Dumbo (2019) Review

Synopsis
A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer. (via IMDb)

Review
Dumbo, Walt Disney’s fourth animated feature, is a beloved film. It tells the story of a baby elephant who is ridiculed for is enlarged ears but learns to embrace his differences and gains the confidence to be himself. When it was announced that this cherished classic was going to be remade with Tim Burton at the helm, I thought he was the best director to bring everyone’s favorite baby pachyderm to live-action. I was mistaken in my assumption.

Until my recent rewatch of the 1941 original, I forgot how bright and colorful the film was. Vivid watercolors brought the world to life. Towards the end of the film is the famous “Pink Elephants on Parade” sequence. This psychedelic scene is what I remembered most about Dumbo and why I believed Burton was a perfect fit for the remake. However, looking back at the original, as well as Burton’s past filmography, the styles couldn’t be more different. Burton didn’t stray away from his usual visual style so the colors were very neutral and muted. Compared to the source material, it’s a stark contrast.

If you don’t remember, Walt’s Dumbo clocks in at 63 minutes. One reason why it was able to have such a comparatively short run time is because it completely focuses on the titular Dumbo, maintaining a minimal list of side characters. Burton’s take can’t decide if it wants to put the spotlight on Dumbo, elephant trainer Holt Farrier (Collin Farrell), or his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins). This lack of focus creates a lack of cohesion. No one character feels fully developed. And in a sense, that doesn’t make Dumbo’s own movie about him. Rather, he is used more as a device to move the story along.

With any remake, there is should be a fresh take on the source material or expansion of the story. Burton opts for the latter. He moves the second half of the movie away from the circus and to an amusement park run by Michael Keaton’s mustache-twirling entertainment mogul VA Vandevere. This creates even more complexity in the story, and attempts add depth to Danny DeVito’s character, making the story even less focused.

I should probably at least talk about some of the things I like before you think I’m eviscerating the film. Even with not knowing who exactly to focus its attention on, it does tell its story through Milly and Joe. This works well because it allows the audience to see and experience the awe of a flying elephant through a child’s point-of-view.

Dumbo, along with the other CGI animals, all look fantastic. Burton does have an eye for grandeur, so both the circus environment and Vandevere’s amusement park, aptly called Dreamland, feel big and boisterous. Despite my feelings about Burton’s style for the film, his style was well suited to make an elephant fly and the environments feel fantastical.

I thought Dumbo was OK 😐 I don’t mean to compare it to the 1941 original so much but when Disney’s goal is explicitly to adapt their animated classic into live-action, it’s hard not to. And when you compare the two, there really is no comparison. I do appreciate Tim Burton’s effort to add to the original story and adding his own style to it. Unfortunately, in doing so, he removed much of what makes the original so timeless and revered.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Tim Burton – Director
Ehren Kruger – Screenplay
Danny Elfman – Composer

Collin Farrell – Holt Farrier
Nico Parker – Milly Farrier
Finley Hobbins – Joe Farrier
Danny DeVito – Max Medici
Michael Keaton – VA Vandevere
Eva Green – Colette Marchant
Alan Arkin – J. Griffin Remington
Roshan Seth – Pramesh Singh
Deobia Oparei – Rongo
Sharon Rooney – Miss Atlantis

Movie Quote of the Week – 12/21/18

Answer to MWL 12/19/18: Jack Frost (Michael Keaton) – Jack Frost (1998)

Jack: You da man!
Charlie: No, you da man.
Jack: Nope, I’m the snowman!

Thanks for everyone’s submissions and 500 points to Roseann for answering correctly.

Movie Quote of the Week – 10/26/18

Answer to MWL 10/24/18: Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) – Beetlejuice

Lydia: Mr. and Mrs. Maitland? Hello? Where are you?
Betelgeuse: Dead. Dead, dead, deadski.
Lydia: Of course they’re dead. They’re ghosts.
Betelgeuse: No, I mean they’re gone, split, out of here, afterlife kids, deceased-ahh.
Lydia: Are you a ghost too?
Betelgeuse: I’m the ghost with the most, babe.

