First Impressions: Dumbo (2019)

I know this isn't an animated feature, but seeing as how I reviewed the original Dumbo for this movie's release, I figured I might as well share my first impressions on it.

As a whole, I don't typically care for the Disney live-action remakes, while I do think some of these remakes are ideal, especially with older films like Cinderella, with movies like this I really have to wonder why. Dumbo is a movie where, even in live action, you would have to animate the flying elephant, but at least this is one of their older movies, so that gives it a leg up over The Lion King. However, with Tim Burton directing and some decent looking trailers, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious.

I am sad to say that Dumbo was not a very good movie, though saying that is kind of weird. Not because this movie has some good parts to it, but because this movie isn't really Dumbo. The original Dumbo was about Dumbo and his life in the circus. Here, it's more like Mary Poppins Returns. Instead of watching the circus interact with Dumbo, we watch some children and their struggling relationship with their father. This movie is about a young boy and a young girl being visited by a surreal being that helps them with their relationship with their distant parent... Oh, and the mother died off screen before the movie began. Yeah, this movie is just Mary Poppins Returns, but with bad CG animation instead of really good traditional animation.

Plot wise, things are moved around. Dumbo hugging his mother is moved to earlier in the film, and the revelation of Dumbo being able to fly, the biggest part of the first movie, is now revealed in the first act. In some respects I get why, as it makes the reveal of Dumbo not needing the feather to fly an overall better reveal, but on the other hand, Dumbo flying was already a big reveal. Then again, this movie is not about Dumbo. In fact, this movie is so not about Dumbo that this movie actually has a villain, an honest to god, single minded villain.

I think the most disappointing aspect of this movie is the visuals, they might be the worst part about this movie... Actually no, the worst part is the child actress in this movie, she was monotone and unconvincing and just plain terrible, but the visuals are close. The movie looks bland and grey, which is stupid. Tim Burton has done colourful movies before, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, Hell Sleepy Hollow was more colourful than this, and that movie was supposed to look muddy and dark. I get that the circus is not very cheerful, but even in the "Dream Land" location, it looks like a location in the world of Fallout.

I don't think this movie really needed to be Dumbo. I feel like you could have put any magical, ethereal or eldritch being in place of Dumbo and the movie would be largely the same. With talented writers, the circus motif could have even been kept. Like I previously stated, this movie is very much Mary Poppins Returns, so I have to ask why they decided to make it a Dumbo movie, other than the money it would generate due to having a nostalgic connection.

The new Dumbo movie is not good. Calling it a remake is untrue as it is a completely different story, it's visually bland, does not remake scenes from the original well and had no real reason to be a Dumbo movie. I think Disney and Tim Burton could have done better, and I'm going to leave you with one final thought; If we could sympathize with an unrealistic animated elephant in the 1940s, we can sympathize with one today.

Those were my first thoughts on Dumbo. See you next time at the Odeon.

Dumbo (1941) - A product of it's time, but still a fine film

In 1940, Disney released one of their riskiest movies ever made, a cinematic experiment to mix classical music with animation that would be known as "Fantasia". It was a break from the norm for Disney, and wouldn't be replicated until their package film era, the reason for that is often a subject for debate, but after the release of Fantasia, Disney returned to their classic story based, character narrative with their fourth ever theatrical animated motion picture, "Dumbo". Also, with the remake coming out soon, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at this film. Can't blame the opportunist, can you?

Dumbo mostly follows the titular baby elephant as he gets pushed around the circus and made fun of for his large ears. After his mother gets taken away for harming a patron in attempt to protect her child, Dumbo befriends a circus mouse that tries to make him more loved at the circus. After a disastrous performance, Dumbo gets put with the clowns, which leads to more misery for the young elephant. After accidentally ingesting alcohol and ending up in a tree, a group of crows give Dumbo a magic feather which convinces him he's able to fly. Story wise, it's a cohesive narrative, at no point do I ever question how one scene lead to another, and by the end I had few questions concerning the film's narrative.

