Mathews played Ritchie Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke Show has a child actor dragged everybody else down with them every time they appear like these kids did.
I actually liked the CGI Dumbo - the little guy was very expressive in a way that 1941's animated Dumbo could not be. Ultimately there is probably a 50/50 chance you are going to like this.