Tim Burton once again mines our childhood with live-action Dumbo movie

By Rick Marshall Published March 11, 2015

dumbo tim burton — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tim Burton has taken on some surprising projects in the past, but the latest story the Batman and Edward Scissorhands director is taking on may be one of the most peculiar pairings of filmmaker and source material in recent memory.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Burton will direct a live-action adaptation of the 1941 animated feature Dumbo, the story of an orphaned young elephant with massive ears who discovers that he has a very special ability: he can use his ears to fly. The film is said to offer “a unique family story that parallels Dumbo’s journey.”

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Burton’s Dumbo is expected to use a mix of live-action performance and CGI effects to bring the animated feature into the real world (or as “real” as the director’s quirky films get, at least). The script for the adaptation is being penned by Transformers franchise writer Ehren Kruger.

Dumbo is the latest in a series of live-action adaptations of classic Walt Disney Pictures animated features, with past explorations of the material through Maleficent, and Alice in Wonderland (which was also directed by Burton), and upcoming iterations in Cinderella and The Jungle Book. Together, Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland earned more than $1.7 billion at the box office for the studio.

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