Taglines: He doesn’t just talk to the animals!
Dr. Dolittle movie storyline. As a boy, John Dolittle displays an ability to talk to and understand animals, starting with his pet dog. His behaviour disturbs his father Archer, who hires a local minister to perform an exorcism on his son, but after John’s dog attacks him, Archer sends her away for adoption. John eventually forgets he can talk to animals.
As an adult, John is a doctor and surgeon living in San Francisco. He is happily married to his wife Lisa, and has two daughters, typical teenager Charisse, and nerdy Maya, who has a pet guinea pig named Rodney, and what she thinks is a swan egg, which she hopes will bond with her upon hatching. A large medical company owned by Mr. Calloway seeks to buy John’s practice, a deal which his colleagues Mark Weller and Gene Reiss are enthusiastic about.
John’s family goes on vacation, but he must return to work to see a patient, and then pick up Rodney. He nearly hits a dog, which gets up and angrily shouts at him in English. The next day, Rodney starts talking to John, who has no memory of his gift, and thinks he is having a mental breakdown. John has a CT scan after animals start asking for favours when he helps a wounded owl, and he then unwittingly adopts the dog he ran over, naming him Lucky. John starts secretly helping animals, including a suicidal circus tiger named Jake, who feels great cerebral pain. However, Lisa and Mark catch him performing CPR on a rat, and have him institutionalised.
Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American fantasy comedy film directed by Betty Thomas, written by Larry Levin and Nat Mauldin, and starring Eddie Murphy in the titular role. The film was inspired by the series of children’s stories of the same name by Hugh Lofting, but used no material from any of the novels; the main connection is the name and a doctor who can speak to animals, although the pushmi-pullyu, a much-loved feature of the books, notably makes a very brief appearance in a couple of scenes.
The first novel had originally been filmed in 1967 as a musical under the same title, a closer (albeit still very loose) adaptation of the book. The earlier film was a box office bomb, but still remains a cult classic and a two-time Academy Award-winner. Although the 1998 film was rated PG-13 by the MPAA, it was marketed as a family film. The 1998 film was a box office success, despite mixed reviews from critics. The film’s success generated four sequels; Dr. Dolittle 2, Dr. Dolittle 3, Tail to the Chief, and Million Dollar Mutts, the latter three being direct-to-video.
Dr. Dolittle (1998)
Directed by: Betty Thomas
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Ossie Davis, Oliver Platt, Jeffrey Tambor, Kristen Wilson, Kyla Pratt, Raven-Symoné, Steven Gilborn, June Christopher, Mark Adair-Rios
Screenplay by: Larry Levin, Nat Mauldin
Production Design by: William A. Elliott
Cinematography by: Russell Boyd
Film Editing by: Peter Teschner
Costume Design by: Sharen Davis
Set Decoration by: K.C. Fox
Art Direction by: Greg Papalia
Music by: Richard Gibbs
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude humor and language.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: June 26, 1998
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