Tim Burton’s <em>Dumbo</em> Is a Dark Interpretation That Really Soars
With the latest Disney remake, the director embraces his newest misfit hero—and makes his best movie in years.
Dumbo the big-eared elephant might be Tim Burton’s most complex protagonist in years. Perhaps that’s a backhanded compliment, as the director behind masterworks such as and has mostly churned out forgettable sludge in recent years, including another remake of a Disney animated classic (the risible ). But in , the master of movies about misfits (, ) has found a hero worth rallying around: a floppy-lobed circus animal who finds his calling as a superstar when he learns to fly. It’s enough to give a jolt ofthe first Burton film in more than a decade to be remotely introspective.
