Yesterday was more lazy and relaxed than the long, busy days previous. I think we needed it. After breakfast we came back to the hotel and pottered around a bit; i wrote and surfed the web while the guys sorted a few things, and in the evening we went to the cinema. Anna wanted to see Dumbo, and, simply because it was by Tim Burton, I shelved my reservations about Disney and went along with it.
To be honest it wasn’t that bad. It was standard, simplistic Disney fare, where the goodies were good and the baddies bad. Danny DeVeto gave the best performance. However I think I ought to note two things: first that it was the first film I have seen in 3D. Truth be told it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and the effect at times, such as when the elephant was flying, was quite striking. Secondly it was noteworthy because it was the first cinema screening I have been to with an ad break halfway through the film. I’m not sure how widespread that is, or whether it was because it was a kids film, but it struck me as a total insult to the cinematic art. It broke the narrative completely, destroyed the aura. It treated viewers as pundits rather than people coming to enjoy a piece of art. I was shocked and appalled. I really, really hope this isn’t a sign of things to come elsewhere.
I think I prefer the real thing when it comes to elephants. After all, I don’t have to look far here.
