Doctor Dolittle (1998)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Betty Thomas

Writers (WGA):

Hugh Lofting (stories)
Nat Mauldin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

He doesn't just talk to the animals!

Plot:

A Doctor finds out that he can understand what animals are saying. And the animals find out that he understands.

Plot Keywords:

Animal | Dog | Doctor | Tiger | Talking To Animals

Awards:

4 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 5	1:00 PM	MyNetwork
Sat. July 11	1:00 PM	Fox
Fri. July 17	6:00 PM	FX

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Dr. John Dolittle
Ossie Davis	...	Archer Dolittle
Oliver Platt	...	Dr. Mark Weller
Peter Boyle	...	Calloway
Richard Schiff	...	Dr. Gene 'Geno' Reiss
Kristen Wilson	...	Lisa Dolittle
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Dr. Fish
Kyla Pratt	...	Maya Dolittle
Raven-Symoné	...	Charisse Dolittle
Steven Gilborn	...	Dr. Sam Litvack
Erik Dellums	...	Jeremy (as Erik Todd Dellums)
June Christopher	...	Diane
Cherie Franklin	...	Mrs. Parkus
Mark Adair-Rios	...	Intern
Don Calfa	...	Patient at Hammersmith

Also Known As:

Dr. Dolittle (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude humor and language.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #35966) | Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre | Netherlands:6 | Netherlands:AL (video rating) | Norway:7 (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Belgium:KT | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8/5 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Aquatic Park, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The scene where John goes to the pound he walks past a series of dog cages. In one of the cages, the dog says, "I am Keyser Soze" This is a reference to The Usual Suspects

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Dr. Dolittle walks, in the dark, to a wall and flips his finger up. The lights come on, there is the sound of a switch being flipped, but there is no switch on the wall.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lucky: [narrating] You know, they say the great thing about being a kid is, it's so easy to pretend. You can have a conversation with your dog or a baseball or a banana. Well, what if wasn't pretend? What if you could have a conversation. I mean, not with a baseball or a banana - that's ridiculous, but - but with your dog?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: The Making of 'Dr. Dolittle 2' (#8.7)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Love Is a Many Splendored Thing

Not great, but personally, I found it funnier than I thought I would

This version of "Doctor Dolittle" came into stores back when I was twelve years old, which was when I first saw it. I think I liked it a lot at the time, and watched it again a few months later. After many years, I just decided to check it out again. Since I'm obviously not as easily amused as I was when I was twelve, and was aware that it generally wasn't considered that great, I didn't have very high expectations. Afterwards, however, I certainly can't say that I think it's as bad as some do.

During his childhood, John Dolittle talks to animals. It seems that he can understand them, and they can understand him, but when his dad sees this, he thinks it's ridiculous. After John's dog is taken away, he is obviously not happy, and stops talking to animals for a long time. When he grows up, he becomes a physician, and has a wife and two daughters. It seems that Dr. Dolittle's communication with animals is long gone, but one night, after he nearly runs over a dog on the road, he hears it say something! Now, his childhood ability has come back, and soon, he finds many different types of creatures following him around! How will people be able to believe that he actually has this remarkable gift, and that it's not just a mental illness, as one would probably assume?!

As you would probably expect, this movie has its fair share of lame jokes (such as a rat farting), and like you've probably already heard, the movie would overall appeal more to kids than anyone else. However, certainly not all of the gags are lame. During my most recent viewing, I wouldn't have been surprised if I had kept a straight face through the entire thing, but that's not what happened. I found no huge laughs in the film, but there were several times when I smiled and snickered. I also found that the story gets suspenseful to some degree towards the end. Eddie Murphy's performance is also a highlight. Some of the voice-overs for the animals are silly, maybe the majority of them, but this isn't much of a problem.

For kids, this movie could be very funny, though it is somewhat crude at times, remember the PG-13 rating. So, I don't know how appropriate for kids it is (that's for parents to decide). For adults, and probably adolescents, this version of "Doctor Dolittle" is certainly nothing special. It could be mildly amusing, if you don't mind extreme silliness and crude toilet humour, but there's probably also a fair chance that you would find it absolutely revolting (I think some clearly have). Without a doubt, this movie is pretty cheesy, and skipping it wouldn't be a great loss for most people, but it's certainly not one that I advise everyone to avoid at all costs (though that would probably be a good idea for some people).