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Dr. Dolittle

Play trailer 2:11 Poster for Dr. Dolittle PG-13 Released Jun 26, 1998 1h 25m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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43% Tomatometer 53 Reviews 35% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
After a fender bender, Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) gets back his childhood ability to converse with animals. But the gift turns out to be a mixed blessing when the good doctor finds himself besieged by boozing monkeys, injured owls and depressed lions who need his special assistance. When Dolittle's strange behavior catches the attention of his wife, Lisa (Kristen Wilson), he winds up in a mental institution. Luckily, he has some animal friends to help him out of his hairy situation.
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Dr. Dolittle

Dr. Dolittle

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Critics Consensus

Doctor Dolittle finds some mirth in the novelty of wisecracking critters, but this family feature's treacly tone is made queasy by a reliance on scatological gags that undercut the intended warmth.

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Critics Reviews

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Leonard Klady Variety Slim on story and rife with scatological jokes, the film may strike a chord with pre-teens but misses for an older crowd despite some nifty effects and broad humor. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Derek Adams Time Out Murphy's likeable, the script's laden with a gaggle of one-liners, and there's even a vague message nestling beneath the zoological chaos. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Neil Smith BBC.com Murphy himself is rather dull in the straight man role, and the jokes are pretty coarse for a family film. But it's certainly better than the lacklustre sequel, which finds Eddie playing second fiddle to a performing bear. Rated: 3/5 Jul 24, 2001 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a briskly-paced comedy that benefits from its raft of agreeable performances... Rated: 2.5/4 Sep 29, 2024 Full Review Gary Wolcott Tri-City Herald This is a slick comedy that would be perfect for the whole family -- except for the ample use of bathroom humor... I will admit, though, that it does help make this remake of Dr. Dolittle a funny movie. Rated: 4/5 Jun 20, 2023 Full Review Tim Brayton Alternate Ending The only thing that keeps this even a little bit tolerable is the superlative work by the Henson people. Rated: 1/5 Jan 17, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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David K Чудесный, добрый фильм! Не знаю, почему у него такой низкий рейтинг, но я был очень рад его посмотреть. Спасибо большое Эдди Мёрфи и всем, кто участвовал в создании этой ленты! A wonderful, heartwarming film! I don't know why it has such a low rating, but I was very happy to watch it. Many thanks to Eddie Murphy and everyone involved in making this movie! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/10/24 Full Review Paco M I watched this in the cinema when i was 11. After paying 8€ I left 20 mins in. Never got my bucks worth. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/18/24 Full Review 南威 劉 Though the script was a bit cliche, I love the soundtrack a lot!!! It caught my ear when I watched it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/21/24 Full Review Thinking of Film Really liked Eddie Murphys dr dolittle films. Fun fun fun. Wish he had done a 3rd 👍 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/20/24 Full Review Ashley H I did enjoy the movie. But wouldn't take the time to go watch it twice. comedy, but not hilarious. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/30/23 Full Review Adam E A modern and rather loose take on the classic children's story, the Dr. Dolittle movie from 1998 sees Eddie Murphy's doctor slowly realize that either he can actually talk to animals or he is losing his mind entirely. The film opens with a young John Dolittle discovering his talents before he is encouraged by his father to forget about all that, which he does well into adulthood. Now a successful doctor and surgeon in San Francisco, John is about to join his family on vacation when he bumps his head almost running over a dog and his abilities promptly return. Not knowing what to make of that, he struggles to come to terms with it all and panics trying to hide his secret from others until he can't. Meanwhile, John's colleagues are trying to set up a meeting with the owner of a medical company who has shown interest in purchasing John's practice. When a tiger from a circus shows signs of a possible neurological issue, John has to decide whether to step in and save its life, others be damned, or try to live a normal life. There's not much more to this light-hearted comedy story-wise and, in fact, the tiger plot only really becomes relevant right at the end, with two thirds of the film dedicated to John Dolittle freaking out about his animal chats. Dr. Dolittle was a box-office hit, hot off the success of The Nutty Professor a couple of years earlier, and Eddie Murphy proved once again that he could single-handedly elevate material that, in lesser hands, might not have worked well at all. Unfortunately, Dr. Dolittle lacks the laughs that The Nutty Professor delivered and feels very slight in comparison. The animals, who are sometimes CG'ed, sometimes puppets, and voiced by the likes of Chris Rock, Norm MacDonald and Albert Brooks, get the bulk of the lines here but they're rarely funny. The writing is the main problem with this movie which, not only lacks genuine laughs but fails to give Eddie Murphy anything to work with, though he definitely does his best to keep things entertaining at least. Not to mention that John Dolittle doesn't so much go on an adventure as he does whine and complain for an hour about what is obviously a very cool power to have. This routine gets tiresome fast and, even though the supporting cast is solid (Oliver Platt, Peter Boyle, Jeffrey Tambor, Paul Giamatti), they're only really there to fill time until the inevitable animal fart joke and keep the non-kids who are watching this from giving up on it completely. This Dr. Dolittle is harmless enough and younger viewers will be reasonably entertained but this needed a stronger plot, perhaps one focused on the tiger at the circus, and a lot more laughs to make it worth sitting through because, as it stands, this is just not very good. Disappointing. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Dr. Dolittle

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis After a fender bender, Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) gets back his childhood ability to converse with animals. But the gift turns out to be a mixed blessing when the good doctor finds himself besieged by boozing monkeys, injured owls and depressed lions who need his special assistance. When Dolittle's strange behavior catches the attention of his wife, Lisa (Kristen Wilson), he winds up in a mental institution. Luckily, he has some animal friends to help him out of his hairy situation.
Director
Betty Thomas
Producer
John Davis, Joseph Singer, David T. Friendly
Screenwriter
Nat Mauldin, Larry Levin
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
20th Century Fox
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 26, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$144.2M
Runtime
1h 25m
Sound Mix
Surround
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