Movies: Production Underway For Tim Burton’s “Dumbo”

Live-Action Reimagining of Walt Disney’s 1941 Classic Animated Film 

Stars Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Eva Green and Michael Keaton

London, England (July 15, 2017) -- Production is underway for the live-action reimagining of Disney’s 1941 animated classic “Dumbo.” Directed by visionary filmmaker Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”), the film stars Golden Globe® winner Colin Farrell (“In Bruges,” “The Lobster”), Golden Globe winner Michael Keaton (“Birdman,” “Beetlejuice”), Emmy® and Golden Globe winner Danny DeVito (“Batman Returns,” “Big Fish”), BAFTA Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Eva Green (“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” “Dark Shadows”), and introduces Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins in their first film roles. The cast also includes Roshan Seth, DeObia Oparei, Sharon Rooney and Douglas Reith. Katterli Frauenfelder (“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” “Big Eyes”), Derek Frey (“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” “Frankenweenie”), Ehren Kruger (“Ophelia,” “Dream House”) and Justin Springer (“TRON: Legacy”) are producing from a screenplay by Kruger. Nigel Gostelow (“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” “Dark Shadows”) is the executive producer. “Dumbo” is slated for release on March 29, 2019.

Disney’s new live-action feature film “Dumbo” introduces Holt Farrier (Farrell), a former circus star who finds his life turned upside down when he returns from the war. Circus owner Max Medici (DeVito) enlists Holt to care for a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a laughingstock in an already struggling circus. But when Holt’s children (Parker and Hobbins) discover that Dumbo can fly, persuasive entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere (Keaton) and an aerial artist named Colette Marchant (Green) swoop in to make the peculiar pachyderm a star.    

Walt Disney’s classic animated tale “Dumbo,” which opened Oct. 23, 1941, won an Oscar® for best scoring of a musical picture and was nominated for best original song for “Baby Mine.”

The creative team includes cinematographer Ben Davis, BSC (“Doctor Strange,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”), Oscar® winning production designer Rick Heinrichs (“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Dark Shadows”), four-time Oscar®-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”), editor Chris Lebenzon, ACE (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Maleficent”) and BAFTA Award-winning make-up designer Paul Gooch (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”).

Utilizing state-of-the-art visual effects to portray Dumbo and many of his four-legged counterparts, “Dumbo” will be filmed entirely in England, both at Pinewood Studios and Cardington Studios.

Movie Review: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

You must be advised dear reader that I am writing this review through the perspective of an individual who has read Ransom Rigg's New York Time's Best Selling "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" with that being said I can already state that: 

1) In my opinion, the movie was better than the book.

2) There are A LOT of changes in the movie. 

-And we are simply not talking about interchanging the "skills" of Olive and Emma but a lot of earth-shattering changed that are not at all found in the first book. Mind you, I haven't read any of the succeeding books, so perhaps they borrowed material from those. 

Other critics may say that the film may be a little a cliched Young Adult book to movie adaptation but I think it had it's own feel and look. For one thing, it's not a heroine who leads the film but a reluctant, socially awkward and possibly depressed teenager in Asa Butterfield's "Jake".

Asa Butterfield as Jake and the lovely Ella Purnell as Emma. 

Now I already mentioned this before but unfortunately I wasn't too happy about Butterfield's performance. He looks the part-yes, his light blue eyes against his dark hair makes him captivating to watch on screen. Yet, I felt that his performance lacked strength. One of my favorite parts about the book is his strong and close relationship with his grandfather, which I felt was not captured on screen. That scene with the telephone call could have crushed hearts and left viewers crying but alasm it didn't. 

I think getting Tim Burton to direct was a wise and crucial choice as he was able to bring his unique brand of the dark and macabre to the story. That scene with Enoch's "toys" were fighting in classic stop-motion animation is just signature Burton. 

