The 1941 animated Disney movie known as “Dumbo” is a classic to numerous audiences of numerous ages, but in an attempt to capitalize on the trend of live-action Disney remakes, Tim Burton tries but fails to create a more modern take on the classic.

The plot follows the Farriers, a family of three belonging to an impoverished circus, which in a desperate attempt at success, takes in a pregnant elephant. However, when the elephant births her child, the infant is revealed to have mutated ears that are initially viewed as hideous but become a selling point of the circus when they are revealed to allow the infant flight capabilities.

Capitalizing on the success of the flying elephant, known to many as Dumbo, the circus is bought out by a wealthy businessman known as Vandevere (played by Michael Keaton), who merely seeks to exploit the circus and Dumbo for his own personal gain.

“Dumbo” has the elements of a successful children’s film through its repeated usage of an innocent creature mocked by society and only wanting freedom, while virtually no other characters seem to care, with many whimsical spectacles thrown in between, such as the repeated flight scenes. However, these elements are not enough to carry a film for audiences older than the target demographic. The film suffers from an unnecessary time length with many padded-out scenes that grind the film to a halt until the circus sequences, which in themselves become repetitive by the end.

The issue with “Dumbo” is ultimately the fact that the film does not realize how its premise, being confined to numerous repeats of the same circus act, is not enough to carry a product that is nearly two hours long. The film relies heavily on the emotional aspect of Dumbo the elephant, but the rest of the numerous characters, who belong to a circus, are not realized or fleshed out, thus making the film’s actual substance bland and uninteresting past a surface level.

The performances in “Dumbo” are incredible due to the all-star cast, featuring names such as Colin Farrell, Anne Hathaway and Danny DeVito, to name a few. The performance that is arguably the most memorable would be Michael Keaton as the film’s villain, who obviously is enjoying the film’s shallow material by being as close to a cartoon villain’s demeanor as possible. In this respect, “Dumbo” is not entirely lifeless.

In the typical realm of director Tim Burton, the visuals and presentation are prioritized much more than any other aspect of the film, with mixed results. While the film itself is visually and audibly appealing, the sheer excess is difficult to ignore. The presentation suffers much from fatigue in that the main selling point of the film, Dumbo’s flight, overstays its welcome after the third sequence, which shows that the film fails to stand out beyond being a well-presented children’s film.

The live-action remake of “Dumbo” is a difficult film to recommend or dissuade against viewing. The film will certainly appeal to children due to its innocent premise and decent presentation, but for adults, it is a bland viewing that, while not entirely terrible, is not memorable or groundbreaking in the slightest. As with “Alice in Wonderful,” this is an example of Tim Burton not understanding how certain family films are noteworthy for their simplicity and do not require transformation into bloated spectacles.