DOLITTLE: A Dull Attempt At Capturing The Magic Of A Fantastical Story

When modern audiences think of Dr. Dolittle, they may think of Eddie Murphy’s 1998 version and its sequel (or maybe even the many straight-to-TV sequels that came afterwards); yet, the character is actually based on a 1920’s children’s series by Hugh Lofting, in which a man who can talk to animals goes on wild adventures. In that way, this latest adaptation, simply called Dolittle, is actually a far closer adaptation than the Eddie Murphy version.

Where it falls off, though, is with a lackluster approach, failing to capture the wondrous spirit of the character or the humor to go along with it. The end result is something akin to a failed attempt at a Disney swashbuckler.

The Loss of a Loved One Narrative

Beginning in storybook form ( which honestly would have worked better for the movie as a whole), Dolittle tells the story of Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.), a doctor who has the unique ability to speak to animals. In his past, he met a woman named Lily (Kasia Smutniak), who became the love of his life. Unfortunately, though, during a journey she was lost at sea. Dolittle is heartbroken, cutting himself off from the world. It’s only when a princess named Lady Rose arrives with a mission for him, simultaneously with a boy named Tommy Stubbins (Harry Collett), who becomes his apprentice, that he is motivated to finally leave his nest and face the world once again.

The framework and setup is familiar enough, in a way, as mentioned earlier, resembling a Disney narrative. Yet far from a Disney classic, Dolittle does almost nothing remarkable with this premise. The story beats are there, but director Stephen Gaghan and the film’s writers fail to create more than just this generic lovesick storyline. Scattered throughout the story are attempts at branching out, including a nefarious plot against the Queen, and some old characters from Dolittle’s past, such as a classmate played by Michael Sheen, but they are too underdeveloped to be anything close to compelling.

Instead, we are left seeing the story essentially play out exactly as we would predict: man loses love, man becomes solitary, an adventure brings him out of his shell, and he sees new life once again. It’s a failed attempt at worldbuilding or even, I can’t believe I’m saying this, setting up any room for future sequels. For a fantastical world like this one where animals play the roles of key characters, and especially with as much source material as Dr. Dolittle is based on, that’s a failed first effort in my book.

Dull Imagery and Action

Of course, none of the thematic elements of Dolittle are really as important as the imagery and characters themselves. Yet here, Dolittle comes up short yet again. Most of the CGI for the animals is at least passable, yet there are several distracting moments as well, including during an attack on a ship and a fight between a tiger and a gorilla. The CGI never really feels fully formed, and you don’t see these characters as really existing on screen. Granted, they are supposed to be closer to cartoonish, but with live action, they should at least seem more realistic than what we are presented with.

Thankfully, at least the cast of Dolittle tries their best. Robert Downey Jr. may have a questionable British accent (was he this bad in Sherlock Holmes?!), but he does at least bring some heart to a rather dour character. And both Michael Sheen and Antonio Banderas seem to be having a fun time with what are really one-note villains. The voice cast is also filled with talented actors, with a few standouts including Rami Malek as a scared gorilla, John Cena as a charismatic polar bear, and Emma Thompson as Dolittle’s advisor macaw. Trying to figure out who was doing which voice was likely one of the highlights of the film (which goes to tell you just how much fun it actually is).

Where’s the Laughs?

Which brings me to my final point: not only is Dolittle tedious and predictable, it’s also not really a fun ride to get through. It thankfully doesn’t feel like a complete waste of time watching it, but it also feels like lost potential. The action is over-the-top, but often not in the zaniest of ways, resulting in some, as mentioned, lackluster setpieces. Danny Elfman‘s score is not amongst his best, failing to capture the energy that he often brings to his many Tim Burton collaborations.

The humor here is also far from sophisticated, choosing to come from childish places like fart humor. The one time I almost laughed was when there was a Godfather reference, though even here it doesn’t come as close to a similar gag in Disney’s Zootopia. And yes, in case you haven’t heard, Dolittle ends with our title character performing an emergency operation on a dragon; let’s just say that it goes a tad too far, even for a kid’s movie.

Above all, Dolittle just seems like a haphazard effort, as if, even after all the reshoots it had last spring, they decided to release it anyways, hoping that parents would bring their kids based on the subject matter alone. As modern cinemagoers have become more picky, though, subject matter alone is just not good enough, especially when you can stay home and watch any of a number of (probably better) titles on streaming.

Dolittle: Conclusion

Dolittle is what happens when you take a story with potential but fail to make it interesting or entertaining, with not even a slew of talented actors both in front of the camera and providing voices being able to make up for it. It’s the first real disappointment of 2020.

What are your thoughts on Dolittle? Are you a fan of the original stories?