Skip to main content

Dumbo





 “Wonder elephant soars to fame,” reads the headline of a newspaper that publishes the story of a flying elephant gliding across the circus tent. That is one of the most exhilarating visuals, which is bound to stay with you much after the film is over. Director Tim Burton’s mastery in creating visual fantasies is once again at display in this simplistic film about emotions that are universal. Set in 1919, every frame of the film captures the essence of what it tries to convey. Burton and his screenplay writer Ehren Kruger stick to the staple Disney tricks in telling a simple yet effective tale that has already been told before. Thankfully, the director manages to get the right amount of restrain from most of his actors. 

As a former circus star and a World War I veteran, Colin Farrell is convincing as Holt Farrier. He brings in the vulnerability of a single parent and a circus star, who is reduced to training the elephants after losing an arm in the war. Veteran actor Danny DeVito (Max Medici) goes a little over-the-top at times, but as the boisterous ringmaster and an owner of a struggling circus, he is allowed to do so. Eva Green sets many a hearts racing with her beauty and grace as the French trapeze artist Colette Marchant. Burton also manages to establish the connection between Dumbo and the two children, who mirror the loss of their own mother, when Dumbo is separated from his. Micheal Keaton in his caricature bad guy act looks menacing and funny, both at the same time.

But the film’s A game clearly lies in its protagonist. The novelty of Dumbo’s flying act doesn’t wear off even when the act itself becomes repetitive. Every time the pachyderm flies, it takes you along with it. The scenes involving the mother elephant are emotionally stirring and will strike a chord with the audience. Film’s visual scale towers above many of its obvious flaws, but doesn’t quite lift it above Burton’s legacy of creating magical realism in the past. While there are problems such as predictability, caricature characters and a sluggish pace, 'Dumbo' has its moments. Overall, it’s a harmless family entertainer for children of all ages.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maaran

Even as early as about five minutes into Maaran, it’s hard to care. The craft seems to belong in a bad TV serial, and the dialogues and performances don't help either. During these opening minutes, you get journalist Sathyamoorthy (Ramki) rambling on about publishing the ‘truth’, while it gets established that his wife is pregnant and ready to deliver ANY SECOND. A pregnant wife on the cusp of delivery in our 'commercial' cinema means that the bad men with sickles are in the vicinity and ready to pounce. Sometimes, it almost feels like they wait around for women to get pregnant, so they can strike. When the expected happens—as it does throughout this cliché-ridden film—you feel no shock. The real shock is when you realise that the director credits belong to the filmmaker who gave us Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru, that the film stars Dhanush, from whom we have come to expect better, much better. Director: Karthick Naren Cast: Dhanush, Malavika Mohanan, Ameer, Samuthirakani Stre...
3 comments
Read more

Kuthiraivaal

  Kuthiraivaal Movie Review:  Manoj Leonel Jahson and Shyam Sunder’s directorial debut Kuthiraivaal brims with colours and striking imagery. This is apparent as early as its first scene, where its protagonist Saravanan alias Freud squirms in his bed, suspecting a bad omen. As some light fills his aesthetic apartment wrapped with vintage wall colours, his discomfort finally makes sense—for he has woken up with a horse’s tail! The scene is set up incredibly, leaving us excited for what is to come. But is the film as magical as the spectacle it presents on screen? Kuthiraivaal revolves around Saravanan (played by a brilliant Kalaiyarasan) and his quest to find out why he suddenly wakes up with a horse’s tail, and on the way, his existence in life. Saravanan’s universe is filled with colourful characters, almost magical yet just real enough—be it his whimsical neighbour Babu (Chetan), who speaks about his love for his dog and loneliness in the same breath, or the corner-side cigar...
1 comment
Read more

Valimai

  H Vinoth's Valimai begins with a series of chain-snatching incidents and smuggling committed by masked men on bikes in Chennai. The public is up in arms against the police force, who are clueless. In an internal monologue, the police chief (Selva) wishes for a super cop to prevent such crimes. The action then cuts to Madurai, where a temple procession is underway.then we are introduced to ACP Arjun (Ajith Kumar), the film’s protagonist, whose introduction is intercut with scenes from the procession. Like a God who is held up high, we see this character rising up from the depths. In short, a whistle-worthy hero-introduction scene. We expect that Vinoth has done away with the mandatory fan service given his star's stature and will get around to making the film he wanted to make. And it does seem so for a while when Arjun gets posted to Chennai and starts investigating a suicide case that seems connected to the chain-snatching and drug-smuggling cases from before. Like in his pr...
4 comments
Read more