Thanks for everyone’s submissions and 500 points to the following people for answering correctly:

Tom (Plain, Simple Tom Reviews)
Spike’s Mom (Roseann’s Musings)
Carson

Toy Story 3 Review

Synopsis
Andy (John Morris (voice)) is preparing to leave for college and must choose what to do with his toys. He decides to keep Woody (Tom Hanks (voice)) and put the rest in the attic. However, the toys are mistakenly delivered to Sunnyside Daycare. Thinking that Andy was throwing them out, Buzz (Tim Allen (voice)), Jessie (Joan Cusack (voice)), and the rest of the gang choose to stay at Sunnyside where the will be played with everyday. They soon discover than Sunnyside isn’t as cheerful as they thought and try to return home.

Review
When I heard Pixar was making a third Toy Story film, I was filled with excitement. I had grown up with Woody, Buzz, Rex, Hamm, Mr. Potato Head and the rest of the gang. And Andy was about to head off to college, an experience I went through a few years earlier. Basically, I had been waiting 11 years for this moment. But the question was could Pixar deliver a third fantastic outing with these characters? You bet they can!

One thing I think is interesting about all three of the Toy Story movies is that Andy doesn’t appear much in any of the films, but he is the heart and soul of them. Everything the toys do is for Andy. Why does Woody need to get back to Andy’s house after getting lost? To be there for Andy. Why does Buzz want to rescue Woody from Al? So he’s there for Andy. Why does Buzz tell Woody going into a museum is a terrible idea? Because Andy can’t play with him behind glass. Why does Woody want the other toys back home instead of at Sunnyside Daycare? To be there for Andy when he needs them. Why doesn’t Woody want to stay with Bonnie even though Andy doesn’t play with anymore? To be there for Andy. I didn’t realize how this ran through all the movies. Like, I understood it was there, but not how prominent Andy is despite his limited presence until watching them so close together.

Another thing I noticed from watching all the films together is that each movie builds on the theme of the movie preceding it. I also mentioned this in my review of Toy Story 2. Toy Story was about building friendship, Toy Story 2 was about accepting that everything has an end and to be there for your friends while it lasts. Now, Toy Story 3 is about letting go. The message has grown up with the franchise’s audience.

Pixar single-handedly created the computer animated film with Toy Story in 1995. In the fifteen years since, it has come along way. One of the benefits of revisiting these characters and this world is it acts as a great measuring tool to see how far computer animation has come in that time. Toy Story 3 is absolutely stunningly gorgeous. The animation is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was a decade and a half earlier. Everything is so colorful and full of life. The daycare especially with all its colorful walls, paintings, and furniture. Even the dark contrasts, such as the toy’s gambling area inside the vending machine or rainy scene with Lotso, which are up there with How to Train Your Dragon. It’s breathtaking to think how far animation has come and that it still is only going to get better.

You’ve done all this reading and I haven’t even gotten into talking about the film itself yet. Sunnyside Daycare is one of the most unique places created in the Toy Story universe. There are so many toys it’s ridiculous. Lots-O-Huggins Bear, voiced by Ned Beatty, may be my favorite Toy Story villain. I think his motivations were deeper than Stinky Pete’s from the previous film. Although he did feel similar to Pete in that he hid his true self under a fun, happy visage. His inner circle were all unique, too. The popular Ken, a stretchy octopus, and a few others for muscle round out the group.

Bonnie’s toys were all enjoyable as well. I found it hilarious that Jeff Garlin voiced the unicorn Buttercup. His voice isn’t what I would expect to come out of the mouth of a unicorn, which may be why it works so well. Timothy Dalton was the perfect fit for the Shakespearean Mr. Pricklepants. Another favorite of mine was Kristen Schaal as Trixie, another dinosaur toy. She was so full of energy and spunk.

