PETA on changing ending of LA 'Dumbo'

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/live-action-dumbo-peta-asks-780664

Not sure how many of you know about this but our dear old friend, PETA, is at it again. This time, going after Disney to change the ending of the future live-action version of Dumbo. They prefer that Dumbo and his mother go to a sanctuary because the original showed the abuse that elephants go through in the circus. Um, last I checked, only Dumbo was really abused in the film and the four older female ones were the ones did the abuse most of the time.

So, yeah. PETA still thinks fictional animals go through the same abuse in real life, seeing what they did with Pokemon, Cooking Mama, Mario, etc.

 

This is the first time in awhile I will grant them a point.

The circus did very much abuse both Dumbo and his mother. Listed, from memory, here:

1. Dumbo's mother is locked away for the crime of, in my subjective view, giving a brat his just desserts after the lad picked on poor Dumbo.
2. She is locked away in an almost comically small cage and shackled with hardly any space to move.
3. Dumbo is made a clown. They turned him into a clown. They lit a stage on fire, and put Dumbo in the way of harm for the amusement of a crowd.

And then Dumbo can suddenly fly, and the circus likes that, and then everything's okay?

If the viewpoint that circuses almost indefinitely abuse their animals riles someone up, please, note that was the point of "Dumbo". It didn't hold punches on how animals are treated in show business.

However, I don't think they should change the ending. Or the depiction of abused animals in the movie. It's important to the story, and it's pressure like powerful story-telling that has led to veritable liberation and fair treatment. Sentiment brought change.

Now. I'm a bit more concerned on whether or not they somehow find a place for these fellas and what they could very disastrously do with them if they did find a place for them. Or how are they going to replace them? They're the ones who teach Dumbo how to fly. Maybe there could be a less stereotypical portrayal.

If they don't find some way, Disney'll probably be eating crow for it.

 

The latter. I assume they earn a living from their work at PETA ? People don' t work there for free do they ?
Then it should come as no surprise their hammer somehow managed to found nails where there aren' t any.
The goal is to make the news, preferably the front page so the more outlandish the better.

 

I had to look up how it ended, since I haven't seen the film in a very long time. The original ending isn't too bad. Yes, he's still in the circus, but he is finally accepted by his peers, which plays into the theme of the film.

I feel that the only traction this thing is going to get is that Burton is going to put some kind of PeTA stand-ins to make a sort of commentary, like he did with the zealous neighbors in Edward Sissorhands. And I'd kinda like to see that.