He's just not a people person.
After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. But when the young queen falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.
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Unpretentious, resolved, effortless and classical in form.
- unpretentiousprestige
- resolvedopen-ended
- effortlessdemanding
- classical in formformally daring
- gravecomic
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“Is Robert Downey Jr. the best thing in Dolittle?”
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“Is it really for children?”
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“Is it style over substance?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Curator Co.'s numbers.
- Manuel São Bentoon TMDB · Apr 20202/10
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com We have all watched the Dolittle movies starring Eddie Murphy. I'm not going to lie, I was never a fan of these films. Yes, they're purposefully dumb, innocent, and feature that basic level of comedy. They never annoyed me, but they also never did anything remarkably surprising. 2020's version of the known tale is the first post-MCU role of Robert Downey Jr., it boasts an A-list cast, and… it's one of the worst movies of the year, without a single doubt. A complete disaster in every area of filmmaking. I don't even know where to start. Maybe with RDJ since he's the most significant negative surprise. I can't believe such a charismatic and now iconic actor like him could deliver a performance this awful. His Welsh (?) accent is not only a terrible choice character-wise, but I doubt that any children can understand what he's saying. RDJ acts like a baffling caricature of himself, not helping an already flawed film. The voice work from the remaining cast might be the only positive of the whole movie, but the CGI animals are way too unconvincing. However, as always, the most impactful issue
Read the whole review on TMDB - Kamuraion TMDB · Dec 20205/10
A weird watch, probably won't watch again, and can't recommend. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be closer to the books, or if Disney was just fed up with having wonderful magic in their products, but having Dolittle act out animal behavior in order to communicate to the them really ruins the vibe, as well as making it something you can learn makes it incredibly unremarkable. It should just be something people teach in this movie's universe. Robert Downey Jr., despite claiming he wants to play new characters, basically just played Sherlock Holmes that can talk to animals, to include uncovering a plot to kill the queen. The only real saving grace in this is the pure technical detail in the CG. The cast and voices were all fine, but the animal CG is over the top good, if a little goofy at times. Most of the movie is "what are they doing now?", or more of "why are they doing this now?". It really seemed they had to add a lot to the story of Dolittle, the doctor who talks to animals, to make it worthy of a movie. They also had to shift the focus away from him quite a bit, and while previous iterations have chosen to focus on the togetherness of the family, this movie has chosen to g
Read the whole review on TMDB - r96skon TMDB · Dec 20204/10
So pointless, so bad. The one solace of praise I have for <em>'Dolittle'</em> is that it at least mixes things up compared to the Eddie Murphy remake, as well as potentially the 1967 original - though I haven't seen that, but this sounds a little different based on '67's synopsis. This film wastes a fantastic cast list. Robert Downey Jr. is of course the lead, but there are also notable appearances from the likes of Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen and Jim Broadbent - as well as voice roles for the likes of Emma Thompson, Rami Malek and Octavia Spencer. Yet, all of those talents are completely wasted - I didn't even recognise some until the end credits. Downey, as the main man, merits the most attention. He is kinda awful, especially with his dreadful attempt at a Welsh accent - which is, I'm sure, ADR'd in places. It never feels like Downey fits as Dolittle, a role which comes across as perfect for Johnny Depp; though I'm glad it didn't fall to him, given how poor this is. The special effects are passable, but not as great as you'd expect from a 2020 (2018? 2019?) film with this budget and production company. The plot is OK, but it's all just a bit limp unfortunately. It needed str
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Cast
- Robert Downey Jr.Dr. John Dolittle
- Harry CollettTommy Stubbins
- Michael SheenDr. Blair Müdfly
- Jim BroadbentLord Thomas Badgley
- Antonio BanderasKing Rassouli
- Rami MalekChee-Chee (voice)
- Jessie BuckleyQueen Victoria
- Emma ThompsonPoly (voice)
- John CenaYoshi (voice)
- Kumail NanjianiPlimpton (voice)
Crew
- Stephen GaghanDirector
- Stephen GaghanScreenplay
- Dan GregorScreenplay
- Doug MandScreenplay
- Guillermo NavarroDirector of Photography
- Danny ElfmanOriginal Music Composer
- Craig AlpertEditor
- Chris LebenzonEditor
- Susan DowneyProducer
- Jeff KirschenbaumProducer
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
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Often watched with
Recommendations from TMDB. Opening one adds it to Curator Co.
