“Dumbo” (2019) Movie Review

    Disney Pictures has been starting to turn it’s classic animated film library into live action movies for a few years now.  “Alice in Wonderland” was the first of the trend in 2014 and has been followed with the likes of “The Jungle Book”, “Maleficent”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Cinderella”, “Christopher Robin”, and “Alice Through the Looking Glass”.  The latest remake Disney has unveiled is “Dumbo” which is the classic tale of a young elephant trying to find his place in the world.  My girlfriend and I had wanted to see this movie for a few weeks now but we finally got to see it this week.

    The film follows a WW1 veteran and his children as they work in a traveling circus.  Holt, the father who lost his arm in the war, was once a trick rider for the circus but is now tasked with taking care of the newly purchased elephants Mrs. Jumbo and her new baby.  The baby elephant was born with giant ears and the owner of the circus considers the baby to be a freak of nature.  Holt is assigned with hiding the newborn elephant’s ears during his first performance but his ears end up becoming exposed anyway leading the audience to turn hostile on the poor baby elephant.  Mrs. Jumbo goes into a rage in defense of her son and ends up being sold off because she is deemed dangerous.  The baby elephant is given the name Dumbo shortly after he is separated from his mother.  Dumbo isn’t like other elephants though as Holt’s children later find out.  Dumbo’s large ears allow him to fly!  Following this revelation, Holt’s children hatch a plan to reunite Dumbo with his mother.

    The film received decidedly mixed reviews from critics who seemed to mainly complain that the film “lacked heart” compared to the original Disney classic.  Now, everyone is entitled to their opinion but I have to respectfully disagree with those critics.  I thought the film showed a lot of heart and in some ways is a better kid’s movie than the original.  The moral of “Dumbo” remains in tact in both incarnations of the film but the live action remake also dumps the racist subtexts the original had.

    The film succeeds largely due to it’s cast.  Colin Farrell gives a solid performance as Holt.  Michael Keaton plays against type as the antagonist of the story.  Danny DeVito shines as the owner of the traveling circus.  It was fun seeing Keaton and DeVito together again in a mini “Batman Returns” reunion.  Speaking of “Batman Returns”, “Dumbo” was also directed by Tim Burton.  Burton’s visual flair and his love for Art Deco style actually plays into “Dumbo” very well.

    At it’s core, “Dumbo” is a sometimes cute and sometimes heartbreaking movie that pulls all the right heartstrings.  The movie teaches us the value of being different.  I really enjoyed the movie and cgi used to create Dumbo was top notch.  This is a movie you can take the kids to see and not have to worry what you are exposing your children to.  It is also a movie you can see as an adult and feel like a kid again and I personally feel like that is important sometimes as well.

Grade: B

“Us” Movie Review

    The other night after work, my girlfriend and I had planned to see “Dumbo” but a work friend and her family changed our plans and we all decided to see “Us” instead.  The film received good reviews (unlike “Dumbo” unfortunately) so it seemed like a safe bet.  The trailer for the film also looked super interesting.

    The film starts off in the mid 80s as a young girl wanders off the boardwalk at Santa Cruz and enters a hall of mirrors on the beach.  As the young girl makes her way through a maze of mirrors, she witnesses something that changes her life forever.  Flash forward to present day, we are introduced to a family of four which includes the now grown Adelaide along with her husband and children.  Adelaide still has bad memories from her mysterious encounter years ago and is not looking forward to returning to Santa Cruz for vacation.  After returning from the beach one night, a group of people break into their vacation home, but these people are more than meets the eye because they happen to be doppelgängers for each member of the family.  Through twists and turns, the family learns the truth behind the attacks and fight for their lives against dark reflections of themselves.

    Now without getting into spoilers, I enjoyed the allegory of classism the film depicts.  It reminded me a bit of classic episodes of “The Twilight Zone” and “The Outer Limits” in which the subtext of each episode tries to hammer across an important moral lesson.  Subjects such as nature vs nurture are explored as we see how different people can change being raised in different circumstances.  The film wants us to explore who we really are as individuals and what we might be capable of if we were pushed to our limits.

    The movie works largely due to it’s cast.  Each main cast member was tasked with not only giving a realistic performance of a normal family, but also exploring the bizarro versions of their personalities.  Lupita Nyong’o is given the most character development as both Adelaide and her mirror version named Red and stands out the most.  I wouldn’t be overly shocked if Nyong’o manages to get an Oscar nomination for her work on this film, though the release date and it’s genre may end up hurting her chances.  Winston Duke also does a stellar job as Adelaide and Red’s husband(s) Gabriel and Abraham.  Duke gave such a varied performance that it was hard to believe he played both roles aside from the physical resemblance.  Duke seems to be a bit of a chameleon, being able to play Gabriel as a bit of a yuppie while his Abraham was a monster brute (not to mention his performance in “Black Panther” in which he played a prideful warrior).

    In what seems to be an overly increasing trend, “Us” came under a bit of fire due to director Jordan Peele mentioning that he doesn’t imagine he will ever cast a white lead in his movies because he “has already seen that movie”.  Peele has become a breakout success in Hollywood and he ruffled a few feathers with his remarks.  Now, while I admit he could have more gracefully addressed the subject matter, I just want to point out that if his vision is to explore film’s from his perspective, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to cast a white lead.  As a white person myself (and one who isn’t even a big fan of race and gender swapping characters in films), I think the whole controversy surrounding Jordan Peele is unfair and stupid and I personally think the man has a point, 99% of mainstream movies made in Hollywood feature white male leads.

    Interestingly, “Us” explores the concept of duality as a spiritual concept as well.  The film directly addresses the subject of the human soul and other concepts of Christianity as our main characters start to learn the truth about what is going on.  In addition to Christianity, the very nature of the yin-yang relationship the family and their doppelgängers share directly relates to religions such as Confucianism and Taoism.

    The film is filled with Easter eggs which helps give the audience hints about the twists to come.  One such Easter egg came right away as a television surrounded by VHS tapes is shown.  One of the VHS tapes was “C.H.U.D.” which I noticed right away largely because I wondered who would own a copy of that film?

    “Us” is a very entertaining film on a surface level and loaded with a ton of thought provoking subtext.  Despite the praise I am giving the film, it isn’t perfect  as some of the reveals create more questions than answers and it’s clear logic went out the window when it came to reveals.  Still, the film makes for a great conversation piece and a great horror movie.

Grade: B+