Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), a former circus star, finds his life turned upside-down when he returns home after the end of the First World War scarred and broken. Finding himself employed by circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) who enlists him to care for a newborn elephant, named Dumbo, whose oversized ears make him a laughing stock in an already struggling circus. But when Holt’s children, Milly and Joe, discover that Dumbo can fly, persuasive entrepreneur V. A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton) and aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) swoop in to make the peculiar pachyderm a star.

Tim Burton remains one of my favourite directors of all time, and every time I hear that he’s taking up a new project I’m excited for what this visionary director will deliver. And in Dumbo he really gives us a treat with a story that is very close to his heart and touches on many of the themes that he has explored throughout his life. With its narrative and central themes, Dumbo is tailor-made for Burton with his explorations of ideas related to outsider characters, society’s fringes and individual expression. Many characters in Burton’s films are made out to be freaks or monsters and excluded from society and that, of course, happens to the baby elephant known as Dumbo who is vilified and mocked for his large ears. But unbeknownst to the world, Dumbo’s physical extremes actually give him the power of flight and this elephant does soar to amazing heights.

Burton makes the film incredibly personal, and he really takes audiences inside the mind of Dumbo and presents the elephant’s point-of-view to the world. We feel Dumbo’s feelings and his journey to be reunited with his mother once again, and Burton’s reverence for this journey is incredibly impactful and heartfelt. Along with investing your emotions in Dumbo’s journey to find his mother, he also brings you into the life of the film’s other characters including former rodeo star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), gifted trapeze artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) and circus owner and ringmaster Max Medici (Danny DeVito).

Renown for his unique and quirky cinema aesthetic, Dumbo is very much a Disney movie interpreted through the vision of Tim Burton. While it doesn’t hold his typical gothic sensibilities, Burton does manage to place his own unique and thoroughly quirky design elements into the film and puts his own stamp on the material and its characters. His love for German Expressionism also helps inform the design of this early 1900s set film, and the use of practical sets, ornate costuming and wide-framed imagery really help you pull you in deeper to the experience of Dumbo.

For me what made this film so enjoyable was we were seeing Burton get to play with colour and light, and really bringing a sense of warmth to his work. It was engaging to see him get away from the shadows and instead focus on a film where light plays such an important role and his tonal palettes and cinematography borrow a lot from the look at feel of that classic cell-shaded Disney Animation.

Along with telling the story of the film’s titular baby elephant, Burton frames his story around the members of the travelling Medici Brothers circus. Chief among these characters is WWI veteran and former rodeo star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), who returns from the war a broken man, having lost his left arm in the trenches, and his wife to Spanish Influenza. Desperately looking for a way to rebuild his life, and support his children, Holt is charged to look after Dumbo, and together these two outsider characters help each other soar again.

The role of Holt was something different for Farrell, who really pulls away from his heart-throb status and falls into the role of the film’s everyman. It’s a performance that he really invests himself into and here we find him searching for the idea of hope again, which he is able to find thanks to the belief of his children and his belief in a certain baby elephant.

Joining Farrell in the film is Eva Green as the fantastical and elegant trapeze artist Colette Marchant and the actress makes the greatest change in terms of narrative arc throughout the story. Beginning as a flamboyant opportunist, Colette soon warms to both Dumbo and Holt and reveals her true persona that she wears under the mask of her circus life. Determined to do the right thing, she invests in Holt’s mission to see Dumbo reunited with his mother, and the inevitable spark that develops between the characters is spot on within the film. Green’s portrayal really borrows from the likes of Hedy Lamarr for the role, and she has this bold presence that one equates with actresses of that classic cinema era within her role as Colette.

Lending the film it’s antagonistic side is Michael Keaton as V. A. Vandevere, who makes a long-awaited return to working with Burton again and the actor again proves why he is in such demand these days. With the flair and parlance of a big-time showman, this seedy entrepreneur is one to hide behind the big lights in order to make a profit, and he sees Dumbo as his winning ticket. Keaton revels in his chance to be a villain here, and he really goes for it with his cruel business acumen. The actor makes for a great villain and he really provides the film’s central characters with plenty of obstacles to set Dumbo free.

Finally, Burton regular and cinema icon Danny DeVito graces the screen with plenty of charisma and a whole lot of comedy as the owner and ringmaster of the Medici Brothers Circus, Max Medici. The minute you see him on-screen DeVito has the whole audience laughing as this charlatan-type promoter who is looking for any way to make a quick buck and whose mounting problems are causing him plenty of stress. But while he does inevitably get his shot at the big time, he soon learns that its cost is too big to bear and that his love for his troop, who in reality are his family, drives him to do the right thing in the end. In my viewing of Dumbo, I’d say that it’s both baby Dumbo and Max who make up the heart and soul of this film and that the two of them are the ones who truly bring everything together.

But if there is one character who absolutely steals the show then it is above all else the character of Dumbo. This doe-eyed baby elephant is the very embodiment of the word cute, and the minute he arrives on the scene you’ll be sure to smile. Dumbo is above all else the epitome of love, and he’s the one hopeful thing that can bring together so many desperately broken people back together. Whether it be Holt, Colette, Max or the entire Medici troop, Dumbo is the one thing that helps to give them a purpose in their lives and to see the brightness and the hope in all things. This baby also goes on his own unique journey and has his courage tested at every turn, but through all of these unique challenges, and the faith that others have in him he does indeed soar high.

