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When Tim Burton takes a seat in the director's chair, extraordinary, visually impressive films are created. After ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010), DUMBO is the second time he has directed a Disney classic as a live-action film with a star cast. For the theatrical release of DUMBO on March 28th, we are giving away a total of two fan packages , each consisting of a poster , an umbrella , a notebook and a T-shirt for adults. To take part in the competition, all you have to do is answer the following question in the comment box below:
What are the names of Holt's children?
The story
Max Medici's (DANNY DEVITO) circus has seen better days. And now there's a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a target for scorn and ridicule. Former circus star Holt Farrier (COLIN FARRELL), who has just returned from the war, is supposed to help. And when Holt's children Milly (NICO PARKER) and Joe (FINLEY HOBBINS) find out that Dumbo can fly, it's not just the struggling circus troupe that puts their hopes in the little pachyderm. The persuasive entrepreneur VA Vandevere (MICHAEL KEATON) smells big money and wants to persuade Medici to sell little Dumbo as an attraction for his amusement park...
DUMBO - FUN FACTS
THE ORIGINAL ANIMATED FILM
ONCE UPON A TIME... The original story of DUMBO dates back to 1939, when it was to be brought onto the market in the form of a so-called Roll-A-Book - an absolute novelty at the time. A Roll-A-Book is a type of box with a small wheel that can be turned to read the story through a type of window. The two authors of “Dumbo the Flying Elephant” were Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl. Whether the Roll-A-Book was ever produced remains a mystery - there is no evidence. But when Walt Disney secured the rights to the story, he published 1,430 copies of the story in regular book form.
NEW LOCATION - DUMBO is one of the first films completed at Disney's new studio lot in Burbank. The studio opened there in 1940. It was built using the proceeds from SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS.
THE SPICE IS IN THE BRIEFITY – DUMBO was originally supposed to be a 30-minute short film. Ultimately, it was just under 64 minutes long, making it Disney's second shortest animated film behind THREE CABALLEROS IN SAMBA FEVER from 1942, whose running time is 42 minutes.
NOT A WORD COMES FROM HIS LIPS - Unlike Mrs. Jumbo, Timothy Mouse and many other animals, Dumbo, who won the hearts of audiences around the world, does not speak in the original animated film. In Tim Burton's new version of the story, none of the animals speak.
A COMPLETELY NEW APPROACH TO REAL FILM
THE CIRCLE IS COMPLETED - Tim Burton studied animation at CalArts, where several future Disney directors were his fellow students such as Chris Buck (FROZEN), John Musker (MOIANA), Mike Giaimo (Frozen), Glen Keane (RAPUNZEL) or Rich Moore (CHAOS ON THE NET). In the early 1980s, Burton worked for Disney Animation and directed two short films for the studio ("Vincent" and the live-action short "Frankenweenie"). Later, in 1993, he wrote and directed the stop-motion phenomenon NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, which became a cult film. His 2010 reimagining of ALICE IN WONDERLAND won two Oscars: for Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood) and for Best Art Direction (Scenic Designer Robert Stromberg & Set Decorator Karen O'Hara).
ANIMAL MAGIC - The live-action vision of DUMBO uses the very latest in visual effects technology to bring Dumbo and many of his four-legged companions to life.
TSCHU TSCHU TSCHU - With the train from the animated film in mind, the filmmakers of the live-action version recreated the entire Casey Jr. Circus Train true to scale. However, since the Medici Bros. Circus is anything but new and shiny, the train had to be artificially aged by chipping some of the paint and showing noticeable signs of wear. It should accurately reflect the status quo of the circus.
SIMPLICITY IS TRUMP - Tim Burton and his team wanted to pay homage to the minimalist and expressionistic look of the first animated film. In order to transfer this look to the live-action world, they worked a lot with film noir and developed stripped-down environments and lighting concepts. Ultimately, reality and expressionism were balanced.
THE TENTS ARE PITCHED - DUMBO was filmed outside London in the Pinewood Studios East. It is the second film made in this new phase of the famous film studio.
