Tag: Fantasy

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Favourites – J – Harmony (2018) Movie Review

This is under J because of the lead actress Jessica Falkholt.

Director: Corey Pearson

Writer: Corey Pearson (Screenplay)

Starring: Jessica Falkholt, Jacqueline McKenzie, Eamon Farren, Salvatore Coco, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Jerome Meyer

Plot: Born with an energetic power to absorb fear from others, a young woman must find love to balance the fears of her own and fight an ever growing storm of negative energy.


Tagline – Discover the secrets, unblock the universe

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Harmony starts as we learn about Harmony (Falkholt) who has the ability to take away the pain from people, washing it away, living as an outsider in the world, she keeps to the shadows with only a group of punks led Jimmy (Farren) causing the problems around her. Mason (Meyer) a social awkward young man is looking to fix things from his past, who has a connection to Harmony, finally gives her someone she can touch without feeling the pain somebody is suffering.

With the two lost souls needing to find the truth about their place in the world, each with incredible abilities that will make the world a better place for everyone to live in, despite the evil negative energy in the world.

Thoughts on Harmony

Characters – Harmony is an outsider in the world, but has amazing abilities to take away the pain from people, giving them a reset on their lives, she needs to wash away the paid, which will cause her immense pain and forcing her to want to stay away from people. She tries to help people most in need, which will see her meet Mason who could help her balance the pain. Mason is a social awkward young man that is living in his own pain of what he has caused, he always wants to help people in need, showing a purely kind hearted person in a world filled with pain. He finds himself having a unique connection to Harmony, one that will see him coming out of his comfort zone, willing to risk everything for a stranger he feels like he always knew. Jimmy is the leader of the punks that is always looking to get into trouble, leading him to target Harmony. We get to meet people who know the importance of what Harmony and Mason can bring to the world, as well as the people that could cause more problems to it.

Performances – Jessica Falkholt is great in the leading role of this film, which could have been the start of what could have been a wonderful career, before it was tragically taken away from us. Jerome Meyer brings us such a pure performance which will show all the good in his character, with Eamon Farren brings the darker side to what these powers could bring.

Story – The story here follows a young woman with incredible abilities to take away the pain from people, bringing them peace to continue their lives, while he ends up meeting a social awkward young man that has a unique connection to her. This is the start of something that was always meant to be bigger, we learn the balance of the world through here, where we learn about the bigger connection within the universe. It is a very interest concept and it is one you would like to dive into the bigger picture, which sadly, it doesn’t look like we ever will get.

Fantasy/Romance – The fantasy side of this film does come from the idea behind the character’s abilities, while the romance shows how everything could change for the characters.

Settings – The film uses the big city setting to show us just how people could have secrets you never know about round every corner.


Scene of the Movie – Mason’s driving breakdown.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The punks feel too generic.

Final Thoughts – Harmony is an ambitious movie we could easily see more from, with the interesting world created.



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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Oscar Nominations – W – Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) Movie Review

Director: Mel Stuart

Writer: Roald Dahl (Screenplay)

Starring: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear, Julie Dawn Cole, Leonard Stone, Denise Nickerson

Plot: A poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory.


Tagline – Charlie is let loose in the chocolate factory and every kid’s dream comes true.

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starts when a reclusive chocolate factory owner Willy Wonka (Wilder) creates a competition for five lucky winners to visit it factory, the world is taken by storm with the panic to be the lucky ones to get the tickets. Charlie Bucket (Ostrum) would love a chance to get the ticket, but his family being painfully poor can’t afford the luxury of buying endless amounts of chocolate and he sees Augustut Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teevee get the tickets from around the world, until Charlie finds some money and buys two bars, finding the final ticket and taking his Grandpa Joe (Albertson) to Willy Wonka’s factory, an experience that will be filled with imagination.

Thoughts on Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Characters – Willy Wonka is a reclusive chocolate factory owner that shut the doors on his factory after rivals tried to steal his recipes. He decides to open his doors for a one off special tour for five lucky children, when he first appears you can tell he hasn’t been around people with the mix up of words, with his style being unique and his reluctance to help after the children disobey his rules. Charlie Bucket is from a poor family with his mother always working and his grandparents all sharing one bed, he doesn’t have any luxuries in life, he gets lucky with the last ticket and his humble approach will go against any of the other kids to win the tickets. The four other kids are all filled with a greedy side that has seen them win tickets without feeling like they deserve it.

