Dumbo. Tim Burton, dir. Not Burton’s strangest by any means, and a mixed bag. Unlike the original cartoon feature, the animals no longer talk, and the humans, with the exception of Danny DeVito as the circus owner Medici, don’t emote as actors. The plot is more twisted too and doesn’t work well in this context.

Young kids probably won’t care. Most of them haven’t seen the original either. “Look, Mommy, the elephant can fly!” If that’s not enough suspension of belief in this fantasy world (should I say Dreamworld?) that you’ll have to make in this remake, consider one baby elephant’s trunkful of water putting out a ranging fir. Etc. Etc.

Tim Burton did no one any favors here. The film has some redeeming moments, and I think the cast were all trying to make it work, but they couldn’t pull it off. Disney has to stop trying to make animated films come to life. Aladdin was in the previews. Will Smith doesn’t do it as the genie after Robin Williams in the original cartoon feature and that guy on Broadway, James Monroe Iglehart, who is great. (Similar to Julie Andrews not getting the film role as Eliza Doolittle?)

I’m not sure how this film will do. It’s also bit dark in places for small kids, but not as bad as Voldemort in the last Harry Potter movies. Many kids in our theater got bored and started running around too. I’m not sure their parents weren’t bored either. I was too, for the most part, and I could have done with the animal rights” spiel at the end. Mind you, I’m a big believer in animal rights and protecting them, especially endangered species, but this was NOT a concern in 1919.

***

Comments are always welcome.

Last man alive? What about last woman alive? Penny Castro, LA County Sheriff’s Deputy and forensic diver, finds she isn’t alone after the apocalypse, though—there are a few others who survived the contagion and now want to kill her. And the remnants of a US government could be the greatest danger for her and the family she’s adopted. The post-apocalyptic thriller The Last Humans has just been released by Black Opal Books (where you can also purchase the book) in both ebook and print versions and available at the publisher’s website, online retailers like Amazon and Smashwords and the latter’s affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc), and bookstores (if they don’t have it, ask for it!).

Here’s a review excerpt:

“The Last Humans is a thrilling ride into a dystopian world. Written in first person narrative, the heart and soul of the heroine emerges. Every thought, emotion, and action is seen from her perspective. She is courageous but not necessarily brave. She faces her fears and often vomits in the aftermath. Her femininity at times gets the better of her, but her humanity always prevails. The cast of characters and the tragic events surrounding her cause her character to grow beyond expectation. This concept is mandatory for survival in an apocalyptic world, keeping to the adage ‘that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’” —Cheryl E. Rodriguez, Readers’ Favorite reviewer

Read the full review on the Readers’ Favorite website.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

This entry was posted on Friday, April 5th, 2019 at 3:34 am and is filed under Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.