The visionary director was also able to add a dark twist to the mythology of the "peculiar children" -hallowgast a and ymbrines included and I thought that it was actually better than it was in the book. 

The intentions and drive of the villain "Barron" as portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson (I can tell he had fun in the role) was more belie all and frankly a lot creepier in the movie.

Eva Green as Miss Peregrine. 

Burton also made the decision to shoot in an actual location (the house) as opposed to using a green screen and CGI and I think that this also helped "ground" the film and make it more real for both actors and viewers. 

Before wrapping up this review, I must recommend Eva Green as the titular Miss Peregrine, I think the whole "dark Mary Poppins" feel, which Burton envisioned was. It's effective and simply a delight to see on the screen. Eva's transformation, complete with eyeliner and long nails to emulate bird talons was just impressive. Of course her "badass" persona as evidenced by her cross bow skills and the way she shushed Jackson completed the package. 

Way to go Miss P.! 

8 out of 10, delightfully dark and a refreshing take on Young Adult themes, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" is a thrilling adventure that makes us reflect and appreciate family, whether by blood or by being "peculiar" together. As well as embracing each of our own quirks and celebrating the peculiar in all of us. 

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" is NOW SHOWING! 

*Wrote this review in the jeep (Hey! When inspiration strikes right?) from Eastwood and even finished writing it even before reaching IPI, yes traffic was  that bad. 

Took out my "handy dandy" notebook and pen and just wrote away. #IcaWrites 

Movie News: TIM BURTON PRODUCES, JAMES BOBIN DIRECTS “ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS”

James Bobin (“The Muppets”) directs Disney's “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” bringing his own unique vision to the spectacular world Tim Burton created on screen with 2010's “Alice in Wonderland” which became a global blockbuster (to the tune of over $1-billion gross) and cultural sensation.

For years the producers of “Alice in Wonderland” talked of a second film. Explains producer Suzanne Todd, “We had discussions about what would be interesting thematically and what we wanted the story to convey, but we just weren’t there yet.”

Screenwriter Linda Woolverton (“Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King”) had been working on a follow-up to her “Alice in Wonderland” screenplay, and soon delivered a clever script which continued the adventures of Lewis Carroll’s vibrant characters and infused them with imagination and heart. Todd shares, “Linda had written a new story told through the prism of the book about the characters and what had happened since we last saw them, as well as what happened to them in the past, and everyone loved it.”

A long-time fan of Carroll’s work, Johnny Depp was pleased to see how respectful Woolverton was of the material. “Editing Lewis Carroll is close to impossible,” says Depp. “You have to come at it with another angle but still keep it focused on the source, which Linda did brilliantly.”

Tim Burton also returns to “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” this time as a producer. He explains, “As a producer you’re there to support the director in whatever way you can, but you are still just as passionate about the project.”

“I really liked James Bobin from the moment we met,” continues Burton. “He’s smart, enthusiastic and full of energy and he had a clear vision as to where he wanted to go with the story and characters, which was nice, as we needed a director who could keep the film similar in look and tone, but who could also approach the story from a different perspective, and that’s a tough balance to get right.”

Bobin has always been intrigued by the concept of time and changing the past, as well as all the questions it posed, which happened to fit perfectly within the framework of Woolverton’s story. The screenwriter soon turned in a new draft with Time as an actual character. “The passage of time is something Alice has always regarded as a bad thing, because time took her father from her at a very early age,” says Bobin. “What she learns in this story is that time isn’t her enemy but is something that can be appreciated.”

Disney's “Alice Through the Looking Glass” is an all-new spectacular adventure featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved stories which stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Rhys Ifans, with Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. In the film, Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter.

Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” opens across the Philippines on July 06, 2016.

“Alice Through the Looking Glass” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures. Like us on Facebook, WaltDisneyStudiosPH; follow us on Twitter, @disney_phil; follow us on Instagram, @disney.ph and use the hashtag #ThroughTheLookingGlassPH.