Performances – Gene Wilder is amazing in the leading role of this film, his delivery of his lines adds to the distant character he has to create in this film. The child stars did work very well through the film, showing the bad natures of the four and the innocent natures of Charlie too.

Story – The story here follows a famous chocolate factory owner that opens his doors for the first time in decades for five lucky winners, who are promised a prize if they make it to the end. This is a story that shows us how children will need to be raised right it, if they are to learn any values in life, showing us four very demanding selfish children who are the complete opposite to Charlie, who has only ever known nothing. The journey through the factory is filled with magical musical numbers that show us just how important being honest truly is for people to succeed.

Fantasy – The fantasy side of the film comes from the different environments the characters find themselves in during the factory tour, each one does feel magical to be in.

Settings – The film does take us to the different locations from around the world for the winners, that shows the different backgrounds, while keeping the factory grounded in the normal town setting, while we enter the factory, we get amazing creations per different rooms.


Scene of the Movie – The first room.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Nothing.

Final Thoughts – Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a truly amazing fantasy musical that will give everyone enjoyment.



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Movie Review

The Wanting Mare (2020) Movie Review

The Wanting Mare – Beautiful World Building

Director: Nicholas Ashe Bateman

Writer: Nicholas Ashe Bateman (Screenplay)

Starring: Jordan Monaghan, Josh Clark, Yasamin Keshtkar, Edmond Cofie, Christine Kellongg-Darrin

Plot: In Whithren, a line of women pass a recurring dream through multiple generations.

Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Wanting Mare starts as we meet Moira a young woman that has recurring dreams that pass through the generations of herself, she lives in the Whithren alone in this world until she meets a man named Lawrence that has been trying to escape this land in the only way, a ticket, Lawrence steals tickets from people, which ends up with him trying to help Moira, only not everything goes to plan.

Thoughts on The Wanting Mare

Characters & Performances – Moira is the woman who is raised in the Whithren, she has dreams that fill the generations of her previous family’s lives, which will guide her and want her to make more, her kind nature sees her help someone in need, hoping to escape this world, giving her the feeling of love for the first time. Lawrence is the man Moira helps, though he is a man that steals tickets, which will offer people freedom from this world, he wants to help Moira in return for her kindness, but not everything goes to plan. This film is filled with strong performances throughout, without anyone getting the big impactful scene that could elevate everything to the next level.

Story – The story here follows a young woman living in the Whithren that is alone, but filled with memories in her dreams that have come from generations before her, she finds herself meeting someone that could help her escape this world getting her a chance of a ticket to freedom. This is a story that will flow well, with a hint of mystery about what is going on, we are left to see how much this world could offer anyone, while not letting them just take it, the generational dreams are the highlight, showing us how we could see someone experience their family’s previous life through dreams, but we do end up having more of the world creation being left to the imagination.

Themes – The Wanting Mare brings us a fantasy film that will look to cover space and time, through a world of emptiness, which looks both bleak and beautiful.

The Wanting Mare is a beautiful movie that is a pleasure on the eyes, that does have a brilliant concept that will be engaging, despite a few flaws along the way.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Catch Up 2020 – I – The Iron Mask (2019) Movie Review

Director: Oleg Stepchenko

Writer: Dmitry Paltsev, Alexey A Petrukhin, Oleg Stepchenko (Screenplay)

Starring: Jason Flemyng, Xingtong Yao, Anna Churina, Jackie Chan, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rutger Hauer, Li Ma, Charles Dance

Plot: English traveller Jonathan Green (Jason Flemyng) receives from Peter the Great an order to map the Russian Far East. Once again he sets out for a long journey full of incredible adventures that will eventually lead him to China. The cartographer will unexpectedly face a lot of breathtaking discoveries, encounter bizarre creatures, meet with Chinese Princesses, and confront deadly martial arts masters, and even the King of all dragons, the Dragon King. What could be more dangerous than meeting eye-to-eye with Viy, except doing it again? What would be stronger this time, a staunch skepticism of the scientist or the old black magic that has seized power of Eastern lands?

