Dolittle

You get what you expect with this film - easy to watch and a good laugh from start to finish. As family friendly as a film gets. The cast (both in person and voice over) are of the highest calibre and this only adds to the quality.

A note on Downey Jr's Doctors accent - it is a South Wales accent. Not only did I pick up on this immediately, but I would know... being Welsh and having the very accent myself. He pulls it off with a more than decent attempt.

To summarise - very good viewing.

I watched this at home on BluRay from our public library.

The IMDb rating seems a bit low, this is a very well-made and entertaining movie, with A-list actors, even those who voice animated characters.

Queen Victoria is ill and dying, in talking to a squid in a tank suspects she is being poisoned. They set off on a long cruise to find a particular plant that no one knows for sure exists but could cure the Queen.

Lots of green screen and CGI are involved, as such it takes on the look of a cartoon more than a conventionally filmed movie. It reminded me of watching Saturday morning cartoons with a few live characters.

Overall very entertaining, I watched it again 3 months later (September 2020), then almost 4 years later (APR 2024), this time with my wife also, and enjoyed it even more the second and third times. Plus I am a big Jessie Buckley fan, she plays the sick Queen, ultimately a small part but she lights up the screen.

If you think this movie was boring or terrible you have no imagination and your inner child is dead old and grumpy. It was delightful, imaginative and enjoyable to watch. I don't understand all the hate for it. Go see it and imagine!

The negative reviews here are lacking consideration of the viewer such a movie intends to alight and invite in: not film or literature aficionados; children. This movie is perfect for elementary school age kids, entering the genre of film and unawares or wary of the mature themes, titles and classics that flit by in their budding lives. Don't review or see this movie as a critic. Consider it as a parent and carrier of culture, and see it as an amuse bouche for the little blossoming beloved in your life. This film is great.

Had to write a brief review as the level of ignorance regarding RDJ's accent is astounding.

As a Welshman I can say his attempt at a Welsh accent is not a bad effort at all. Like many places around the UK we have regional variaions but RDJ does a passable version of a South Wales Valleys accent and that is no mean feat.

As far as the plot is concerned you have to remember this is a family film that's full of CGI animals. Was it great? Not quite - but there was enough fun to enjoy if you could get past the the initial shock that Dolittle wasn't from England.

Sadly it seems this was too far out of some peoples comfort zones and because of that they missed the hidden meanings of the film which circled around friends and friendship.