The story feels like a natural progression of Woody and Buzz’s journey. We all have been through (or will go through) a time when we have to let something, or someone, go that we dearly love. In typical Pixar fashion, this was handled with care and in a way that all audiences, young and old, could understand. For many of the kids who grew up with Toy Story and Toy Story 2, and the parents forced to watch them too, the ending was very powerful, not leaving a single eye dry. It was an organic and very fitting conclusion to the characters’ story arc.

I think the only knock I have against this film is that the ending gets very dark. I had the same problem with Up, except that was in the beginning. It just wasn’t a place I expected the movie to go and took me out of it for a little while.

Toy Story 3 perfectly closes the story of Woody and Buzz. There are a ton of fun, new characters and places. Every time I go into a Pixar movie, I expect to be torn apart emotionally. There have bee many tear jerking moments that have happened because of Pixar, but the final scene between Andy and Bonnie hit me the hardest. The Toy Story series is such an emotional journey and I’m proud to say I’ve been there very step of the way.

Rating
4.5/5

Also read my reviews for Toy Story and Toy Story 2.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Lee Unkrich – Director / Story
John Lasseter – Story
Andrew Stanton – Story
Michael Arndt – Screenplay
Randy Newman – Composer

Tom Hanks – Woody (voice)
Tim Allen – Buzz Lightyear (voice)
Joan Cusack – Jessie (voice)
Don Rickles – Mr. Potato Head (voice)
Wallace Shawn – Rex (voice)
John Ratzenberger – Hamm (voice)
Estelle Harris – Mrs. Potato Head (voice)
Blake Clark – Slinky Dog (voice)
Jodi Benson – Barbie (voice)
Ned Beatty – Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear (voice)
Michael Keaton – Ken (voice)
John Morris – Andy (voice)
Laurie Metcalf – Andy’s Mom (voice)
Beatrice Miller – Molly (voice)
Emily Hahn – Bonnie (voice)
Lori Alan – Bonnie’s Mom (voice)
Teddy Newton – Chatter Telephon (voice)
Timothy Dalton – Mr. Pricklepants (voice)
Kristen Schaal – Trixie (voice)
Jeff Garlin – Buttercup (voice)
Bonnie Hunt – Dolly (voice)
Bud Luckey – Chuckles (voice)
Charlie Bright – Pea-in-a-Pod / Young Andy (voice)
Amber Kroner – Pea-in-a-Pod (voice)
Brianna Maiwand – Pea-in-a-Pod (voice)
John Cygan – Twitch (voice)
Whoopi Goldberg – Stretch (voice)
Jack Angel – Chunk (voice)
Jan Rabson – Sparks (voice)
Richard Kind – Bookworm (voice)
R. Lee Ermey – Sarge (voice)

RoboCop Review

Synopsis
In 2028, OmniCorp, lead by CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton), has revolutionized security around the world but has had difficulty bringing their products to the United States. When Detective Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is seriously injured by a car bomb, OmniCorp takes the opportunity to create a product the people can get behind and transform Murphy into the cyborg RoboCop. What OmniCorp didn’t plan for was the strength of the human element still left inside Murphy.

Review
Remakes/reboots can be difficult to tackle. They can be done in one of two main ways: simply telling the same story but with a new cast or tell a whole new story using old characters. RoboCop does the latter and does so surprisingly well. There have been many remakes of iconic 1980s movies over the last several years, most have which have been sub-par. So imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed it! RoboCop manages to pay homage to the 1987 original, but still offers a fresh and updated take on the character.

One of the appeals of the original RoboCop was its exaggerated violence. Not just the violence itself but the fact there was so much that the film became a dark satire. This movie moves away from that and instead become more politically driven. The ethics of transplanting a human consciousness into a machine is a central theme here. It gets touched on a little in the original, more so in RoboCop 2, but it takes a backseat to the violence.

