With CINDERELLA looking like a winner, Disney continues to raid their classic animated films for live action film fodder. Last year, TRANSFORMERS screenwriter Ehren Kruger was named as screenwriter on the live action adaptation of DUMBO. Now, the film has landed a director: BIG EYES director Tim Burton.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that DUMBO will likely be Tim Burton's film after he wraps MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN. There is no word on whether the plot will differ from the original film, but seeing as the 1941 animated film clocked in at a scant sixty-one minute running time, I would expect the new movie to expand the plot a bit. Burton is the man who kickstarted the Disney remake trend with ALICE IN WONDERLAND, which grossed a billion dollars worldwide for the House of Mouse.
There does not seem to be an end in sight for these Disney remakes as each one has been successively more profitable than the last. MALEFICENT, which seemed poised for disaster, ended up grossing over $750 million worldwide. Disney already has versions of THE JUNGLE BOOK and a sequel to ALICE IN WONDERLAND in development. DUMBO has no set release date, but I wouldn't expect to see it until late next year or possibly 2017.
CINDERELLA hits theaters this Friday.