Runtime: 2 Hours

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Could be A Lot More

Story: The Iron Mask starts as Jonathan Green (Flemyng) recounts his previous adventures before going in search of Peter The Great. His adventure sees him being forced to leave Russia and head east, where he is joined by Cheng Lan (Yao) who proves to be a deadly fighter, while Jonathan’s wife Miss Dudley (Churina) searches for people that can help free him, including a captured Peter, from prison warden James Hook (Schwarzenegger).

With both sides on their own adventures, the two must trust each other to achieve the goal, which will see them needing to fight the unknown forces in the world, learning about China along the way, needing to rescue a princess from a witch.

Thoughts on The Iron Mask

Characters – Jonathan Green in the great explorer that finds himself needing to travel East of Russia, to map out China, he will help a person in danger in Cheng Lan, before finding himself in the middle of a greater battle in China. Cheng Lan becomes the assistant to Jonathan after he rescues her, she can handle herself in combat and is loyal to the person that saves her, leading the fight against the evil in her homeland of China. Miss Dudley is searching for her husband Jonathan, she finds help along the way, proving to be very resourceful.

Performances – The performances are one of the most misleading parts of the film, while Jason Flemyng is in fact the lead, he does everything right, with Xingtong Yao as the assistant, we do however have two huge names, Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who are both just supporting roles at best in the film.

Story – The story here follows an explorer who is sent to try and map out China for the Russians, only to find himself in the m idle of a much bigger adventure, trying to save a princess from an evil witch controlling the land. This is a story that is filled with the fantasy elements, which at the core is still about trying to free a land from evil, we see how people from across the world would come together for the greater good. We do have two main stories going on hand in hand, with the plan aiming to meet together for a final battle in the end, which doesn’t give us enough time to connect to the characters, as we are expecting to see and travel with both Jackie Chan’s and Arnold’s characters along the way.

Action/Adventure – The action in the film does blend with the fantasy well, we might well have been expecting certain stars fighting, we even get a tease between two, we are left with a big concluding battle, which helps keep things enjoyable.

Settings – The film takes us from the Tower of London, Russia, through to China, with the final taking place in a location with a beautiful backdrop.

Special Effects – The effects are a right mix, we have some dubbing, which comes off terribly, while certain fights look amazingly well arranged.


Scene of the Movie – The little creature that flies with Cheng Lan.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The dubbing.

Final Thoughts – This is one of the most misleading movies of the year, it is sold on two big names only for them to be nothing more than supporting character, with the main story being routine for a fantasy adventure.

Overall: Easy to watch adventure.

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Movie Review

Come Away (2020) Movie Review

Director: Brenda Chapman

Writer: Marissa Kate Goodhill (Screenplay)

Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Angelina Jolie, Michael Caine, Reese Yates, Anna Chancellor, Keira Chansa, Jordan A Nash, David Gyasi

Plot: When their eldest brother dies, Peter and Alice seek to save their parents from despair until they are forced to choose between home and imagination, setting the stage for their iconic journeys into Wonderland and Neverland.

Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Come Away starts as we meet a family living an a perfect house surrounded by countryside, mother Rose (Jolie), father Jack (Oyelowo) with their three children, Alice (Chansa), Peter (Nash) and David (Yates), the family is going to be facing is difficult decision when it comes to David’s education, but their world is turned upside when he dies in an accident.

With Rose and Jack filled with grief they return to old lives which will only cause the family more heartache, while Alice and Peter look to go on their own adventures to help them deal with the pain, using the fairy tales they grew up on to get them through the hard times.

Thoughts on Come Away

Thoughts – Come Away is a film that will show us how difficult loss can be on a family and how they will turn to different ways to try and overcome it, one might turn to gambling, while children will turn to a fantasy world, where they can still be together, this magical side of the film, is by far the strongest part of the film. We need to see the most important part of the grieving process is being together, not falling apart. We see Angelina Jolie in the supporting role does feel almost wasted, but she does let the younger stars take centre stage with Keira Chansa and Jordan A Nash shining with their roles in the film. The story doesn’t end up feeling as magical as it seems to want to be, failing short on making us get the true impact the story is going for.

Final Thoughts – Come Away doesn’t hit the full sparkle of magic it is trying to get with the reality of dealing with grief.

Signature Entertainment presents Come Away in Cinemas from 18th December

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Movie Review

I Still See You (2018) Movie Review

Director: Scott Speer

Writer: Jason Fuchs (Screenplay) Daniel Waters (Novel)

Starring: Bella Thorne, Richard Harmon, Dermot Mulroney, Amy Price-Francis, Shaun Benson, Louis Herthum, Thomas Elms

Plot: Set ten years after an apocalyptic event that killed millions and left the world inhabited by ghosts.


