Dumbo Set Visit Report: A Different Type Of Live-Action Disney Film

Screen Rant had the opportunity to visit the set of Disney’s live-action Dumbo movie, at Pinewood Studios outside of London, way back in September 2017. Directed by Tim Burton, who helmed Disney’s Alice in Wonderland remake years ago which formally kicked off their live-action remake craze, Dumbo is an adaptation of the 1941 animated classic film but also an original story crafted by screenwriter Ehren Kruger.

Starring Colin Farrell as Holt Farrier, Michael Keaton as V.A. Vandevere, Danny DeVito as Mex Medici, and Eva Green as Colette Marchant, the 2019 live-action Dumbo movie moves the story’s setting from Florida around the time of World War II to the midwest shortly after the end of World War I. In the movie, Medici hires Farrier – a veteran who lost his arm fighting in the war – to care for Mrs. Jumbo’s baby elephant, Dumbo. And upon hearing that Dumbo can fly, Vandevere acquires the Medici Circus and, presumably, makes Dumbo the leading act of his circus, Dreamland.

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We joined approximately a dozen other entertainment journalists in checking out the set of Dumbo more than a year ago, about halfway through the movie’s development. What we saw was quite impressive for the scale of the film, especially since Burton is aiming to retell the classic story in a new, unique way. While Disney has seen enormous success with straight adaptations like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, they’re also looking to take some chances but also retain what made the originals special.

Dumbo Creates A Real-Life Circus For The Big Screen

Dumbo is the star of Medici and Vandevere’s circuses, but that doesn’t mean Burton and Disney have disregarded everything else. Everything in the training tent, such as the swings, are in working condition, and Disney hired real-life trapeze artists to star in the movie as extras. Eva Green herself had been taking lessons with aerialists for about three months – as of the time of our set visit – in order to properly play her character, Colette Marchant. (Green was still training at that time.) Colette’s act in the circus is called the Queen of the Heavens, and part of it is The Layer Cake. One of her performances includes four contortionists, who’ve Disney hired from Mongolia.

Interestingly, of all the things on set that are original and were acquired specifically for the film are the vehicles, such as the Ford Model T. An iconic car in American history that’s regarded as the first vehicle to be affordable for the middle class, the Ford Model Ts seen in Disney’s Dumbo movie are real; they were purchased and restored for the film and are in working condition. According to the producers, the vast majority of Dumbo‘s sets and effects are practical, with the baby elephant himself accounting for the bulk of Dumbo‘s CGI. What’s more, the Dumbo movie had zero on-location shooting. All of it was shot on a soundstage at Pinewood.

Related: Colin Farrell Interview: Dumbo Set Visit

The Inspirations For Disney’s Live-Action Dumbo

Costume designer Colleen Atwood went to great lengths to make sure Dumbo‘s costumes resembled the circuses from that time period, including visiting in Florida and Wisconson, as well as researching circuses in New York. She specifically wanted to know more about European audiences, since many ideas brought over from Europe were integrated into circuses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Expanding upon the notion that Burton’s Dumbo movie isn’t a straight remake of Disney’s animated classic, Atwood mentioned that the only real aspect from the animated movie that was adapted into the live-action version was the color palette (aside from the story, that is). This can already be seen in Dumbo‘s trailers and photos. And while Atwood has worked with Burton before, she stated that Dumbo is unlike anything they’ve both done before… in many ways. One of those ways, which is perhaps most interesting to Burton fans, is that it doesn’t contain any gothic or Victorian elements – two things that Burton is well known for having in his films.

Related: Danny DeVito Interview: Dumbo Set Visit

Of course, while Dumbo is extraordinarily accurate to its time period of post-WWI, which includes the circus designs, the costumes (many of which contain faded colors and have been worn out), and the color scheme, Atwood cautions that Dumbo isn’t meant to be a documentary-esque look into the past. Rather, Dumbo is approximately 90 percent accurate to its time period. This is a fantasy movie, after all.

