The lights in the theater were re-lit with the appearance of the subtitles, and the audience left the scene in turn, talking and laughing, and I seemed to have just awakened from the dream of "Dumbo". Suddenly, he thought, "Is Bolton or Bolton?"
It is Bolton's. The director’s line is clear, directed by Tim Burton. Not only that. It is based on the life in the circus, so it must have a certain Gothic style. The one-armed knight father, the unkempt big belly circus master, the tall and burly muscular man, the burlesque grimace clown... Gothic symbols can be seen everywhere. I can take it for granted: "Look, Tim Burton's iconic Gothic style!"
But what I said was not grandiose. Because I understand that these so-called "gothic symbols" can only be said to be a "symbol", an understatement and a passing "appearance". They are just dressed in gothic clothes, but they don't give people a deep "gothic sense". They are acting, not expressing.
For the one-armed knight Farrell, riding on a horse is more for performance and nostalgia, and Tim Burton meticulously shaped a non-stop in the 1999 director's "Driftwood". The image of the head knight, both with the taste of Gothic knights, are "resurrected from hell (war)", but it is obvious that the latter's persistence to his beliefs is even more awe-inspiring. Let's talk about the circus leader. Although the sloppy and short characteristics are also in line with the image of the "chief leader", he is not unique. In "Big Fish" directed by Tim Bolton in 2003, there is also a circus leader. His appearance is almost identical to the circus leader in this film, but his unknown real face is A jackal. Under the moonlight, the scene of it (he) suddenly rushing out of his room is exactly the same as the monkey headed in the film suddenly rushing to the window, but it is conceivable that the effects of the two are very different. The tall and burly Hercules is also easily reminiscent of the extremely tall weird Karl in "Big Fish". Compared with the staggering height (the actor is 2.1 meters tall) and can turn the car, the height in this film The mediocre Hercules lifting dumbbells and picking up the railings is also very pediatric. In the end, those acrobats with clown makeup did not show the inner personality of clown neuroticism, which is quite different from the "Beetlejuice" portrayed by Tim Burton in "The Master of the Underworld" directed by Tim Burton in 1988.
Dressed in a gothic coat, the film actually tells a story about trust and miracles. In the film, the director discussed topics such as family affection, victory over self, man and nature, and technology. But in fact, family affection occupies an absolute dominant position, and other topics are covered by a stroke. Whether it is the little elephant's miss for the mother elephant, the little girl's miss for her mother, and the contradiction with her father, a lot of shots are used to express. Of course, this is not unreasonable, because other themes can be developed around this core, such as the little girl and the elephant get rid of the things they depend on (keys/feathers) so that they can stand on their own, overcome themselves, and be true. Independence. The father also gradually communicated with and trusted his children. He gradually recognized the reality and dared to face it, thus defeating his old self. Mother elephants are captured by humans, baby elephants are trained by humans, and mother elephants and baby elephants are cruelly separated by humans, which can lead to the themes of man and nature. But the disadvantage of this is that it is easy to make some small themes appear thin and reluctant, and the space for the expression of the character's personality is severely squeezed and it is difficult to get prominent. The girl born in a circus where gods and sticks are gathered desperately loves science for no reason, while the little boy has relatively no "temper" and almost follows others through the scene.
The structure of the whole film is mellow, and the plot is smooth, which is in line with Disney's usual style. The baby elephant’s fire-fighting performance in the circus is the finale. It can be a good pavement to rescue the protagonists in the sea of fire. Not only that, but also in the smaller details, the film also made a good response before and after the film. . For example, when Camelot appeared on the stage several times before, he was able to slap off the anti-skid powder in his hand, which corresponds to the mistake of her and the elephant sneezing when she and the elephant sneezed in the first performance; and Farrell lowered his head. Ask the special material of the shoes worn by the villain Skellig, which corresponds to the villain's attempt to kill the elephant and take the skin, and so on. It can be said that this is a script with clear structure and self-consistent content. Whenever I see a movie made with such a script, I can only say the word "good", but it is absolutely difficult to say words such as "very good" and "awesome". Because in my opinion, this is just the basis of a film narrative. The completion of it shows that there is no problem with the film itself, but only after it is completed, the film lacks "sincere interest". A good director should abide by it and surpass it. This situation of stopping at the complete script happened to Tim Burton, which makes people feel particularly uncomfortable. After all, he is a master of the film called "Absurd Metaphysics". Even "Frankenstein" can see his unique characteristics. This time, the master of "not playing cards according to the routine" hit a standard "straight". I could only collect the cards silently without comment.
But I have to say that there are no shortage of bright spots in Dumbo. These bright spots are what I once said, "At first glance, Bolton is smiling and palming the camera from behind." There is an exaggerated smile at the beginning of the film. When the locomotive pulls the old wooden enclosed carriage and blows its whistle to drive through the sunny field, it is so rich in texture and so mysterious, as if the grotesque and bizarre full of a car will drive fearlessly in broad daylight. By my side. There is also the part of the circus dancer blowing bubbles in the middle of the film, which is very imaginative, the pictures are bizarre, and with the clever soundtrack, the whole segment is full of rhythm.
Finally, I want to answer the question I asked myself at the beginning. The answer to this kind of question is generally "both... and not..." Yes, I will answer that way too. The main reason is that it is very late now, and I have to comfort myself and coax myself to go to sleep. Secondly, I do think so. In this film, Tim Burton not only shows a kind of persistence to Gothic culture, but also shows a kind of adaptation to popular culture. This can be said to be an attempt by him, or it may be an adjustment of his own film creation. I appreciate this kind of attempt. It is cruel and unrealistic to require a director to make a niche movie for a lifetime, and a truly powerful director can achieve an organic combination of niche culture and popular culture. Tim Bolton has this ability, and his "Edward Scissorhands" is enough to prove it. I am convinced of this, and I will continue to wait.
I fell asleep while waiting, and went to have a gothic dream.
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