By John Corrado

The first of Disney’s several live action remakes to be released in theatres this year, Tim Burton’s Dumbo serves as a complete reimagining of the studio’s 1941 animated classic about a flying baby elephant. The film is coming to Blu-ray this week.

I think Burton has done a good job of paying tribute to the original, while doing his own thing and reinventing the material to craft a film that feels more like a companion piece rather than anything close to a replacement. It’s a remake that is beautifully crafted on a visual level, while telling a bittersweet and slightly melancholic story with a positive animal rights message. For more on the film itself, you can read my full review right here.

The Blu-ray also includes the three featurettes Circus Spectaculars, which offers a general look at the making of the film, touching on the characters, actors and large scale production; The Elephant in the Room, which looks at the design of the title character and how they brought him to life in a live action world through visual effects and motion capture; and Built to Amaze, which focuses on the film’s visually stunning production design, including Colleen Atwood’s authentic period costumes and the massive sets that were built for the circus.

This is follow by a selection of nine deleted scenes (Roustabout Rufus; Pachyderm Plans; The Other Medici Brother; Monkey Business; A Star is Born; Where’s Dumbo?!; Elephant Heist; Backstage; and A Seat at the Show); a short piece called Easter Eggs on Parade that points out some of the references to the original film; a blooper reel entitled Clowning Around; and finally a music video for Arcade Fire’s incredible cover of “Baby Mine.”

Dumbo is a Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment release. It’s 111 minutes and rated G.

Street Date: June 25th, 2019