Disney continues to move full speed ahead with live-action remakes of its classic animated films. With Cinderella opening in theaters this week, The Jungle Book in production and Beauty and the Beast finalizing the casting, attentions has now turned to one of the studio’s most iconic characters: Dumbo.
A live-action version about the flying elephant has been rumored for awhile now, but earlier today the Wall Street Journal was able to confirm the film was on its way, with Walt Disney Pictures president of production also revealing that Tim Burton would direct the film. THR reports that the script comes from Ehren Krueger, and that the remake will “add a unique family story that parallels Dumbo’s journey.”
There’s no denying that Burton’s style is unique and his approach to filmmaking can be a bit unconventional, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s the wrong director to make audiences believe an elephant can fly. He might seem like an off-kilter choice, but it’s worth remembering that his take on Alice in Wonderland resulted in one of Disney’s most successful live-action films in the history of the studio. It was actually the success of that film that marked the beginning of Disney’s plan to begin churning out live-action updates of their catalog – and that seems to have been working in their favor up until now.
Dumbo will reportedly employ a mixture of CG and live action, which doesn’t really come as a surprise, but it’ll be interesting to see if Burton chooses to employ any sort motion-capture for the Dumbo character, or if he’ll be completely digital. Another question is whether or not the elephant will remain mute, as he did in the original 1941 animated version.
Lots of questions, but not too many answers right now. Dumbo doesn’t have a release date yet – although looking ahead at Disney’s slate, I’d be surprised if we saw it before sometime in 2018.