Former star performer Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns home from WWI, but the only job that cash-strapped circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) can offer Holt and his two children is caring for a baby elephant born with floppy, oversized ears. Cruelly named ‘Dumbo’, the elephant becomes the laughing stock of the circus – that is, until they discover that Dumbo can fly.

Before long, Dumbo is the new star of the show, bringing in huge crowds and attracting people from all over, including a persuasive entrepreneur (Michael Keaton) who has big plans for the peculiar pachyderm.

Dumbo blends Disney magic with Tim Burton’s dark whimsy for a visually enchanting, technologically marvellous take on the 1941 animated classic – with a Batman Returns reunion between Burton, Keaton and DeVito to boot.

Stevie (Sunny Suljic) is a 13-year-old living in sunny Los Angeles circa 1995. Like all good coming-of-age flicks, this takes place over the course of one summer as Stevie looks for an escape from a home life made increasingly difficult by his mother (Katherine Waterson) and bullying brother (Lucas Hedges). A chance encounter with a crew of older boys at a local skate shop begins Stevie’s journey towards the rest of his life, as he finds a new identity, friendship, skateboarding, drugs, sex and more.

An auspicious debut from writer-director Jonah Hill (yes, that Jonah Hill), mid90s is funny, observant and resonant. It owes a debt to American Graffiti, Lady Bird and other character-driven, coming-of-age indies before it, but that’s pretty good company to be in.