In the late 80s and all through the 90s Tim Burton found a way to make personal movies and, somehow, found a way to make them mainstream successes. Movies like “Edward Scissorhands,” “Ed Wood” and “Sleepy Hollow” were unique and different but struck a chord with the moviegoing public and critics. However, in the past 15 years or so, Burton has resorted to directing commercial movies that just don’t resemble those earlier, more personal projects.
Burton's 2010 adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland” earned over $1 billion at the global box office. It also cemented his 21st-century reputation as the go-to-director for classic children's fantasy. That's his thing now: "Alice," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" and the upcoming "Dumbo."
At least the trailer for “Dumbo” looks great and feels like a Tim Burton movie, which can't be said about the other aforementioned films he's directed the past few years. Suffice to say, if you add his other failed endeavors like "Dark Shadows," Burton has been stuck in a rut for more than a decade. His last great movie? Probably "Sweeney Todd" back in 2007. Nevertheless, I have hopes for "Dumbo," the trailer looks outstanding and it re-teams him with his "Beetlejuice" and "Batman" lead actor Michael Keaton.
As mentioned, Burton was on a roll in the late '80s and early '90s, he was the visionary behind "Ed Wood," and "Edward Scissorhands." The closest he's gotten to that kind of cinematic gothic brilliance was more than 10 years ago with his Stephen Sondheim adaptation of the musical "Sweeney Todd." He also made a half-decent film about painter Margaret Keane called "Big Eyes" back in 2014, which re-teamed him with his "Ed Wood" co-screenwriters Larry Karszewski and Scott Alexander. Other than that, Tim Burton has been playing the role of corporate shill for Disney.
However, what struck me about the “Dumbo” trailer was how Burton-esque it all looked and how it just seemed like a different vision than the original 1941 movie, which was just 64 minutes (this new version clocks in at 112 minutes). Coming off a string of live-action remakes of Disney animated hits, including 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast,” 2016’s “The Jungle Book” and 2010’s Burton-directed “Alice in Wonderland,” which all mostly followed the same formulaic narrative of the originals, never steering away in new and exciting creative directions — we’ve come not to expect much from these films, which are meant to introduce those same stories to a whole new generation of kids. However, maybe, just maybe, Burton may change that with this new movie, on-paper, and from the footage we’ve seen, it looks like a possible comeback for the 60-year-old filmmaker.
I am seeing Burton’s “Dumbo” tomorrow, more to come ….
The short version: "Woman Unknown" was a compromise. The jury deadlocked over "Possible Love" and "NAZA," not able to com to terms, fell back on their #3, May el-Toukhy's film.