Tagline – What if your whole world was haunted?

Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Gloomy Fantasy

Story: I Still See You starts as we go into a world where an event happened killing millions, leaving the remaining survivors in a world where the ghosts return daily to complete small tasks, without being able to interact with the living. Veronica (Thorne) is a high school student that starts to see something strange with a new ghost, turning first to her teacher August Bittner (Mulroney), then outsider student Kirk (Harmon) who has a reputation for understanding the ghosts in the world.

The deeper Veronica and Kirk start looking into the mystery about the new ghost, they discover, this ghost has an ability to do more than just visit, he is a killer and now they are looking into his history to learn how they could stop him.

Thoughts on I Still See You

Characters – Veronica is a high school student that survived the event which took millions of lives, she is forced to watch her father fade away on a daily bases, only for her to start seeing a new ghost from her world that wants to attack her, this leads to her needing to figure out the truth and not knowing who to trust to make it out alive. Kirk is considered the outsider, this is because he has studied the ghosts, getting closer to understanding the bigger picture involved with them. August Bittner is the teacher that explains to the students about what is going on in this world, he is the person Veronica trusts the most looking for help. Mrs Calder is Veronica’s mother that is still a big part of her life, trying to help her get through it all.

Performances – Bella Thorne in the leading role is strong enough, showing the person needing to fight to survive in a world where ghosts are all around us, Richard Harmon brings us a character that fills the gaps in the story, doing nothing wrong, with Dermot Mulroney being a good teacher figure. None of the performances are outstanding, they all help the film role well.

Story – The story here follows a high school student who lives in a world where an major event killed millions, with the new ability to have ghosts appear in everyday life, like memories, only now she has seen a new ghost that is trying to kill her, forcing her to uncover the truth about what happened in the incident. This is a story that does seem to fall into the ghost investigation story, but by having ghosts in everyday life, it takes away most of the horror side of this. The world we enter is interesting, though it would have been nice to see just how big the event was in the whole world, as it does seem like it was only this one city. We are left to wonder about who could be trusted in Veronica’s life which is important because that is how ghost investigations movies work.

Fantasy – The fantasy size of this film focuses first on the world created and how the people in the world operate with what happens.

Settings – The film puts us into a city that has been left with the shadows of lost loved ones, it does give us a dark feeling through the film about what is happening.

Special Effects – The effects are used well to show us how the ghosts going on within them fading away like real.


Scene of the Movie – The off-limits city.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The final reveal.

Final Thoughts – This is an interesting ghost investigation where it creates an engrossing world, filled with pain because of what happened, with the idea of a race to survive the unknown coming through strong.

Overall: Strong Fantasy.

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ABC Film Challenge – Romance – J – Aladdin (2019) Movie Review

This is under J because it is about Aladdin trying to win Jasmine’s heart.

Director: Guy Ritchie

Writer: Guy Ritchie, John August (Screenplay)

Starring: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnuessen

Plot: A kind-hearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.


Tagline – Choose wisely.

Runtime: 2 Hour 8 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Lacks the Magic

Story: Aladdin starts as we meet the street urchin Aladdin (Massoud) who is always looking to make his meal ticket with his quick hands, saving Jasmine (Scott) who is pretending to be a local, escaping from her strict father’s (Negahban) rules, experience the thrill of the city. Jafar (Kenzari) is scheming to make his own plans for when the Sultan is gone, waiting for make his own move on Princess Jasmine, against her own mother’s kingdom.

After being caught in the act by Jafar forces Aladdin on his own search for treasure, in search of the lamp with will give him power, only Aladdin keeps the lamp for himself, where he meets the Genie (Smith) who grants him wishes, where he must master the power behind it.

Thoughts on Aladdin

Characters – Aladdin is a street urchin that has quick hands which keeps food available for him, he gets a chance meeting with the rebellious princess, falling in love, showing his honest ways, only he is too poor to be considered anybody that could be with her. He gets forced to steal the magic lamp only to be betrayed and left for dead. Once he learns the power of the lamp, he tries to use it to win Jasmine’s heart, whatever the cost, not being like the other princes that try to win her heart. Princess Jasmine has been held away from the world by her strict father who is scared for her life until she marries a prince, she doesn’t want to just marry royalty, she wants to become her own leader to the people of her city. Genie is who comes out of the lamp to offer Aladdin the three wishes, he does explain how the wishes unfold and wants to help Aladdin create the best wishes, using her natural charisma. Jafar is the second in command of the city, he is planning his own rise to rule the city, with or without Jasmine on his arm.

