Dumbo: An Update From The Past

Disney has been releasing adaptations of its most famous classics for some years now and, apparently, this trend will not end here. Did your ideas run out? Does the old one work better than the new one? What is clear to everyone is that 2019 was a year of new releases or, better said, of reinventions. Aladin, the Lion King and, of course, Dumbo were some of the classics that underwent an update.

Today, we want to focus on the little giant-eared elephant with exceptional ability. We are talking about Dumbo, a film that even in 1941 was already drawing the attention of the world for its true character and for its distance from the most childish and innocent aspect of Disney.

When we learned that Tim Burton was going to direct the Little Elephant adaptation, many of us were overcome with a feeling of nostalgia and joy.

Who better than the maladaptive filmmaker to narrate the life of the marginalized elephant? However, times have changed and the truth is that the Burton of the beginning, from the time of Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and Ed Wood, is no longer the same.

Likewise, looking at our own present moment, a world more critical than ever, it was to be expected that a stronger version would be released:  a message of love for animals and respect for differences.

The truth is that, in part, there is a little bit of it all in this new Dumbo update, but we also miss some elements of the original film. How has the passage of time affected one of Disney’s darkest – and at the same time affectionate – stories?

Dumbo, an update of values

A long time has passed since the premiere of the animated version in 1941, and therefore values ​​and society have changed enough to expect a cruder and stronger version than the previous one.

Issues involving mistreatment of animals and slavery that certain species suffer from our pure selfishness are increasingly controversial.

More cases of violence against animals are reported daily, and society, in a way, is more sensitive,  although it is still not perfect.

In fact, the original Dumbo was nothing more than an attempt to overcome the financial losses Disney studios had suffered after Fantasia’s 1940 debut (and failure).

So, with a low budget, they decided to release a film with a shorter story – the feature only lasts an hour – and, at the same time, more exciting.

When we heard about the release, everyone expected to see a version taken by new influences, new currents, and trying to update the values ​​that the original film conveyed. In part, the feature fulfilled this role, but it did not fall into the public’s favor.

Perhaps expectations were too high, and many have forgotten that behind the Tim Burton name lay the Disney Studios. In other words, a studio that intended to please a very wide audience and play with the nostalgic element.

New technologies, especially computer graphics, provide a more realistic and moving image than the original Dumbo, allowing for a realistic feature film without the presence of real animals.

However, it is also worth noting that, at times, the film focuses too much on the superficial, on the beauty of the image, without highlighting the deepest of feelings, without “putting a finger on the wound” of the mistreatment of animals.

Even so, Dumbo’s new update places us in a more egalitarian scenario, presents us with a similarity in fatherhood and motherhood, demonstrating that it is not only mothers who suffer and struggle for their children, but that fathers do that too.

This similarity transcends beyond the species: we see an elephant mother who suffers and defends her child and, at the same time, a human father capable of facing different threats to protect the well-being of his children.

The role of women is of vital importance, regardless of whether they are children, adults or elephants. Burton makes room for the determined woman, who struggles and moves away from the standards imposed in 1941.

In the original Dumbo, it seems that a woman’s only function is motherhood. Parenthood is barely shown (let alone parenthood) and, of course, women are submissive, obedient and gossipy.

In a way, Burton managed to update these values. However, many of the characters are shallow and some parts of the script that portray feminism and animal rights appear a bit forced, far from the expected naturalness.

In fact, the animated feature is characterized by a harsh coldness, violence and a rejection of differences that seem to have been resolved in 2019.

Wasn’t this a good opportunity to fight? An opportunity to show the more bitter side of animal circuses and society? Yes, it probably was. However, if we analyze the film, we realize that, perhaps, the filmmaker’s intention was not so much to get closer to reality.

Why do we say this? Because this new Dumbo update, as we’ve already said, errs in exaggerations, reduces coldness, and criticism ends up being diverted to an unexpected place.

But Burton takes the opportunity to make a critique between the lines, to draw a parallel between the Disney studios themselves and the great circus to which Dumbo was sent.

A truth that everyone knows

It seems that Tim Burton, far from offering his version of inadaptable, decided to outline a critique of the film industry itself, of capitalism.

We can see this in the Dreamland park , the place where Dumbo is taken to become a star, as in the Disney studios and their theme parks. That is, a false happiness, a false illusion that can be bought with money.

The enemy is no longer the owner of the small animal circus, but the greedy, wealthy partner who enslaves both human and animal employees. Thanks to his money, this man in a suit and tie can get what he wants, regardless of the lives involved in the process.

So Burton decides to set fire to the hand he feeds, in the studios with which, for years, he established a love-hate relationship.

This is the result of those who supported him financially, but who also cut off his wings, his artistic freedom. And like Dumbo, what he can do is fight for his freedom.

The rawness of the film does not manifest itself in the form of mistreatment of animals, but through the theme park, representing a place of worship and fun for those who can afford it. Meanwhile, a business magnate gets rich sitting in his leather armchair.

Therefore, we can say that values ​​have changed, that the point of view is different and that, in the middle of 2019, being a star is no longer synonymous with success, but with exploration.

Along these lines, it seems that Burton listened to the warnings of the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) association and, in addition to not using animals in his script, decided to give Dumbo a second chance, far from fame and the circus.

If in 1941 the equivalent of the happy ending was a famous Dumbo that everyone admired, in 2019 the happy ending is far from being famous and lies in being with your species in a natural environment.

The film demonstrates, once again, that animal circuses are a thing of the past and that the future fights for more respectful and ethical treatment for those with whom we share our planet.

The 1941 version probably shudders a little more for its rawness, for the realism – even if animated – of an animal that suffers and is unfairly separated from its mother.

However, the current Dumbo, although it is shallow in certain respects, must be read between the lines and interpreted according to our present.

Burton relied on his beloved actors, such as Danny De Vito and Eva Green, to build a story that, in addition to denouncing animal circuses, represents a criticism of our own lifestyle.