From the vision of eccentric director Tim Burton comes the live-action remake of the beloved classic “Dumbo” which tells the story of a baby elephant with large ears who learns how to fly.
The magical and inspiring story is told from different perspectives featuring tons of brand new material while still maintaining the basic premise.
Though the original version and the live-action counterpart have several differences, its basic themes remain the same such as the importance of family, embracing uniqueness, and believing in one’s self.
Here, we highlight some of the major differences between the 2 films, so spoiler alert!
The animals don’t talk
Animals are not the focus in this movie – apart from Dumbo and his mother, so none of them can talk, unlike some of the ones in the original animation. That’s why, a considerable amount of animal characters from the classic have been removed or replaced by humans in the remake.
Dumbo is not delivered by a stork
Unlike the original Disney movie, Dumbo was not delivered by a stork, which in European folklore, is known for bringing babies to new parents. In the remake, Mrs. Jumbo gives birth naturally to Dumbo like any mother would. However, a stork does appear briefly in the remake, before Mrs. Jumbo gives birth.
Timothy Q. Mouse’s roles taken by the Farrier family
One of the most crucial characters in Disney’s classic “Dumbo” is Timothy Q. Mouse, Dumbo’s one and only friend who teaches the baby mammal how to fly with his ears. Though the mouse make a brief appearance in the new film, his role becomes unimportant. Instead, the Farrier family, takes over the role of supporting the baby elephant and teaching him how to fly.
How Dumbo got his name
Dumbo was originally named Jumbo Jr., but because of his huge ears, he is nicknamed Dumbo by other elephants in the 1941 version. In the Tim Burton’s version, the baby elephant gets the name by accident when a sign above him saying “Dear Baby Jumbo” is rearranged as “Dumbo”.
The dancing pink elephants
One of the most famous scenes of 1941’s “Dumbo” is the dancing pink elephant scene, which is deemed as controversial due to the inclusion of alcohol and drunkenness. The sequence appears in the new movie as fancy bubbles which serve as the opening act before Dumbo’s flying act.
Dumbo flies a lot in the remake
Dumbo only flies a few times in the original movie, especially towards the ending. But in the retelling, he is seen flying a lot and he even carries a human or two with him on his back.
The circus go to Dreamland
The remake extend the original movie by introducing new characters and plot. After Dumbo’s successful flying act in the circus, an amusement park tycoon who has his eyes on Dumbo has decided to bring the whole circus to his theme park, Dreamland, where Dumbo and the Farrier family face more obstacles and danger.
Songs from the original movie
“Dumbo” has a couple of iconic songs but only a few of them made it to the remake, and some are only featured as instrumental versions such as “Casey Junior”, “When I See an Elephant Fly”, and “Pink Elephants on Parade”. Sharon Rooney who plays Miss Atlantis in “Dumbo” 2019 performs “Baby Mine” in the movie.
Dumbo and Mrs. Jumbo leave the circus
In the original version, Dumbo becomes a media sensation after his flying act. He and his mother are given a private car on the circus train. But in Tim Burton’s movie, Dumbo and his mom leave the circus to find their family in the jungle.
