Dumbo (1941) was Walt Disney’s fourth animated feature, following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Fantasia. Now, Tim Burton has re-imagined the classic as an endearing live-action film, enhanced with animatronics and digital effects. The story begins in 1919, when baby elephant Dumbo is born into the struggling circus owned by Max Medici (Danny DeVito) and soon separated from his protective mother. Dumbo’s care is turned over to former equestrian star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), a World War I veteran who lost an arm in battle and his wife to influenza. Farrier’s two kids (Nico Parker, Finley Hobbins) quickly realize that the baby pachyderm’s oversized ears, which make him look deformed, actually enable him to fly. Dumbo’s extraordinary talent soon attracts the attention of nefarious entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), who buys Medici’s circus just to acquire Dumbo, pairing him with his French aerialist girlfriend (Eva Green) in a trapeze act. Vandevere’s Dreamland amusement park bears an eerie resemblance to Disney World, and Burton’s demented visual sense emerges within its futuristic World of Science, where a cross-dressed couple poses in an ultra-modern kitchen. Based on Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl’s 1939 children’s book Dumbo, The Flying Elephant, the clumsy script doesn’t give its colorful characters much depth, but the best parts naturally revolve around the fantasy of a flying elephant with big blue eyes and a remarkably expressive face. Recommended. [Note: Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Circus Spectaculars” (8 min.) and “Built to Amaze” (8 min.), deleted scenes (8 min.), the production segments “The Elephant in the Room” (6 min.), “Easter Eggs on Parade” (4 min.), and “Clowning Around” (2 min.), the music video for “Baby Mine” by Arcade Fire, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for this mostly engaging Disney live-action film.]