Dumbo (2019) (4 Stars)

This film is described as a remake of the 1941 animated Disney film with the same name, but it's so far removed from the original that I don't like to use the word remake. The only thing that is has in common with the 1941 film is that it features a baby elephant called Dumbo who uses his long ears to fly.

The film takes place in 1919. The horse performer Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns from the war to face several tragedies. He's lost his arm, but he considers himself still able to do stunts on his horses. However, the circus boss, Max Medici (Danny DeVito), has sold the horses because the circus was in financial problems. Added to this, Holt's wife died of pneumonia in the last winter. The only good thing in his life is that he still has the loving affection of his two young children, Milly and Joe. Since he has no horses to ride, Medici gives him the job of looking after the pregnant elephant Jumbo. That's not a job he wants to do, but it's either that or be unemployed.

When the baby elephant is born it's considered a freak because it has very large ears that drag on the ground. Medici insists on the ears being covered up when it first appears in the circus, but the covering comes off and the audience mocks it. Why? If I saw a baby elephant with big ears I would smile happily. It looks so cute.

The children share my feelings and sit fascinated with the baby, who's soon given the name Dumbo. Then they discover something amazing. If Dumbo sucks a feather into his nose he can fly for a few minutes. This makes Dumbo the biggest attraction of the circus.

That's not the end of the story, it's just the beginning. Entrepreneur V. A. Vandevere wants Dumbo in his new amusement Dreamland amusement park, which presents circus acts at a fixed location instead of travelling from town to town. He tricks the naive Medici into signing a contract that is against his best interests.

This is a beautiful film that made me feel like a child again. Circus is one of the finest old forms of entertainment that still exists in the world today. Unfortunately, circus is changing. We see this in the film. The old family circuses are dying out and being replaced by the more efficient large circuses. I personally prefer the small circuses. They don't have the same big acts, but there's a familiarity and closeness to the artists that the large circuses don't offer. In Germany there are still small circus families that travel from town to town scraping a living. They have six or less artists who do everything. The smallest circus I've seen had only three artists who appeared in different costumes in every act. That's real circus entertainment. If you have the chance to visit a small circus, please take it. You won't regret it.

At this point in time it's still unclear whether "Dumbo" will be released on disc. Amazon lists DVDs and Blu-rays that can be pre-ordered, but they may never be released. Disney is starting its own streaming service later this year, and it's expected that they'll take steps to encourage new subscribers, such as making films available exclusively on their web site. That's sad. Every new streaming company means a deterioration of the supply of available films, because they'll be spread thinly over more companies. What we need is a consolidation of streaming companies into one big company that offers everything. But as we know, governments don't like monopolies. The future is looking bleak for online film streaming, and when Disney withdraws its films from Netflix it'll be one more big step downhill.