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Doctor Dolittle

Play trailer Poster for Doctor Dolittle G 1967 2h 32m Kids & Family Musical Play Trailer Watchlist
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29% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Dr. John Dolittle (Rex Harrison) lives in a small English village where he specializes in caring for and verbally communicating with animals. When Dr. Dolittle is unjustly sent to an insane asylum for freeing a lovesick seal from captivity, his animals and two closest human friends, Matthew Mugg (Anthony Newley) and Tommy Stubbins (William Dix), liberate him. Afterward, they join Emma Fairfax (Samantha Eggar) and set out by boat to find a famed and elusive creature: the Great Pink Sea Snail.
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Doctor Dolittle

Critics Reviews

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Ian Nathan Empire Magazine Not even a decent performance from Richard Attenborough can save this disappointing production. Rated: 2/5 May 12, 2008 Full Review Variety Staff Variety Leslie Bricusse's adaptation retains the delightful aspects while taking considerable liberty with the plot. His music and lyrics, while containing no smash hits, are admirably suited to the scenario. May 12, 2008 Full Review Dave Kehr Chicago Reader It's so clumsy and pounding that taking a child to it might be grounds for a visit from family services. May 12, 2008 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy The offer of free food worked beautifully, and Academy voters shamelessly nominated this debacle for Best Picture (thereby rubbing shoulders with the landmark likes of The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde). Rated: 1.5/4 Sep 18, 2021 Full Review Nathanael Hood Unseen Films The only redeeming moments come from spasms of unintended campiness like a scene where Harrison sings a love ballad to a seal dressed as an old woman. Rated: 3/10 Jun 27, 2020 Full Review Tim Brayton Alternate Ending The failures on display are legion, so many that it's hard to know where to start. Rated: 1/5 Jan 19, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Eli H This is a film where Rex Harrison acts as the agent for a two-headed llama that he gets to perform at Richard Attenborough's traveling circus, and then Oscar winner Rex Harrison helps a seal that misses her husband in the North Pole said escape said circus by throwing her into the channel, but not before he sings a ballad about looking into her eyes and seeing that he loves her and kisses her. All of that was true. What I'm saying is this movie is terrible and I think I might love it. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/29/25 Full Review Stephen C Success in 2 hours and 32 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/05/25 Full Review David W Largely but not entirely saved by the performance of the excellent Rex Harrison. It's whimsical and light despite there being some questionable use of the animals but this was the norm for the time (very much circus fare) and not then considered to be at all inappropriate. It's biggest sin cinematically though is that for a musical there's not really any great or even particularly memorable songs. It all passes the time well enough in a very retro way but it's not a classic in my book. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/13/24 Full Review Audience Member Awful. The treatment of the animals used is abysmal - bears being forced to walk on their hind legs, seals having balls thrown at their faces. Horrid Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review donald d A very dated movie, with NO memorable songs for a so-called musical. The movie drags on and on and..... Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review joel h I thought Doctor Dolittle was boring when I watched it as a kid, but when I watched it as an adult…it's still pretty boring. Here's the weird thing, though, my kids really liked it. I don't know why, exactly, maybe it's because they just liked seeing animals do silly things, or maybe it's the outlandish story. Regardless of what it was, we ended up having a nice time watching it together, even though I don't really care to watch it again. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Doctor Dolittle

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Cast & Crew

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Richard Fleischer

Director

Rex Harrison

Doctor John Dolittle

Samantha Eggar

Emma Fairfax

Anthony Newley

Matthew Mugg

Richard Attenborough

Albert Blossom

Peter Bull

General Bellowes

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Doctor Dolittle

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Movie Info

Synopsis Dr. John Dolittle (Rex Harrison) lives in a small English village where he specializes in caring for and verbally communicating with animals. When Dr. Dolittle is unjustly sent to an insane asylum for freeing a lovesick seal from captivity, his animals and two closest human friends, Matthew Mugg (Anthony Newley) and Tommy Stubbins (William Dix), liberate him. Afterward, they join Emma Fairfax (Samantha Eggar) and set out by boat to find a famed and elusive creature: the Great Pink Sea Snail.
Director
Richard Fleischer
Producer
Arthur P. Jacobs
Screenwriter
Hugh Lofting, Leslie Bricusse
Distributor
CBS/Fox, 20th Century Fox
Production Co
20th Century Fox, APJAC Productions
Rating
G
Genre
Kids & Family, Musical
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 19, 1967, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 18, 2012
Runtime
2h 32m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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