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Michael Keaton reflects on his performance in the 2019 film Dumbo and explains why he believes that he let filmmaker Tim Burton down.
Posted in: Disney, Movies | Tagged: disney, dumbo, film, michael keaton, tim burton
Michael Keaton Says He "Sucked" in the 2019 Film, Dumbo
Michael Keaton reflects on his performance in the 2019 film Dumbo and explains why he believes that he let filmmaker Tim Burton down.
Article Summary
- Michael Keaton admits he "sucked" in the 2019 live-action Dumbo and feels he let down director Tim Burton.
- Keaton reveals his dissatisfaction with his Dumbo role during a New York Times interview with Tim Burton.
- Tim Burton disagrees with Keaton's self-critique, stating he doesn't know what the actor is talking about.
- The 2019 Dumbo film, featuring Colin Farrell and Eva Green, received mixed reviews and underperformed financially.
Regardless of any potential popularity, there's typically at least one performance that an actor isn't the proudest of. But we all have our off days, so it's to be expected. However, when it comes to an established actor associated with high-budget productions, some of those missteps happen to be attached to massive titles with a reach exceeding millions. Now, one of the actors from the polarizing live-action version of Disney's Dumbo is revealing that his role in the film isn't exactly a fond career memory due to his uncertain portrayal of the character.
Michael Keaton on Tim Burton and Dumbo
During an interview with The New York Times, Michael Keaton and Tim Burton discussed their past collaborations together, with Keaton revealing, "I love working with Tim so much, but I don't think we ever really analyzed why we work pretty well together; we just do," The actor explains before adding, "I think I let him down on one movie, but that's just me, and it bugs me to this day. I was clueless on Dumbo. I sucked in Dumbo." Though, when given the chance to respond to Keaton's statement, Burton notes that he disagrees, telling the actor, "I don't even know what you're talking about, but whatever."
In the 2019 live-action adaptation of Dumbo, Keaton portrayed V.A. Vandevere, a covetous amusement park proprietor who acquires a circus to take advantage of the titular character. The film featured a cast that included Colin Farrell, Eva Green, and Danny DeVito. At the time of its theatrical release, it received a mix of critical opinions. It ultimately underperformed financially for Disney, grossing just over $350 million worldwide (with reports claiming that it needed to earn $500 million to break even). And in 2022, we learned that Burton himself expressed dissatisfaction with the project and explained that it could be his last collaboration with Disney, noting that during the project, he realized that he was part of something he no longer wanted to be attached to.
Now that we know it wasn't a high point for Burton or Keaton, I suppose a Dumbo 2 is permanently off the table? What are your thoughts on Disney's 2019 live-action version of Dumbo?
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