With the likes of The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast continuing to prove box office gold, Disney is continuing to remake its classics in live-action (or, photoreal-animated) form — and its latest offers an intriguing pairing of material and director. Tim Burton is swapping big eyes for big ears, bringing his unique visual sensibilities to a new version of 1941’s Dumbo.
The first trailer shows off some typically lavish production design from Burton, largely focusing on the circus setting. Dumbo himself looks adorable too, and there’s a new version of tearjerking song Baby Mine — if you’ve forgotten how upsetting the original story is, you might want to gather your emotions before heading into the multiplexes for this one. There’s also a fleeting glimpse at Burton’s new version of the unforgettable (read: traumatic) pink elephant hallucination sequence, which seems perfect territory for the man who brought the dark undercurrrents of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the fore.
In the human cast is Colin Farrell as one-armed war vet Holt Farrier, Eva Green seen swinging on a trapeze as Colette Marchant, Danny DeVito as circus owner Max Medici, and Michael Keaton as the malicious and exploitative V. A. Vandemere. The film is set for release next year on 29 March.
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