Page 2 of 2: Behind-The-Scenes Secrets About Disney’s Dumbo Movie

The Secrets Behind Disney’s Live-Action Dumbo Movie

While on set, producers Justin Springer and Derek Frey shared some information regarding the development of Disney’s live-action Dumbo movie as well as unique details about its production and story. Check them out below:

• Dumbo is a fantastical film, but the only magical element in the movie is Dumbo himself – since Dumbo can fly. But everything else, including the other animals, are normal. There are no talking or singing animals in Burton’s Dumbo movie.
• Because there aren’t any other magical elements in the movie, Dumbo is supposed to be the most grounded live-action Disney movie to-date. If the baby elephant Dumbo were to be removed from the story, Dumbo would turn into an ordinary period drama.
• Since there aren’t any talking or singing animals in the movie, the memorable gossip elephants also aren’t there.
• A unique part of adapting Dumbo into live-action is being able to tell two parts of the story, which leads to two emotional cores: Dumbo’s story about being a flying elephant and then the human factor, which is led by Holt Farrier’s family.
• Being an animator has allowed Burton to translate the best moments from the animated film onto the big screen, in live-action, without detracting from the story. In fact, the producers credit Kruger and Burton with capturing Dumbo’s perspective with rather unique camera movements.
• Dumbo has its heavy and sad moments, as taken from the Disney cartoon, but the live-action adaptation is much brighter, warmer, and welcoming.
• One of the movie’s best surprises are the pink elephants, which were added in at the last minute and will be something worth seeing in 3D, according to Frey.
• In addition to the Dumbo movie being critically and commercially successful, the producers say that the best honor would be to have the Disney Imagineers see what they’ve done with Dumbo in the film and update the rides as Disney Parks around the world using the film as inspiration.
• Ultimately, Dumbo is an amalgamation of Burton’s classics, including Batman, Big Fish, and Frankenweenie.
• Knowing that Burton was a strange choice for Dumbo, Frey and Springer are quick to note that this isn’t Batman’s version of Dumbo but rather a kid-friendly movie that can be enjoyed by the entire family.
• Even though Dumbo is an original story, there are still quite a few moments taken from the animated film; those elements will either be directly adapted into the live-action movie or referenced in surprising ways. One of those things is how Dumbo gets his name, which DeVito mentioned happens in a very “Tim Burton-esque” way.

Related: Joseph Gatt Interview: Dumbo Set Visit

Other Notes From The Dumbo Set

• Production designer Rick Heinrichs notes that the final Medici Circus seen at the end of the film is much brighter and than it was prior to Vandevere’s acquisition. Medici learns a lot from the Dreamland circus and integrates those ideas into his own circus.
• Heinrichs also said that, for the first time, they used lots of 3D printing on set. (This could become a go-to for future films as well, if it isn’t already.)
• Dumbo’s flying in the movie can be contrasted to Superman’s, as the film takes real-life physics into consideration.
• As for the design of Dumbo himself, he’s supposed to be a cross between a real life elephant and the cartoon version. One version was too real for the film, so they went back to square-one and tried to make him “more adorable“.
• Dumbo‘s production budget is about equivalent to Dark Shadows, which cost approximately $150 million.
• One of the main reasons the Dumbo movie is set in post-WWI is because it was a time in which circuses still existed in great numbers, but they were also dwindling due to the rise in motion pictures and the Hollywood lifestyle.
• Instead of creating their own world, as Jon Favreau did with The Jungle Book and is currently doing with The Lion King, Frey said that they wanted Dumbo to look as if it could exist in the real world. Again, remove Dumbo from the picture, and it could very well be a period film.
• Dumbo‘s story wraps up nicely, so audiences shouldn’t expect to see a sequel, even if the movie is incredibly successful.
• While Dumbo wrapped in late 2017, the only reason it’s taken so long to release is because Disney’s schedule is too packed. Disney has other movies they wanted to release first, with Mary Poppins Returns being the big one.

Tickets for Disney and Tim Burton’s Dumbo movie are now on sale!

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