Despite starting off his career as a promising filmmaker capable of bringing some of the weirdest possible stories to life and turning them into hits,Tim Burtonhas been in the throws of a period of creative decline in the last few decades. Burton’s signature sense of whimsy once felt fresh and exciting, but it has become very disappointing to see him apply his trademark skills to properties likePlanet of the Apes,Dark Shadows,andMiss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, which really weren’t asking to be reinvented. EvenAlice in WonderlandandCharlie and the Chocolate Factory,which performed well at the box office, lacked the irreverent originality that had made classic Burton films likeMars! AttacksandEd Woodso groundbreaking. Although he admitted thatthe experience of making the film nearly made him want to quit the industry entirely, Burton’s remake of the Disney animated classicDumbofeatures a brilliantly terrifying performance fromMichael Keaton.
Expectations weren’t exactly high whenDumbowas announced, as the string of live-action remakes of animated classics that Disney has released have been overly cynical, and completely creatively bankrupt. Films likeAladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King,andMulanwere already perfect in the first place, so simply telling them again whilst stripping the visual innovation allowed by the animated medium felt like a particularly distressing scheme at making a quick box office hit. The expectations forDumbowere even lower, as the original film of the same name is regarded as one of the most important in Disney’s history, leaving little room for a remake to become better. Although it struggles to justify its existence,Burton’sDumbois able to go in darker directionsthanks to the performance by Keaton.
‘Dumbo’ Offers a Different Type of Disney Villain
Burton’s version ofDumbochooses to tell the story from the perspective of the circus performer Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), who struggles to maintain his family business after losing an arm whilst fighting in World War I. Between the loss of his wife and the growing independence of his two children, Joe (Finley Hobbins) and Milly (Nico Parker), Holt feels like he needs to add something new to his act in order to survive amidsta period of economic decline. His luck seemingly turns around when he discovers the kindly elephant Dumbo, whose ears allow him to fly.Keaton co-stars as V.A. Vandevere, an amusement park owner who wants to take Dumbo into his showand exhibit his abilities to the world. While Holt and his family genuinely want to ensure the specialness of Dumbo’s relationship with his mother, Vandevere sees the young elephant as nothing but a product that he can market to his advantage.
Vandervere’s particular streak of cruelty stands out amidst the other characters inDumbo, even in a film that manages to be a lot darker than many of the other recent Disney live-action remakes. Holt’s employer, the circus ringleader Max Medici (Danny DeVito), is willing to push the creature to the limits of his safety to put in a good show. That being said, Max is still swept up in a childlike sense of wonder whenever he sees what Dumbo is capable of. None of that joy is elicited by Vandervere; he doesn’t have any affinity for Dumbo and has even less respect for Holt fortrying to retain any sense of integrity.This is one of the rare cases in which Burton’s film is able to add and flesh out elements that were slightly undercooked in the original classic.
‘Dumbo’ Criticizes Its Own Existence
Considering that he is the public face of an entertainment conglomerate that tries to monopolize small businesses,it’s not hard to draw a comparison between Vandervere and Walt Disney.Vandervere’s bohemian theme park is clearly modeled after early imagery of Disneyland, with Dumbo himself representing the sort of carnival stage shows that would eventually evolve into the more elaborate rides that are seen in the company’s properties today. One of the hardest things that every Disney fan has had to wrestle with is the legacy of the man himself, whose practices frequently crossed ethical boundaries. The fact that Burton cast Keaton, an actor known for his inherent sense of charisma and genuine likability, makes this consideration of Disney’s legacy even more complicated than it would have been otherwise. Audiences may have expected Keaton toplay another wildly energetic hero, but here, he plays the epitome of what evil has been represented as in Burton’s films.
The inclusion of Keaton’s character inDumbosuggests that Burton was rebelling against the very notion of the project, as his later comments about wanting to retire after making the film suggest that he was having a hard time retaining his artistic integrity within a corporate structure. It’s obvious that Burton sees himself as Holt, an artist who takes the opportunity to do something exciting while knowing that he could be taken advantage of. Given that Keaton plays the greedy entrepreneur who seduces him with money and opportunities, it’s possible that he represents the Disney company itself. Whatever his character may stand for,Keaton brings a level of truth to his most dramatic performances, andDumboallowed him to add these mature sensibilities to a film that was ostensibly aimed at children.
Michael Keaton Is Tim Burton’s Greatest Collaborator
There are many actors that have appeared in multiple Burton movies, includingHelena Bonham Carter,Johnny Depp, Christopher Lee,andEva Green.However,both Keaton and Burton have the careers they have today as a result of their early collaborations.Beetlejuiceis a film that wouldn’t have worked if not for the combination of Burton’s unusual style and Keaton’s bravura performance; similarly, the first two Batmanfilms essentiallykickstarted the superhero genrebecause Burton was able to make an unusual casting choice with Keaton as Bruce Wayne. Burton and Keatondeserve to be mentioned in comparisontoMartin ScorseseandRobert De Niro,John WayneandJohn Ford, andDavid LynchandKyle MacLachlanwhen discussing the greatest actor/director collaborations of all time.
