PETA Wants Tim Burton to Change the Ending of Disney's DUMBO
For some reason Tim Burton is going to direct a new big screen adaptation of Dumbo for Disney. I don't understand why he would do this after making Big Eyes, which was such a great film. I want to see him make more movies like that!
After the movie was announced, PETA's senior vice president Lisa Lange wrote an open letter asking Burton and Disney to change the ending of the movie. The original 1941 animated film ends with the Dumbo and his mother, Mrs. Jumbo, getting their own luxury circus train car. Apparently that's not a happy enough ending for PETA, who is known for doing outrageous stunts, some of which are to attract attention to their organization. Lange said:
"We’re hopeful that in your adaptation of Dumbo, the young elephant and his mother can have a truly happy ending by living out their lives at a sanctuary instead of continuing to be imprisoned and abused in the entertainment industry."
I'd say its fine to do that if the movie has a modern day setting. But if Burton plans on setting the film in 1941, then the original ending should stay in place, because that's just how the world was back then. Did animal sanctuaries even exist back then? Lange goes on to say:
"We love the original Dumbo because it tells the story of the heartbreaking abuse that elephants in circuses endure, and we hope you will keep this storyline in the new film. A bullhook is a sharp metal weapon used in circuses to control elephants — and it’s the same tool used by elephant trainers in film and television. And just like in the circus, elephants used in film and television don’t perform because they want to. They perform because they’re afraid that they’ll be beaten if they don’t."
Like all of the live-action adaptations we've seen from Disney in recent years, there have been changes made to the story, and I'm sure that will be the same case with Dumbo. We just don't know exactly what those changes are yet.
The movie will be a live-action/CG hybrid, and Dumbo will likely be a CG animated character. Ehren Kruger wrote the script and will produce with Justin Springer.
What do you think about PETA's proposed change for the film's ending?