Dumbo (2019)
Genre: Fantasy
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Michael Keaton, Deobia Oparei, Alan Arkin
Duration: 112 minutes
Class: PG
KRS Releasing Ltd

Next in line on the conveyor belt of live action Disney remakes is Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton, two compounding odd choices that sees the father of outcast, outsider protagonists take on the cutest of such on the Disney roster.

Dumbo differentiates itself from its 1941 namesake by expelling the cast of predominantly animal sidekicks (regrettably, this includes Timothy  Q. Mouse) in favour of a number of human characters.

Hitting familiar story beats, World War I veteran Holt Farrier (Colin Farrel) and his children find themselves caring for Max Medici’s (Danny DeVito) circus elephants, into which comically large-eared Jumbo Jr  is born.

Cruelly dubbed Dumbo by the crowd, the little elephant turns the tables on his tormentors when he demonstrates the sublime ability of flight. As news of Dumbo spreads, amusement park owner V. A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) acquires the circus into his ‘Dreamland’, where the shiny exterior seems to be harbouring danger.

Critics seem split on Dumbo, with many none too convinced by the added glamour piled on to a relatively simple story.

“Dumbo has the look and atmosphere of a ‘sincere’ blockbuster that’s trying too hard,” writes Owen Gleiberman for Variety.

“It transforms a gentle and miraculous tale into a routine story by weighing it down with a lot of nuts and bolts it didn’t need. The character of Dumbo is still touching, but the tale of entrapment and rescue that surrounds him is not.”

“Maybe the sweetest film Tim Burton has ever made,” says Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. “It’s also the safest.”

“At heart, Dumbo is a simple story that fits Burton like a glove. It’s a tale of misfits, with Dumbo fighting not to belong to but escape from a society that dismisses him. Burton didn’t need Hollywood glitz to get that point across.”

Ratings
IMDB: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
Empire: 4 stars

Freya Mavor and David Kross as husband and wife in The Keeper.

The Keeper (2019)
Genre: Drama, romance
Director: Marcus H. Rosenmuller
Starring: David Kross, Freya Mavor, John Henshaw, Dervla Kirwan, Gary Lewis
Duration: 120 minutes
Class: 12
KRS Releasing Ltd

This British-German biographical drama tells the inspiring life story of famed Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann.  The film delves into Trautmann’s origins, growing up in Nazi Germany and eventually joining the Luftwaffe as a paratrooper in World War II, before being captured by the British as a prisoner of war in 1944.

Refusing to be repatriated after the war, Trautmann grows attached to the rural patch of England and begins to play football as a goalkeeper, first for St Helen’s Town and later for Manchester City.

The narrative builds up to the legendary 1956 FA Cup final, where Trautmann continued to make spectacular saves to preserve his team’s lead, without realising that he had broken his neck as result of an injury.

The narrative mixes a bit of history with a glimpse into the young footballer’s relationship with Margaret Friar and their life together in Manchester.

Ratings
IMDB: 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Empire: N/A