The pacing is drastically different, too. One of my biggest knocks against the 1987 RoboCop is we don’t get to spend much time with Murphy as a person since he transforms into RoboCop fairly quickly. However, this time we see Murphy interacting with his family and his partner, Jack Lewis (Michael K. Williams). I felt this was a stronger lead up to his transformation because allowed us to get to know Murphy before the whole “Am I Alex Murphy or am I RoboCop?” dilemma came into play.

Speaking of pacing, there was also much more time spent on his training than before. This RoboCop doesn’t start patrolling the streets until halfway through the movie. We get to see Alex adjust to his new status rather than just jumping head first into it. Again, this gives us more time to empathize with Murphy and what has happened to him.

RoboCop’s color scheme has been changed, and I actually like the new black color. His design is also much sleeker. Peter Weller’s RoboCop was very clunky, but Kinnaman’s can actually move and run. I think I am in the minority, but I like the new look better than the original. The original’s shiny gray metallic color scheme does make an appearance. There are also several other callbacks to the original RoboCop that I noticed, like the ED-209 looks identical to the one that stood outside OCP headquarters and the RoboCop theme could be heard (but I wish it was used more, the theme is pretty iconic). I was going to list all the references I picked out but there were so many I’m not even going to attempt it.

Micheal Keaton plays a good villain, but I’m not sure about how I feel about Raymond Sellars. For most of the film he seems like he is just a CEO who wants to make his company money, even if that means moving into morally gray areas. But in the final scenes he is all of a sudden supposed to be this bad guy who doesn’t have a conscious. It would have been better if we saw that side of him throughout the whole movie rather than just the end. Otherwise, his character at the end seems out of place compared to the rest of the film.

Honestly, I went into the theater fully expecting to be disappointed when I left. However, RoboCop is one of the better remakes/reboots I have seen in a long time. Part of its success stems from its ability to craft a new story while still paying tribute to the original. Rather than focus on over-the-top violence, this movie is concentrates more on ethics. The story gives us almost half of the movie to get to know Murphy and empathize with his situation. Sellars’ actions at the end of the film don’t fit well with his actions during the rest of the movie. I’m not much of a fan of remakes/reboots, but if more movies handles them the same way as RoboCop, maybe they would actually be something to look forward to.

Rating
3.5/5

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Jose Padilha – Director
Joshua Zetumer – Screenplay
Pedro Bromfman – Composer

Joel Kinnaman – Alex Murphy/RoboCop
Gary Oldman – Dr. Dennett Norton
Michael Keaton – Raymond Sellars
Abbie Cornish – Clara Murphy
Jackie Earle Haley – Rick Mattox
Michael K. Williams – Jack Lewis
Jennifer Ehle – Liz Kline
Jay Baruchel – Tom Pope
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Chief Karen Dean
Samuel L. Jackson – Pat Novak
Aimee Garcia – Jae Kim
Douglas Urbanski – Mayor Durant
John Paul Ruttan – David Murphy
Patrick Garrow – Antoine Vallon
K.C. Collins – Andre Daniels
Daniel Kash – John Lake
Zach Grenier – Senator Hubert Dreyfuss

Robocop (2014) Trailer #2

Synopsis: In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years – and it’s meant billions for OmniCorp’s bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice.

I’m still not sold on this reboot yet, but I’m willing to give it a try.  This trailer is more action oriented and shows more of the special effects than the more character-focused first trailer. It looks to be more serious than the original RoboCop, which may could hurt it. *cough* Total Recall remake *cough*  Part of the charm of the originals was they were made to be dark and satirical, and did not take themselves too seriously. If MGM can keep that intact, they will at least be on the right track.

The throwback to the original RoboCop color scheme is a nice touch.  Honestly, I don’t think the black looks that bad.

RoboCop, directed by Jose Padilha, will be released February 12, 2014 and stars Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Jennifer Ehle, Michael K. Williams, Jackie Earl Haley, and Jay Baruchel.