Tim Burton began his career as an animator at Disney, and his 2010 live-action remake of “Alice in Wonderland” grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. Now the studio is entrusting the director with another of its cherished titles, “Dumbo,” and a surprise teaser has just dropped.

Set to a dreamy version of “Baby Mine” from the original 1941 cartoon, the visually spectacular trailer introduces Colin Farrell as Holt Farrier, a one-armed war veteran who, with his two children, discovers the titular, big-eared elephant. After Dumbo shows off his flying skills, the pachyderm helps save a small circus.

But Mr. Burton brings a typically dark twist to the tale, as Dumbo is enlisted to appear at the ironically named Dreamland, a new entertainment mega-complex with a nightmarish underbelly.

The film reunites the director with Michael Keaton from “Batman” and “Beetlejuice,” and the actor’s nemesis from “Batman Returns,” Danny DeVito (a.k.a. the Penguin), as circus owners. Eva Green, who starred in Mr. Burton’s “Dark Shadows” and “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” also appears as an aerialist. Alan Arkin, who plays a Wall Street mogul, is not seen in the trailer.

“Dumbo” lands in theaters on March 29, 2019.