I've always loved Dumbo. The film, the character. I thought they did a pretty good job with this. They really did capture Dumbo's precious essence in CGI, and I could just stare at him and be delighted for hours upon end. This was a case where I felt Tim Burton's artistic vision was more well-balanced, nuanced, but still himself. I generally don't like the aesthetics of his flashy contemporary work. His stop motion has always been his most appealing, but when he dials it back (for works like Big Fish) I'm far more receptive.
Some of the acting felt waaay too flat for me. Kids, you're witnessing a flying baby elephant for Christ's sake! None of these live-action adaptations have yet to surpass their 2D animated counterparts yet, however. I'm doubtful they will, not that I think they should be pitted against eachother. My God though, the Aladdin trailer at the screening tonight just drained me of any enthusiasm I once had for it. In theory, from what's added to the narrative of these classics, in instances like Beauty and the Beast, these stories should now be stronger/tighter, but then x-variable somes along, ie. Emma Watson's singing voice crashes and burns the musical, and it really detracts heavily from the overall experience.
An additional hour of fanciful plot didn't quite make up for how much I missed Timothy Mouse. That ending was beautiful though.