Character wise, there really only are two characters the movie focuses on, Dumbo and the Circus Mouse. As a character, Dumbo is great, he's playful and has his moments of joy, but he's also emotional. The animation gives him great expressions that almost perfectly communicate what he's feeling, which keeps him from becoming a blank slate. The Circus Mouse is also a good character, as he tries to help Dumbo in whatever ways he can. He's gentle and kind, but when he gets angry he will set things right, whether it's spooking some bully elephants, or talking some sense into some crows.

Side characters are abundant in this film, and all are mostly memorable. The other elephants are stuck-up and snooty, to the perfect level of dislikable. The clowns are all energetic, and it's interesting how we never see them outside of their outfits, only in silhouettes.

And yeah, it is time we discuss the elephant in the room (Come on, you knew that pun was coming), the crows. In some respects, yes, the crows can be seen as racist, and they kind of are. They use a lot of slang and are based off of black stereotypes. It can be seen as kind of racist, and yeah, I am glad that we've moved ahead from characters like this. That being said, the characters aren't stigmatized or vilified in any way. When they get scolded by the Circus Mouse, they immediately try to right their wrongs. I can see how they might come off as a little racist, but I wouldn't put this movie up their with the likes of "Birth of a Nation".

The audio of the film is mixed. On one hand, the background music is great, often fitting the mood and setting perfectly, but then again, not a lot of the music is very memorable. I really only remember two songs in the entire movie. In fact, when I wrote the first draft of this review, I forgot to write anything about the music, that's how forgettable it was. I also can't help but notice that some sound effects seemed to be missing, or at least, not used when they could've been. I also couldn't help but notice an odd moment where the Circus master was turning red and getting angrier, and the sound they played did not match the visuals at all. I don't think Dumbo is really one of Disney's best films when it comes to the audio department.

When it comes to the animation however, this movie looks spectacular. Disney animators really knew how to capture size and weight. Objects get morphed and squashed under the weight of the elephants, it's actually really neat to see how the art of animation can capture things like this, even in a time like the 40s. I also must applaud the use of shadows in this movie, making things more surreal, more disturbing and more atmospheric. The Pink Elephants scene is a standout example of this, as the black backgrounds not only emphasizes the colours, but also the surrealism of the scene. I'd also be scolded for not bringing up the scene where Dumbo get's to hug his mother, and how the shadows really help make this scene more powerful. I think this is one of Disney's best animated movies to date.

While I can't say Dumbo is one of Disney's better classics, I think it's still a decent movie. The story was cohesive, the characters were great, and the animation and artistry were top-notch. With that said, the movie isn't particularly funny, and while it has its sad and depressing moments, I don't think it has enough humour to really balance it out. The music is forgettable, some of the audio editing was weird and the movie does have some kinda racist tones to it. Still though, I think Dumbo has enough good elements in it to make it more than a slight recommendation, but I don't think it's good enough to be a high recommendation.

Night is Short, Walk On Girl (2017) - An odd and amusing trip in the fun and bizarre.

Japan is known for making great animated features, from the Studio Ghibli classics to films like Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Paprika, many of Japan's animated features have become well loved by western audiences. So for my first review of an anime movie, I figured I would talk about a more recent feature that I've added to my collection, "Night is Short, Walk on Girl".

While on a night out, a young woman (referred to as Kōhai in the movie) ends up going on many bizarre misadventures including entering a drinking contest with a supernatural being, meeting a god of used-book sales, and becoming the lead in a guerrilla play. At the same time, a young man (referred to as Senpai) tries to find her and confess his feelings while he ends up in different misadventures, including getting his underwear stolen, getting taken into a secret society, and getting pushed into an eating contest for a book, trust me this is all weirder than it sounds. The movie is split into these separate plots though they transition into each other smoothly. After the drinking contest, Kōhai remembers a book she had that might be at a used book fair, after that she witnesses a guerrilla play and goes to follow that plot for a bit. Never was I left wondering how one plot transitioned into another and I found most of the stories to be entertaining to watch.

Kōhai is a great character, always moving at her own pace and seeming to have the best of times. She is usually kind and upbeat, but is not afraid to punch someone if they get on her nerves. Most of the cast is also really good, with their own entertaining mannerisms and humour. I do have a few issues with Senpai though, as his attempts at advancements can be kind of creepy. Despite that, the ways he get's pushed around into things is all fairly amusing, and the cartoonish way he tried to get himself onto the stage in the guerrilla play is funny as well.

