The “dream gig” Colin Farrell would have done anything to be a part of: “Please can I do it?”
From early performances in Minority Report and Phonebooth to more recent outings in The Banshees of Inisherin and Ballad of a Small Player, Colin Farrell has established himself as one of the most in-demand performers of his generation, evolving with the times and proving that the Fantastic Beasts franchise wasn’t a career killer.
With his litany of hits, it’s easy to forget that he’s been a part of Disney’s recent string of live-action remakes. In 2019, he starred opposite a CGI elephant in a reboot of the classic movie Dumbo. In true Disney fashion, they got their chequebook out to bring in a host of big stars. Alongside Farrell, the film also starred Michael Keaton, Evan Green, Nico Parker, and Danny DeVito.
It wasn’t just the cast that was star-studded. Disney assigned Tim Burton to helm this remake, hoping that he would sprinkle some of his trademark magic onto the project. As it turns out, the director was one of the main reasons Farrell was interested in Dumbo, as he explained to Slash Film.
“Honestly, ‘Please can I do it? Can I be any part of it?’ Because I’ve been just a fan of Tim’s work for the longest time,” he said, citing Edward Scissorhands as one of his favourite films of all time.
“When I heard he was doing this, [I] was like ‘Oh god, what a dream gig to do’,” he continued, “Tim is really good at figuring out the balancing act of honoring the sweetness of the original story or the intent, or the kind of allegorical element of what a baby flying elephant represents, with kind of real-world emotional concerns of families and friendships and damages of war.”
You might be wondering why Farrell is talking about war with regards to a film about a flying elephant, and that’s because his character, Holt Farrier, is a World War I veteran who lost part of his arm in the conflict, a decision that Burton made to bring the story in line with his signature style.
Following the war, Holt returns to his old job at the circus, where he forms a bond with the titular big-eared pachyderm, as they are both shunned for their physical differences, but none of this could capture the imagination of the critics.
While the film succeeded at the box office and reviewers were quick to praise Dumbo’s visuals and some of its performances, most agreed that it was a pointless rehash of a story that did not need a new angle. It also damaged the relationship between Burton and Disney beyond repair, with the filmmaker saying he would never work with the ‘House of Mouse’ ever again.
Dumbo might not have been the runaway success Disney were after, but it did give Colin Farrell the chance to tick an item off his bucket list. In my humble opinion, if you ask whether that was worth spending $170million on, I would say yes.
