Dumbo Blu Ray Review (Disney)

Dumbo is a 2019 adventure film produced & directed by Tim Burton (Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, & Big Fish). It was written & produced by Ehren Kruger (Scream 3, Transformers franchise, Reindeer Games, & The Ring). The music was composed by Danny Elfman (Men in Black franchise, Spider-Man 2, Hellboy 2, Nightbreed, Darkman, & Dead Presidents). It was produced by Katterli Frauenfelder (Planet of the Apes, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland, & Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) & Nigel Gostelow (Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor: The Dark World, & Dark Shadows). It’s a live action adaptation of Walt Disney’s 1941 animated film. It was originally announced in 2014. Will Smith was the original choice for the lead but he had to back out after it was delayed. The budget was $170 million & it grossed $351.4 million worldwide at the box office!!!!

In 1919, equestrian performer & World War I amputee Holt Farrier (played by: Colin Farrell from Daredevil, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Lobster, Fright Night, & In Bruges) returns after the war to the Medici Brothers’ Circus run by Max Medici (played by: Danny DeVito from Batman Returns, Twins, Get Shorty/Be Cool, Taxi, & It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). The circus has run into financial troubles, Medici has been forced to sell the circus’ horses after Holt’s wife & co-performer Annie died from the Spanish flu outbreak. He has a hard time re-connecting with his kids Joe (played by: Finley Hobbins) & Milly Farrier (played by: Nico Parker). Medici reassigns Holt as the caretaker for the circus pregnant Asian elephant, “Mrs. Jumbo”. Her baby has unusually large ears & Medici feels like he got ripped off from his original deal for her. The young elephant performs with it’s mother Jumbo & they have a disastrous experience. The crowd calls him “Dumbo” & makes fun of the child which makes his mother Jumbo furious. She loses control & causes a fatal accident with abusive handler Rufus Sorghum (played by: Phil Zimmerman from Dracula Untold, The Tunnel, South of the River, & Landing Lake). Medici sells the angry elephant after the incident forcing Dumbo to be away from his mother.

Joe & Milly Farrier discover Dumbo has a special talent, he can fly with his big ears, Dumbo ends up in a bad situation in his next performance & he forced to his powers. The crowd is shocked by his unusual skills & Dumbo ends up being very popular with the audience. V. A. Vandevere (played by: Michael Keaton from Batman, Batman Returns, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Jackie Brown, & The Founder), the entrepreneur & owner of a bohemian amusement park called Dreamland in New York City approaches Medici to work together. V. A. Vandevere is backed by J. Griffin Remington (played by: Alan Arkin from Wait Until Dark, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, & Gattaca). They become partners, he demands that Dumbo has to work with French trapeze artist, Colette Marchant (played by: Eva Green from Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Casino Royale, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, 300: Rise of an Empire, & Penny Dreadful). Dumbo finds his mother Jumbo at Dreamland. V. A. Vandevere fears that would be too big of his distraction for his new star so he orders his right hand man Neils Skellig (played by: Joseph Gatt from Game of Thrones, Z Nation, Banshee, & Thor) to kill her. The Medici Brothers’ Circus fights back after they hear the greedy businessman’s evil plans. Can they survive this new environment & go against their new powerful owner????

I honestly wasn’t expecting much from Dumbo because Disney live action adaptations are very hit or miss these days plus the trailer was just okay for it. I am huge fan of Tim Burton & the cast was very impressive so it still grabbed my attention. Dumbo was way better than expected, it was also more serious than I thought it would be which made it more interesting to me. The visual effects, sets, music, & everything else was top notch here. This was a different type of role from Colin Farrell & his performance was excellent in this. Eva Green is breathtaking & I’d watch her in almost anything, it was nice to see her get a bigger movie like this. Danny DeVito was perfectly cast in Dumbo, it’s a shame that he doesn’t do more films these days because his comedic timing is always on point & he really added some fun humor to this production. Michael Keaton & Alan Arkin elevated the entire feature with their supporting roles. Keaton doesn’t play a villain much but when he does it’s always something special. Plus they used real life circus acts for the supporting roles. As far as fantasy & adventure goes, this is one of the funnest & most entertaining from this year. Both adults & kids can enjoy this version of the classic story, I actually prefer it over the original. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Disney! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer really shines on blu ray, I can only imagine what the 4K looks like! Everything that you would expect from Dumbo shows up here. Visually, the circus scenes & locations look amazing. It has 3 different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, & French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1 on the release. It’s loud & it will have a nice boost on your home theater set up. All the dialogue is clean, all the circus action is elevated, & the Danny Elfman score sounds great here. It also has English SDH, French, & Spanish subtitles.

Let’s discuss the special features from Disney on this blu ray! “Circus Spectaculars” is a little over 8 minutes. It has interviews with director Tim Burton, actors Colin Farrell, Eva Green, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, Finley Hobbins, Nico Parker, & various members of the production. They chat about their experience on the film & the training they went through. Colin Farrell can actually ride horses & Eva Green was terrified of heights before taking this role. Tim Burton & Colin Farrell both say they are fans of each other. They were excited to work together for the first time. Tim Burton brings up all the familiar faces from some of his other films & he says he was happy to catch up with them. Danny DeVito jokes about reversing roles with Michael Keaton from Batman Returns. They mention all the real life circus performers that worked on the feature. “The Elephant in the Room” is almost 6 minutes. It has interviews with various cast & crew members. They chat about Tim Burton putting his own spin on the classic character. They talk about him being the perfect director to do this justice for it’s visual style. It has behind the scenes & pre-fx footage. It shows how they created Dumbo for the feature. It shows the performers that helped bring the role to life. “Built to Amaze” is almost 8 minutes. It has interviews with various cast & crew members. It goes over the world of Dumbo. They chat about the costumes & different looks of the characters. They talk about the amazing production design & sets for the feature. They say Tim Burton having a background in animation really made the visuals stand out here. 9 “Deleted Scenes” is almost 8 minutes, it includes Roustabout Rufus, Pachyderm Plans, The Other Medici Brother, Monkey Business, A Star Is Born, Where’s Dumbo?, Elephant Heist, Backstage, & A Seat at the Show. “Easter Eggs on Parade” is almost 4 minutes. It points out a variety of moments that play tribute to the original. “Clowning Around” is an almost 2 minute gag reel. Arcade Fire “Baby Mine” Music Video. It also has a slipcover, a digital code, & a DVD copy of the release. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!