The kooky members of People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are at it again – this time, they are badgering Tim Burton, the director said to helm the upcoming superfluous live-action remake of Disney’s animated classic Dumbo, in an attempt to “fix” the ending this time around and make it so that (SPOILER ALERT) Dumbo and his mother don’t remain in the circus as in the original.
In an open letter addressed to Burton, PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange urged the director to make things right (I didn’t realize things were wrong before), in that special, self-righteous way that only PETA people seem to know how:
“We understand that you’ll be directing Dumbo, and if Alice in Wonderland,Frankenweenie, and Corpse Bride are any indication, the artistry of the computer-generated imagery in this remake is in good hands … We love the original Dumbo because it tells the story of the heartbreaking abuse that elephants in circuses endure, and we hope you will keep this storyline in the new film … We hope that in your adaptation of Dumbo, the young elephant and his mother can have a truly happy ending by living out their lives at a sanctuary instead of continuing to be imprisoned and abused in the entertainment industry. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.”
While this effort is noble (or as noble as one can get with PETA), there is no confirmation of Burton’s involvement with the film yet, and even still, a single letter from an activist group as fringe as PETA couldn’t possibly influence Hollywood, could it?
Actually, if one takes a look at the scads of silly advertisements for PETA featuring “naked” and “provocative” images of famous actresses (because, y’know, exploiting women is fine as long as they are human women) it becomes clear that Hollyweird and PETA have quite the close relationship, and it wouldn’t actually surprise me in the least if this letter would in fact influence the writing of the new Dumbo film to become tailored to the exact specifications of this wing-nut group that has been given far too much credibility already.
PETA claims to have also had the most influence in Ringling Brothers Circus finally axing the elephant act in their traveling show, and they continue to attract thousands of adherents to their cultish message of complete animal liberation (never mind that most PETA supporters own pets – something the organization itself hates, or that PETA is full of shameless hypocrites and has financial ties to terrorist groups).
All in a day’s work, I suppose.
