{"id":14159,"date":"2019-03-28T13:48:13","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T17:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=14159"},"modified":"2019-03-28T15:44:56","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T19:44:56","slug":"dumbo-remake-soars-theaters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2019\/03\/dumbo-remake-soars-theaters.html","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDumbo\u201d Remake Soars into Theaters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"maxresdefault\"<\/a>Everyone\u2019s favorite flying elephant is returning to the big screen! Disney\u2019s new live-action version of \u201cDumbo\u201d opens on Friday, March 29, 2019. The remake is directed by Tim Burton and stars Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Eva Green.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of running away to join the circus is a feeling that has always stuck with me,\u201d said Burton. \u201cI never really liked the circus with the captive animals, the clowns, the uncomfortable death defying acts and\u2014did I mention?\u2014the clowns! But I understood the idea of it, joining a weird family of outcasts who don\u2019t fit in with normal society\u2014people who are treated differently. That\u2019s what \u2018Dumbo\u2019 is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Producer Derek Frey echoed the sentiment. \u201cPeople instantly know the baby elephant with the big ears. They may not remember every beat of the story, but they remember the tender moments as well as certain realities of the world that weren\u2019t expected in an animated movie. It\u2019s the kind of story that became a part of your soul as a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Frey read Ehren Kruger\u2019s script for the remake, \u201cit instantly touched something in me,\u201d Frey said. \u201cI thought it was something fresh and new, but maintained what we love about the original.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kruger wanted to maintain the heart of the original film, but he knew the live action film would have to be able to stand on its own merits. \u00a0\u201cI wondered if Dumbo were a real flying elephant in an actual circus in the golden age of circuses, how would he affect the people existing in that world?\u201d says Kruger. \u201cI wanted to explore how the people of the circus world would relate to Dumbo\u2019s journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike in the original animated classic, the new \u201cDumbo\u201d gives larger roles to the human characters rather than staying focused solely on the titular elephant. \u201cWe really wanted to explore the human side of his story and give it historical context,\u201d said producer Justin Springer. \u201cIn the animated feature, Dumbo flies for the world at the end of the film. We wanted to find out how the world reacts when people learn that this elephant can fly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of applying a more realistic take on the story was removing Dumbo\u2019s ability to talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first approached this as a live-action version of the \u2018Dumbo\u2019 story,\u201d said screenwriter and producer Ehren Kruger, \u201cit was important to me that we make the world feel as real as possible. So, we made the decision that there weren\u2019t going to be any talking animals. So, Dumbo doesn\u2019t talk, but he\u2019s never talked. The only animals who speak in the animated film are the stork, the chorus of elephants, Timothy the mouse and the crows\u2026.Once we eliminated the talking animals, we were left with a Charlie Chaplinesque character of Dumbo, who is somewhat of a silent-film actor in both the animated film and in our film,\u201d continues Kruger. \u201cWe wanted to populate a human world with characters for whom Dumbo\u2019s story would give cause to reflect on their own situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The emphasis on the human characters serves as a huge differentiator between Disney\u2019s original animated classic and the new remake. Whether that will be enough to enable this new version of \u201cDumbo\u201d to soar to the same heights as the original remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cDumbo\u201d premiers in theaters Friday, March 29, 2019, and the trailer<\/a> is currently available online.<\/p>\n