Comedy wise, this movie's fine. I think most of the humour comes from the bizarre and cartoonish scenarios and characters, but I never felt that the movie was making painful jokes or really unfunny jokes either. I guess it just depends on your cup of tea.

Animation wise however, this movie really shines. The cartoony animation leads to a lot of exaggeration, and this is what I love animation for. When the movie shows someone sick, it's not just someone that's sick, their entire house is shaking and coughing as well. Mouths and necks stretch to accommodate massive amounts of food and liquor, and there is a lot of bizarre imagery. Especially towards the end where we watch what I can only assume is a fever dream sequence being had by Senpai. Thought that is where the bizarre visuals did start to become uninteresting, the ending of the movie is a nice and calm reward to the total bizarre romp that was the movie.

Night is Short, Walk on Girl is a visual delight. It reminds me a lot of Yellow Submarine where it's more about the experience rather than the story. As an experience it is a fantastical watch and worth seeing just for the cartoony animation style. As a movie, it's a hectic watch with amusing characters I was always glad to see return, and some stories that make this an entertaining watch for more than it's visual appeal. I think anyone who wants to give anime a try but cant get into the art style, this would be a good introductory film. For anyone else, I think it is a fine watch that would delight almost anyone.

First Impressions: Wonder Park (2019)

I typically don't like to review movies that are still in theatres, but I do still want to talk about them. Sort of as a time capsule moment, where I and others can look back if I ever get around to doing a proper review. So, with that said, a quick look at Wonder Park.

Wonder Park was a surprising movie, from the trailers I expected this movie to be bland, generic and full of awful pop songs. Not to say it isn't those things, but it's a little bit more, to the point where I can safely say this might not make my worst animated movies of the year list.

What really surprised me was that the movie did not sugar coat any of it's darker scenes, scene's like the mother leaving to go to the hospital are played with little comedy and no sad pop song. While it is true that they don't state her disease, I think it's more of immersion rather than sugar coating, it kind of brought me back to a similar time. While I do think that good emotional scenes should be the bare minimum a movie, especially a kids movie gives, I can say that these were mostly well done.

Though, the movie does kind of go through the motions a little, their is obviously the falling out scene and the "Pit of Despair" scene, so it does lose some points for that. It doesn't really do anything different with these scenes either so it is a tad predictable.

What also makes this movie lose points is the humour, or the lack there of. I chuckled a couple times, but never once laughed out loud. Can't say I'm too surprised honestly, Nickelodeon hasn't had the best track record when it comes to making movies for young audiences.

The movie has a fair bit of imagination in it, though whether it's original is up for debate. I swear I saw something similar to the Sky Flinger ride in the second Spy Kids movie (Anyone else remember those movies?) However, original or not, I'm sure it's creative enough to spark a child's imagination and it kinda did for me.

Watching this movie was not to dissimilar to watching The Greatest Showman, while not a great movie, was a fine experience. Though I much prefer The Greatest Showman as both a movie and an experience, both movies did spark a creative part of me. I started thinking about what kind of rides I'd like in an amusement park, the rides that YouTube channels like DefunctLand talk about, or the kind of rides and parks you could build in Roller Coaster Tycoon. In some ways, it made me feel like an excited kid making a new world to play in, much like The Greatest Showman did.

In many ways, this is the kind of movie I would have loved to watch as a kid, imaginative, partially silly and colourful. However, as much as I would love to leave it at that and say that the child in me is never wrong, the critical adult has some valid points. I think this is a movie children will enjoy a lot, and unlike a movie like Duck Duck Goose, this is a movie I'm fine with kids watching. This movie could spark their imagination like it did for me, and even if it doesn't, the darker and more emotional scenes are still their to challenge them, give them something to think about.

I can't say this is a great movie, it is rather bland and predictable, but not many kids are gonna mind that. However, there are somethings in here that make it worth watching at least once, but only if you have kids, and for that reason, I can say it's okay.

And those were my first impressions on Wonder Park, see you next time at the Odeon.