Funny I never thought of the crows as racist. Ethnic .....yes....but not racist! It is a cute, funny and well done scene/song and not at all degrading!
I love Dumbo, except for the blatantly racist song when the circus tents are being set up in the rain. If Tim Burton can make a version that excludes the racially insensitive parts of it so I can show it to my son without fast-forwarding, I will be thrilled.
I haven't read through all the posts yet but when I saw this I just had to ask, what do you think of the black crows? They are racial stereo types, very common to movies of that era. My husband was black and our 2 children mixed, I have shown this and other movies to our children (both now grown) because I don't believe in hiding the truth from them. I have used this and other movies as teaching tools, my children and I are able to talk about racism past and present. Hiding racism from children doesn't prevent it, it just makes them unaware.
Well, I for one think this has great potential. I think it's right in Burton's "wheelhouse" and with all the concern for animal rights , I think Disney will make a mint.
...and of course, the live action version will be very different from the animated version. It's a NEW FILM. It doesn't have to follow the screenplay of the old film. ...and I love "Dumbo" too.