Dr. Dolittle (1998)
50%RT Audience Score: 34%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 6 nominations
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
Dr. Dolittle is a wild ride full of talking animals, scatological jokes, and Eddie Murphy doing his best to keep up with the chaos. While it may not be the most sophisticated family film out there, it’s definitely a fun one. The Henson people did an amazing job with the effects, and the one-liners are sure to make you chuckle. Just don’t expect anything too wholesome – this movie is all about the laughs.
Production Company(ies)
Horizon Pictures,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Big Bear City, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for language and crude humor
Year of Release
2001
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 25m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 26, 1998 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 23, 2001
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Eddie Murphy, Ossie Davis, Oliver Platt, Peter Boyle, Richard Schiff, Kristen Wilson, directed by Betty Thomas, written by Nat Mauldin, Larry Levin, comedy, PG-13, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Leonard Klady, Derek Adams, Neil Smith, Russell Smith, Susan Stark, Noel Murray, Tim Brayton, Ed Grant, Michael Dequina, Jon Popick, Anthony Miele, Robin Clifford, talking animals, animal whisperer, mental institution, childhood ability, animal friends, family feature, scatological gags, Henson people, 20th Century Fox, John Davis, Joseph Singer, David T Friendly
Worldwide gross: $176,104,344
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $296,786,616
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 506
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 32,364,953
US/Canada gross: $112,952,899
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $190,358,216
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 381
US/Canada opening weekend: $25,037,039
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $42,194,633
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 286
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $70,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $117,970,191
Production budget ranking: 321
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $63,526,948
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $115,289,477
ROI to date (est.): 64%
ROI ranking: 1,083
Ossie Davis – Archer Dolittle
Oliver Platt – Dr. Mark Weller
Peter Boyle – Calloway
Richard Schiff – Dr. Gene Reiss
Kristen Wilson – Lisa Dolittle
Director(s)
Betty Thomas
Writer(s)
Nat Mauldin, Larry Levin
Producer(s)
John Davis, Joseph Singer, David T. Friendly
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 6 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (52) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (30)
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.
March 26, 2009
Leonard Klady
Variety
TOP CRITIC
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.
January 26, 2006
Derek Adams
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
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.
July 24, 2001 | Rating: 3/5
Neil Smith
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
With a middle-school class clown’s lowbrow cunning, Dr. Dolittle’s creators have zeroed right in on the key element of successful audience ingratiation, the benign and endearing lead character.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2.5/5
Russell Smith
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4
Susan Stark
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Doctor Doolittle seems to have borrowed the idea from the execrable Theodore Rex that if your anthropomorphic creature can’t say anything interesting, you should just keep him talking fast in the hope no one will notice.
January 1, 2000
Noel Murray
Nashville Scene
TOP CRITIC
The only thing that keeps this even a little bit tolerable is the superlative work by the Henson people.
January 17, 2020 | Rating: 1/5
Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
This gimmicky animal tale is crude but funny.
January 1, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Ed Grant
Common Sense Media
Even star Eddie Murphy seems bored.
April 1, 2009 | Rating: 2/4
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
It’s quite funny for the first thirty minutes, but after that it’s kind of like beating a dead horse. A dead talking horse.
January 7, 2009
Jon Popick
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Dr. Dolittle is destined to be a money maker, since kids will see the talking animals and be instantly taken in, but it is the film’s utter lack of anything wholesome that causes its downfall.
December 6, 2005 | Rating: 1/5
Anthony Miele
Film Threat
One of the things about Dr. Dolittle that helps raise it above kiddy-fare and give the accompanying adults a bit of amusing entertainment are the not-so-kid-targeted jokes.
April 9, 2005 | Rating: B
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews…
Plot
Dr. John Dolittle the beloved doctor is back, but this time around he plays cupid to bumbling circus bear Archie as he’s so smitten by a Pacific Western bear female, Ava. Dr. Dolittle must help a group of forest creatures to save their forest. But with the aid of his mangy, madcap animal friends, Dr. Dolittle must teach Archie the ways of true romance in time to save his species and his home before their habit is gone. So John held a meeting for every animal in the forest to not give up without a fight no matter what kind of animal expression they have and everyone agrees to do it and save their home.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh kernels critic reviews mention that Eddie Murphy’s performance in Dr. Dolittle is rather dull in the straight man role.
Betty-Thomas.jpg
