Dumbo’s new adaptation by Maria Azzurra Volpe

The return of a classic that attracts the little ones as well as the nostalgic adults. Since it was released last March, Dumbo has been one of Disney’s biggest hits of the year after Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame.

by Maria Azzurra Volpe

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Last month Disney released the comeback of one of the most loved animation movies they have ever produced, Dumbo. After nearly two years of production, the movie premiered in Los Angeles last March, and was then released to the theatres.

Directed by Tim Burton, the movie shows an exceptional cast of renowned actors, from Danny DeVito to Eva Green, Colin Farrell and Michael Keaton.

It is an adaptation of the 1941 movie, directed by Ben Sharpsteen.

The new film has a slightly different unfolding of events but same characters and theme.

Both the movies tell the story of a young elephant bullied because of his large ears who then because of them learns how to fly so he can save his mother.

While in the first movie, Dumbo has one little friend Timothy, an anthropomorphic mouse figure, who plays the role of Dumbo’s only friend, in the second movie Dumbo has two friends Milly and Joe, who will help him saving his mom.

In the first movie, Timothy discovers Dumbo can fly when after getting drunk and falling asleep they wake up on top of a tree and figure out they got up there thanks to Dumbo’s ears. In the second movie instead Milly and Joe discovered Dumbo can fly after he snorted a feather.

Dumbo was released in the UK on March 29thand has been a big hit since. At the beginning of April, the movie had already achieved a debut of £6.08 millions in the United Kingdom and £91 millions worldwide, although the public has contrasting opinions of it.

On Rotten Tomatoes, an American website for the review of films and television programmes, the approval rating of the movie is 47% based on 315 reviews, and the average rate is 5.53 out of 10, while on Cinema Score, an American market research firm, it as a rating of A- on a scale from F to A.

Attia Hussain, 19-year-old student from north London, who watched the movie with her friends at the Wood Green cinema did not like the way it was readapted: “I think they changed the funniest parts of the story,” she said, “It was also way more cruel than I remembered it to be and also I liked it more when it was a cartoon, it’s supposed to be for kids so I think they would enjoy it more if it was a cartoon rather than a film”.

In her opinion the movie was magical enough “It wasn’t satisfying, you didn’t see that kind of magic you expect to see when you go watch a Disney movie, also they should stop selling popcorns at cinemas, people chew so loud they become annoying.”

But despite the critiques many people loved it, both children and adults.

Ander Arce, a twenty-eight-year-old customer service representative, describes the movie as “very emotional” he said: “the part where he flies to save his mum nearly made me cry. It used to be one of my favourite movies as a child, I have always loved animals”.

“And I loved when he got back at the boys who bullied him before, you know it’s like the good wins kind of thing. Now we are used to see movies where violence is the main theme, like all the superheroes, I think is nice for once to see a softer movie”.