Tim Burton believed his career could have been ended by his flop remake of Disney’s Dumbo. Despite having a long list of hit movies under his belt, Burton’s return to the House of Mouse proved that even iconic directors can miss the mark. However, as Burton prepares to finally make his cinematic return with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, he has looked back on how the disastrous release of Dumbo almost made him quit Hollywood.
Dumbo ended its theatrical run with a worldwide gross of $353 million. While this would not be too bad for a movie with a reasonable budget, Dumbo’s production cost came in at $170 million. As Burton explained to Variety, the disappointing box office and lackluster reviews for the movie caused him to doubt whether he still had a place in Hollywood. He said:
“It felt like there was a change around the time of COVID where everything was just in flux. And so, rather than get caught up in that, I just worked on my own feelings and things. Then Wednesday came along. That reconnected me to making things. We went off to Romania and it felt like it was a creative health camp. It went so well… Honestly, after Dumbo, I really didn’t know. I thought that could have been it, really. I could have retired, or become… well, I wouldn’t have become an animator again, that’s over. (Laughs)
But [Beetlejuice Beetlejuice] did reenergize me. Oftentimes, when you get into Hollywood, you try to be responsible to what you’re doing with the budget and everything else but sometimes you might lose yourself a little bit. This reinforced the feeling for me that it’s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit.”
What Went Wrong With Dumbo?
Dumbo was released in 2019 as one of Disney’s many live-action reworkings of some of their classic animated feature films. With a combination of Burton’s direction, a cast including Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, and Michael Keaton, and a classic story to tell, it seemed that nothing could go wrong. However, expanding the 1941 original – which clocks in at just 64 minutes – into a modern feature-length movie included adding several new elements to the film. By halfway through the movie, the story everyone knew of the little elephant with the big ears had been told, and the new storyline that continued through the rest of the movie was not engaging enough for adults and not entertaining enough for youngsters.
In hindsight, Burton was a strange choice to direct a movie like Dumbo. While the original film has some disturbing moments – mainly during the elephants on parade segment – it isn’t quite as dark as the kind of movie Burton has become known for. Even his previous forays into animated movies, such as Frankenweenie and The Corpse Bride, are not noted for being a bright and happy experience for young children. Allowing Burton to direct a live-action Disney movie ended up backfiring on all involved, resulting in an end product that just didn’t sit right for any audience.
Burton will now be hoping that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be able to exorcise the demons of Dumbo and scare up a healthy box office result when the movie arrives in cinemas on September 6. For those looking to revisit Burton’s Dumbo, it can be found streaming on Disney+.