Through the vision of Tim Burton, Dumbo makes for a bold and beautiful piece of cinema that holds true to the core of the power of narrative storytelling and the unique attributes of classic Disney animation. It’s a film that truly enchants its audience and champions the ideas of individuality, family and above all else hope, and you’ll leave the cinema feeling that you can fly.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

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Focusing in on broken war veteran Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), and his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins), Dumbo brings audiences into an absolutely enchanting environment of the early 1920s, and the birth of a baby elephant with very big ears called Dumbo.

Tim Burton is one of my all-time favourite directors and here he gives us a film that is truly enchanting with plenty of bright colours, and a strong resonance of hope and dreams. Known for his ability to focus his narratives around outsider characters, the story of Dumbo seems like a perfect fit for Burton’s talents and frequent Burton collaborator Eva Green agrees, “Tim Burton is directing, he understands outsiders, people who don’t fit in, vulnerable souls like Dumbo.”

Not only has Burton worked his creative genius into the project, but this film is also a reunion piece for the director with the likes of Michael Keaton, Eva Green and Danny DeVito lending their talents to the whimsical story. All of the performers seem to have been blown away by the size and scope of the project, and of it’s relevance as a narrative Danny DeVito, who portrays circus owner Max Medici, summed it up best by saying ‘we need this movie right now.”

Get ready for your heart to soar a little higher when Dumbo arrives in cinemas on March 28.

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While I’ve definitely felt my eyes get teary with the film’s latest trailers, this last one is extremely poignant and it promises plenty of heart and whimzy. Check it out below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), a former circus star, finds his life turned upside-down when he returns home after the end of the First World War scarred and broken. Finding himself employed by circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) who enlists him to care for a newborn elephant, named Dumbo, whose oversized ears make him a laughing stock in an already struggling circus. But when Holt’s children, Milly and Joe, discover that Dumbo can fly, persuasive entrepreneur V. A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton) and aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) swoop in to make the peculiar pachyderm a star.

Dumbo is a great choice for Burton to helm with its unique subject matter and time setting and you can really see the director’s artistry come alive here. It’s also a bit of a reunion for Burton as well as he’s packed the film out with an amazing list of frequent collaborators who include the likes of Michael Keaton, Eva Green and Danny DeVito.

Get ready for all the magic imaginable as one little elephant finds his courage and sets out to soar high when Dumbo arrives in cinemas on March 28.

The post A heartwarming new trailer arrives for ‘Dumbo’ appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Here’s the official synopsis below:

Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), a former circus star, finds his life turned upside-down when he returns home after the end of the First World War scarred and broken. Finding himself employed by circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) who enlists him to care for a newborn elephant, named Dumbo, whose oversized ears make him a laughing stock in an already struggling circus. But when Holt’s children, Milly and Joe, discover that Dumbo can fly, persuasive entrepreneur V. A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton) and aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) swoop in to make the peculiar pachyderm a star.

Following in the footsteps of the heartwarming first teaser, this new trailer for Dumbo takes you inside the magic of the circus and Dumbo’s extraordinary ability to fly. Alongside everyone’s favourite baby elephant, Dumbo will also explore the story of Colin Farrell’s Holt Farrier, a former circus star who suffered greatly through WWI and is now at a loss with his life and how to raise his two young children. But together with Dumbo the Farrier’s may just find the hope they need to soar once more.

I’ve long regarded Tim Burton as one of my all-time favourite filmmakers and to see him back at the Walt Disney Company really brings a smile to my face. With his extraordinary imagination and desire to entertain I’m certain that Dumbo will take audiences on a fantastic ride of magic and wonder and prove that no matter how hard things get, with a little bit of hope, anything is possible.

Check out our full reaction for the new Dumbo trailer below, and you be guaranteed that the tears started to roll pretty quickly:

Get ready to witness the impossible and find your courage when Dumbo arrives in cinemas on March 28, 2019.

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Here’s the official synopsis:

Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), a former circus star, finds his life turned upside-down when he returns home after the end of the First World War scarred and broken. Finding himself employed by circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) who enlists him to care for a newborn elephant, named Dumbo, whose oversized ears make him a laughing stock in an already struggling circus. But when Holt’s children, Milly and Joe, discover that Dumbo can fly, persuasive entrepreneur V. A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton) and aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) swoop in to make the peculiar pachyderm a star.

Burton looks to have clearly elevated the film with a new focus to the story around the central figure of Holt, a broken war veteran played by Colin Farrell who finds himself charged with the care of Dumbo. Both are lost souls looking for some kind of love in a new and rapidly changing world and it’s here that I sense Burton is really exploring the idea of family and how in the hardest of times its the one thing that we can cling to.

Dumbo sparkles with imagination and Burton and his team of magnificent artists have done a terrific job of realizing the fantastic world of circus with plenty of bright lights and big colours and Dumbo looks like it will be a film that will thoroughly enchant it’s audience, both young and old with enchanting story of magic and love.

Make sure you’ve got tissues beside you when Dumbo arrives in cinemas because it is sure to be film that will really tug at your heartstrings and will cause a flutter in your heart of March 28, 2019.

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