Performances – This movie does have a string of performances that have glimpses from Naomi Scott and Will Smith, only we don’t see everything we could about them, while Mena Massoud lacks the spark for the Aladdin we have known, while Marwan Kenzari just doesn’t come off as evil as he should.

Story – The story here follows a street urchin who finds a magical lamp and uses it to hopefully win the heart of the princess of the kingdom, where he must learn his own responsibility about life isn’t just about the power of three wishes. Being a remake of the animation, we know where the story will go and it doesn’t differ to any major levels and does continue to show the important message, power and money won’t by you happiness, while showing strict rules that could be broken for somebody to have their own happiness when it comes to position in power.

Fantasy/Romance – We do get the fantasy side of this film follows the idea of a genie granting wishes, which is interesting, only not fully expressed, while the romance is there and is more about breaking down the walls over anything.

Settings – The film does us the settings to show us the different world that Aladdin and Jasmine are from, with the cave being such a wonderful location too, only we don’t spend enough time there.

Special Effects – The effects in the film have moments looking amazing, only for them to not look that great all the way through.


Scene of the Movie – The cave.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Aladdin and Jafar just aren’t interesting enough.

Final Thoughts – This just is just like a glossy remake that just doesn’t have the magic it should leaving us feel like we have missed out on something bigger and better.

Overall: Simple and not enjoyable.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – World Cinema – W – Woochi (2009) Movie Review

Director: Dong-hoon Choi

Writer: Dong-hoon Choi (Screenplay) Ho-min Ju, Park Myeong-Chan (Comic)

Starring: Dong-won Gang, Soo-jung Lim, Yook-seok Kim, Hae-jin Yoo, Young-chang Song, Sang-ho Kim

Plot: Jeon Woo-chi, an undisciplined womanizing Taoist from the Joseon era, ends up in present day Korea causing mayhem with his knack for magic.


Tagline – World beware. The wizard is coming.

Runtime: 2 Hours 16 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Fun Fantasy Adventure

Story: Woochi starts as we enter a world of goblins which become life sized animals like rats or rabbits and wizard of ancient times, where Woochi (Gang) a mischievous wizard that has great power to calmly take over the king if he needs to, he is wanted amongst the world with his trusted sidekick Chorangyi (Yoo) who could be transformed into any animal.

On Woochi’s latest quest he comes to save a widow Seo IN-kyeong (Lim) only to find himself in the middle of a battle between the goblins and the pipe that would give them control of the world, with Master Hwa-dam (Kim) the most powerful wizard in the land trying to take the pipe.

When Woochi is trapped within a painting for five centuries, he is summoned back after the goblins have returned for the pipe, now in the modern day Woochi must continue to master his skills to save the world from destruction from the Archgod.

Thoughts on Woochi

Characters – Woochi is a young wizard, he likes to cause trouble with his powers, he believes he is the most powerful wizard in the land, even though he isn’t and wants to use his powers to do the odd criminal action against bad people, he does get put in his place by his master, and trapped in a world that he isn’t prepared for needing to fight for the right thing once again. Seo In-kyeong was the widow in the ancient times, the woman Woochi falls for, in the modern era she is an assistant to an actress who finds herself caught in the middle of the battle, having no knowledge of what could come her way. Hwa-dam is a master wizard, the most powerful in the land, he does become consumed by the power the goblins could give him, wanting the pipe for himself, it is against him Woochi must prove his own power. Chorangyi is the sidekick to Woochi, he is a dog that has been turned into a human, with the ability to turn into other animals too, including the trust horse.

Performances – Dong-won Gang as Woochi is great to watch, he embraces the cocky side to his character which only is meant to make him look foolish, without being a fool and makes us see that the confidence he brings to the role helps his character overcome the odds. Soo-jung Lim gets to play two different characters both from different eras which does make her show off the change in how the woman was perceived between the eras. Yoon-seok Kim does well through the film as the evil master wizard, showing his ability to adapt to both worlds too, while Hae-hin Yoo will bring us the most laughs through the film as the dog figure.