REALITY TAKES PRIORITY – The production team actually built as much of the Medici Bros. Circus and Dreamland as possible to ground the story.
ON HORSEBACK – Colin Farrell knows horses. He has already appeared in several films that required proven riding skills (ALEXANDER, WINTER'S TALE, etc.). Since his character is described in the DUMBO script as a former circus star with a special equestrian act, Farrell trained with a lasso and a riding instructor.
SCIENCE NERD - The prop provided Milly with books by physicist Marie Curie to emphasize the character's passion for science. Nico Parker, who plays Milly, studied these books herself to better understand her character, but came to the conclusion that she privately did not share Milly's love of science.
WILD ACCESSORY - Actor Roshan Seth, who plays snake breeder Premesh Singh, was comfortable wearing a real python around his neck in most of his scenes
LITTLE FISH SWIM - The tank in which Miss Atlantis lives was built with double walls: the smaller, inner tank, which was inside the larger tank, was filled with water and fish to make it appear that Miss Atlantis lived underwater.
LAYERS OF SCALE - Miss Atlantis' costume consists of over 100 overlapping scales, each individually hand embroidered. Alternating in black and turquoise rows, the scales were made from three to four layers of fabric, each with sequin borders that gave each scale a reflective shine.
TWO OF THE SAME BLOCK - Ivan the Wonderful and Catherine the Greater are a magician couple in the film who looked after Milly and Joe after their mother died and while their father was away at war. Miguel Munoz and Zenaida Alcalde, who are also a couple in real life, took on these roles. The Spanish actors specialize in artistry, trapeze and magic.
NO HALF MEASURES - The filmmakers were all of the opinion that the circus acts should be real in order to give their circus the necessary level of authenticity. That's why they brought the Hungarian Kristian Kristof on board, a fourth-generation circus scion, who was not only supposed to pass on his extensive circus knowledge, but also activate his contacts in the international circus industry. As a result, a troupe of artists from all over the world was put together, including jugglers, clowns, knife throwers, contortionists, a dog trainer and many others.
BABYLONIA - The film's circus troupe consisted of people from many different countries. Because of the many different languages, the artists initially had a hard time establishing contact with each other - until a ping pong table was set up.
HIGH GOALS - Eva Green embodies the aerial acrobat Colette Marchant - but the actress took on the role with an extreme fear of heights. A professional aerialist was hired to double for Green if necessary, work with her and increase her confidence during the aerial shots. Eventually, Green was able to conquer much of her fear and do much of her choreography herself.
ON TIPTOES – For the role of aerial acrobat Colette Marchant, Eva Green not only had to radiate the physical tension but also the flowing suppleness of such an artist. Personal trainer and aerialist Francesa Jaynes was chosen to work with Green. In order to train strength and elegance, ballet was also part of the preparation.
ODE TO TIMOTHY – In the film, Milly and Joe have a small mouse circus. This is intended as a nod to the mouse Timothy from the original animated film.
MOVIE MAGIC - Since Dumbo, Mrs. Jumbo and the film's other elephants were added by the visual effects team in post-production, the production crew had to build stand-ins on set for actors to slip into to act in the scenes. In some cases, life-size replicas were even created to make it easier to illuminate some scenes. In other cases, team members dressed all in green - so they could be easily erased in post-production - and wore elephant-sized frames as stand-ins for where the elephants would actually be. Green plush toys and elephant costumes were also made to establish the eye lines.
LOVELY MUSIC – Sharon Rooney, who plays Miss Atlantis, got to sing the iconic song “Baby Mine.” The song has a permanent place in Rooney's heart: her grandmother used to sing it to her as a child. The scene also required Rooney to play the ukulele, even though she had never picked up the instrument before. She was able to play the song after just a week.
PARADE MARCH! – For the parade scene in Dreamland, costume designer Colleen Atwood and her team designed over 200 costumes for the cast and another 400 for the extras.
JELL-O - The team in charge of animating the elephants took existing technology to the next level: They added moving skin, tensing muscles, and sloshing fat to give the animals the mass they needed.
Win one of two big fan packages when DUMBO hits theaters on March 28th!
