11. Dumbo (2019)
Tim Burton’s carnivalesque visuals and fascination with oddities who don’t fit in—like an elephant with giant ears—seem perfect for remaking Dumbo. Unfortunately, the film takes a one-hour children’s romp and stretches it out by nearly another hour with boring material. We’re meant to care about the handsome Colin Farrell as a one-armed veteran and his children (Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins), who are charged with taking care of Dumbo, but we just want to get back to the main attraction. The live-action version also critiques the capitalistic exploitation that lurks beneath a mammoth theme park, Dreamland (a not-so-subtle nod to Disneyland), but it’s overly grim and never lands. The only real positive is Dumbo’s design, with adorable big eyes that strike the right chord between realistic and cartoony.