Story – The story follows a cocky young wizard that gets caught up in the middle of a battle between humans and goblins for control in the world, where he gets frozen in time to continue the battle five centuries later. This is a story that is based in fantasy and does established early on and is one we can take into what we are getting into. The idea of moving to different era does help add something to the story because of the fish out of water idea and with the lack of belief in the former traditions or mythical enemies that could come towards the modern day. We do have a character that needs to learn his place in the world and learn to use his power for good instead of just being cocky about what he could do.

Action/Comedy/Fantasy – The action in this film is entertaining, it is big just like you would expect it to be, using the fighting techniques to increase everything, while using elements of the comedy to lighten the mood and the fantasy to show us the world we are in.

Settings – The film does use to eras for the settings, first the ancient world before hitting the modern era which helps show how out of place the Woochi looks in it.

Special Effects – The effects are wonderful to see, we get to see just how many are used for the fights which do include the elements being used, transformation through flat services too.


Scene of the Movie – The first goblin fight.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does have a moment of confusion in the final battle.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun adventure that embraces the fantasy world we are entering and with make you laugh along the way.

Overall: Entertaining from start to finish.

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2019 – D – Dumbo (2019) Movie Review

Director: Tim Burton

Writer: Ehren Kruger (Screenplay) Helen Aberson, Harold Pearl (Novel)

Starring: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin, Nico Parker

Plot: A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer.


Tagline – In 2019, a beloved tale will take you to new heights.

Runtime: 1 Hour 52 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Charming

Story: Dumbo starts when Holt Farrier (Farrell) returns from war, to re-join the circus run by Max Medici (DeVito) where his kids Milly (Parker) and Joe (Hobbins) have been living and working for years, Holt has come back injured, with the only job offered to him, being cleaning up after the elephants, one of which is pregnant giving birth to an elephant with giant ears, which only causes chaos on his debut in the circus.

After Dumbo’s mother is taken away, he is left alone, while the children learn about his flying skills, which turns Max’s circus into the talk of the country, attracting V. A. Vandevere (Keaton) who wants to offer Max the world for Dumbo.

Thoughts on Dumbo

Characters – Holt Farrier is a war veteran widow that has returned to his children in a circus. He has been suffering with his time away, this has seen him not show as much affection as his wife would have, he takes the only job he can get which sees him training and cleaning up the elephants, his time back in the circus does bring him back to his kids, where he learns how important life still can be. V. A. Vandevere is the operator of Dreamland, he sales the idea of a better life for the whole troop, even if he has his own ideas to just make himself rich. Max Medici runs the small circus that discovers Dumbo’s talent, he has always been in the game for the money and can’t resist the idea of money when Vandevere arrives but must learn there is more to his life than money. Colette Marchant is the star performer in Vandevere show, she has been for years though she is just the hottest thing he has going for a while, she doe solve to perform. Dumbo is the baby elephant with giant eyes, who loses his mother, but has the incredible ability to fly, drawing crowds from miles.

Performances – Colin Farrell gives us a wonderful performance as the caring veteran who has been struggling with his own problems once returning from war. Michael Keaton enjoy the villainous role, while Danny DeVito is shows the desperation while still bringing the heart needing for the role, Eva Green shines to as the beautiful performer too.

Story – The story here shows how a small circus that finds themselves with a star attraction in Dumbo, which sees them become a success that the whole country wants to see. The story might focus on Dumbo being forced into performing after having his mother taken away, while deeper down we get to see a family that has been broken from death and war, needing to come back together. We see themes of greed with the circus masters at times, but all together the ideas behind everything all shine through to show that people who do good will get what they deserve in life.

Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure shows the how Dumbo comes into the world and put through traumas at a young age before finding his feet and learn that some people are good in life, with the fantasy of an elephant that can fly being the highlight of what makes Dumbo so special.

Settings – The film uses the settings to show the different sizes of circus that we see Dumbo being part of.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are brilliant bringing Dumbo to life like nothing we could have imagined.


Scene of the Movie – The Dumbo flight.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does spend too much time telling Milly she can’t follow her scientist dreams.

Final Thoughts – This is the best live action Disney film of 2019, it brings the scale of the idea to life, which looks wonderful and has great performances too.

Overall: Beautiful Fantasy Film.