Disney's on a roll and up next on its list of remakes is Dumbo, tasking Tim Burton with breathing new life to the flying elephant's story.
Dumbo is still under development but the live-action remake is expected to combine live actors and computer generated effects. Again, details are scarce but Sean Bailey, president of production for Walt Disney Pictures, said that the story will involve a big world, hinting at the possibility that Dumbo's story will revolve around other places outside of the circus. No word yet as well on when the release date will be.
Burton also directed the 2010 remake of Alice in Wonderland, which went on to gross over $1 billion all over the world, making it one of the most successful of Disney's live-action movies. It makes sense then why Disney would be interested in working again with the director. How Burton tackled remaking Alice in Wonderland is also apparently the inspiration for the live-action fairy tale strategy the studio is employing under Bailey's leadership.
Burton's knack for vivid and striking visuals may serve him well in remaking the tale of Dumbo, a young elephant teased for his big ears but eventually learns to fly, most especially when a circus setting (pink elephants parading, anyone?) is integral to the story. While splashes of gloomy demeanor may be expected from Burton, melancholic moments in the original film, like Dumbo holding his mother's trunk through cage bars, are also assumed to be retained.
Disney has always been associated with fairy tales, but the studio's experienced some difficulty working with classics because stories and characters are in the public domain, making them accessible to rivals as well. Warner Bros., for instance, is releasing Pan in summer, a title Disney was also developing. Ariel from The Little Mermaid will also be seen in cinemas under Universal Pictures.
Still, Disney has made great headway remaking some favorites. Cinderella, starring Lily James, hits theaters Friday, for starters, while The Jungle Book is slated for a 2016 release. Beauty and the Beast will be following suit in 2017 with Emma Watson as Belle. Burton-produced Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass will also come out in 2016.
Burton's 2014 movie Big Eyes earned a Golden Globe for Amy Adams. His next movie, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, is due to open in March 2016.
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