'Dumbo' [2019]
(PG / 112 mins)
Overview: From Disney and visionary director Tim Burton, the all-new grand live-action adventure 'Dumbo' expands on the beloved classic story where differences are celebrated, family is cherished and dreams take flight.
Verdict: Disney's latest live-action remake of one of the studio's animated classics gives Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland) another chance to vamp with an empty spectacle that is fine for children and perhaps nostalgia-inducing for adults who watched the 1941 original on VHS.
The acting from everyone onscreen, including Colin Farrell as a former trick rider and Danny DeVito as a ringmaster circa 1920, is so anachronistic and unnatural that their interaction with CGI is a respite.
The flying baby elephant is cute and the production design is eye-catching. The upsides end there. The refurbished story, both numbing in its predictability and painstakingly woke, is the clearest indicator that this reboot need not exist; sorry!