Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *
Cast: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin, Nico Parker, Finlay Hobbins, Roshan Seth, Lars Eidinger, Deobia Oparei, Joseph Gatt, Miguel Munoz Segura, Zenaida Alcade, Douglas Reith, Phil Zimmerman, Sharon Rooney.
When the lid to Pandora’s Box was ripped open, the hinges almost groaning with delight as all the evils of the world came storming out, chasing down humanity with thoughtless plagues and the possibility of soul-minded destruction, nobody paid heed to what came fluttering lazily out after Hope had been urged to rescue the minds of all, the almost burned-out wings that carried the act of the live action remake, the guise in which imagination is lauded but in which sits unhappily reflecting upon the demise of the searing height of new imaginations being allowed to take hold.
The problem with sentiment is that is doesn’t realise that it is only there to make hope remember what the issues it didn’t round to clearing up in the first place, and whilst the beauty of the idea of Dumbo cannot be argued with, it says more than enough on the current state of society that we have now gone past the idea of re-making everything, burning down and demolishing all that went before and making a 21st Century glittering palace made of glass, but now the audience is being treated to the relegating the art of classically drawn motion picture to nothing more than a stop gap of production; only fit for purpose to hang in the museum of memory.
It might be considered a tad unfair, after all the film does rely upon the suspense of belief, a gentle tale of acceptance, the message shouted loudly and with great pride that we should all be appreciated upon what makes us unique and not what our appearance offers; and yet within the inspirational tones purposely placed as if carrying openly the agenda of the piece, there lurks a sense of cynicism, a ploy, the caricatures rightly dismissed but replaced with a passion of drip feeding cinematic sugar intent.
The world is brutal, it has changed as we have ravaged it, and we must do all that we can to eradicate the senselessness of our actions in the pursuit of monetary gain, of Capitalist intent and destruction, but to deny a film its heritage, of changing tact to the point where what is on screen is nothing more than an almost light hearted affair, a ball of elephant sized fluff given over to merchandise possibility, that is where the act of hope is replaced by the inevitable feel of being squeezed in the wallet and not in the soul.
The original stylised Dumbo had many faults, in some cases sickeningly, but it held firm in its engagement, unfortunately, and despite very sincere performances by Danny DeVito, Eva Green and Michael Keaton, all that remains on screen is the knowledge that the search for anything new has reached a point of unforgivable and lacklustre drudgery; almost too much of an effort not to like but one that knows full well what it is setting out to portray.
Ian D. Hall