DUMBO | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"DUMBO"
(2019) (Colin Farrell, Eva Green) (PG)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: The arrival of a baby circus elephant with huge ears throws everyone for a loop, especially when it's revealed he can fly.

PLOT:

It's 1919 and the aftermath of both WWI and the flu epidemic has resulted in the Medici Bros. Circus being a shadow of its former self. Run by Max Medici (DANNY DeVITO), the various performers, circus animals, and their handlers have hit the road for their national tour, and former equestrian star Holt Farrier (COLIN FARRELL) joins them and is reunited with his young kids, Milly (NICO PARKER) and Joe (FINLEY HOBBINS).

With him being away in the war where he lost his left arm and his wife having died from the flu, Max sold his equestrian team. All of which means his new job is take handle the circus elephants including their latest acquisition, a pregnant one named Jumbo. But hopes that a baby pachyderm might draw some renewed interest in the circus seem dashed when the little one arrives with gargantuan ears that droop all of the way to the ground. Max wants the baby hidden from public view, and through a mishap, he ends being named Dumbo.

Despite the hostile and mocking reaction from others, Milly and Joe take to Dumbo and learn, by accident, that those enormous ears give him the ability to fly, albeit seemingly only when a floating feather is used as an enticement. When word gets out about his abilities, circus showman V.A. Vandevere (MICHAEL KEATON) shows up with his lead trapeze artist, Colette Marchant (EVA GREEN), and buys out Max's circus, mainly to turn Dumbo into the main attraction at his permanently located amusement park, Dreamland. From that point on, the siblings, their father, Colette and others start to see Vandevere's true colors all as pressure mounts for Dumbo to perform for the masses.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Younger kids might be interested, especially if they like the original animated film or if the notion of a flying baby elephant sounds fun.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG: For peril/action, some thematic elements, and brief mild language.

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