User reviews

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.

No, this is not an Oscar contender.

But all the negative reviews are completely unwarranted.

This movie is cheesy and fun. It has talking animals. Good guys and bad guys. A love story. Comic relief.

It's meant for kids, people. And mine loved it.

If you in for a movie that is just fun and relaxing with a good message about families and helping people out while laughing at silly jokes, this movie is for you. The animals were quite fun with their little jokes and silly comments. My kids really enjoyed it and we thought it was a good family film with a good message. Sit back and enjoy the ride. It's a fun film that everyone can enjoy. Suitable for ages 1 to 101.

Solid family adventure movie and have multiple funny moments. Story is quite predictable, at least not boring. Main cast is every kind of well animated animals.

If you are going to watch a movie with a child, you can choose this movie. I also watched versions of Eddie Murphy. This movie is more beautiful. Scenarios and jokes are better. Visual effects are realistic.

I'll be brief. The story was basic and felt limp. The actors were blah. RDJ looked like he was confused, trying to morph Tony Stark with Holmes with Capt Jack Sparrow and in any given scene couldn't remember his style. His accent wasn't as much of a problem as the way his voice sounded. It seemed like he was whispering the entire time, trying a difficult accent and trying to rush the words so it didn't sound like the accent was hard. Honestly couldn't understand him most of the time. Antonio Banderas was the most solid but still stuck with a lame character. The main boy (can't remember his name) seemed like he was stealing from Harry Potter #1 and Spider-Man. The little girl was stereotypical. And the queen was awful. The main bad guy was honestly the only person I enjoyed watching in the movie. The pacing was off, the cgi animals were decent. But I left the movie not caring one bit for anything in it. Yes it's definitely aimed at kids and should be taken at that level, but I've seen much better kids movies.

It was fun to watch, the animals CGI was done so beautifully, to the extent that I never really thought it's CGI. Voice actors were brilliant and RDJ was AMAZING. A lot of love for animals that was so heart warming and we laughed alot. A lottt!

I actually don't know why there is so much hate. I thought that this was a lovely family movie. Colourful and enjoyable.

I was worried going into this that it would be awful based on early reviews. It turned out to be a delightful, humorous family movie with CGI that would put most films to shame. Yes, there are cheesy over-the-top jokes. Yes, a lot of it is silly. Yes, the plot is simple. It's a movie for children! Robert Downey Jr was charming, Michael Sheen was every bit that classic mustache-twirling villain, and Antonio Banderas surprised me with his performance! The child actors were impressive and believable, and the voice acting was cute and probably the funniest part of the movie. Again, let me say- this is a movie intended for children that can be enjoyed by adults who aren't expecting a drama of the year. Let your inner kid out and see a movie for fun. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

This movie has lots of entertainment value especially for the younger ones. Seeing Robert Downey Jr. in this role was pretty odd, but it was entertaining nonetheless, even for a young adult like myself. Entertaining rating would be around a 7.5/10 for me, so I recommend it for sure.

Dolittle is a charming trip into the world of talking animals that features amazing computer-generated imagery. In an attempt to recreate the charm of the iconic figure, Robert Downey Jr. Gives the title part a quirky charisma through his unique acting. The group of voice actors gives the animal characters more nuance and individuality by contributing their distinct styles to the mix. The film's attempt to balance heart, humor, and adventure, however, frequently comes across as inconsistent, and the plot occasionally veers off course while failing to establish a coherent story. Dolittle can make some viewers long for a more seamless and captivating narrative experience, even with its humorous moments and striking graphics.

Dolittle fails to recreate the enchantment of its source material, despite showing off amazing computer graphics and a few jokes along the way. While Robert Downey Jr.'s eccentric interpretation of the lead role is enjoyable, the storyline of the movie lacks the cohesion required to keep viewers interested. Even while the CGI animal characters are artistically amazing, the sheer number of them often overpowers the plot, making it difficult for viewers to relate to the human-animal connection at the center of the story. While Dolittle has heartfelt and humorous moments, it ultimately leaves the audience with a mixed bag of sensations and feelings since it can't seem to strike a balance between its fanciful features and a gripping story.

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.

¨Dolittle¨ (2020) by Stephen Gaghan boasts an all-star-cast, such as: Robert Downey, Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen , Jim Broadbent , Jessie Buckley, Emma Thompson , Rami Malek. An adventure about a 19th century English doctor and veterinarian , Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr) who dreams of teaching to animals to speak to him. Dr. John Dolittle has a menagerie of self supporting animals and is able to talk to them, but he is decided to hide from the world with his beloved pets. That's why Dolittle finds more satisfaction being around animals than people . The film starts with a storybook-like depiction of the life of 19th Century British veterinarian Dr. John Dolittle as told by Poly the parrot (voice of Emma Thompson). He has the ability to communicate with animals, and he would travel the world with his beloved wife Lily (Kasia Smutniak), finding other scared or hurt animals and bringing them to their sanctuary. As Dolittle can talk to animals subsequently embarking on an adventure to find a legendary island with a young apprentice called Tommy Stubbins (Harry Collett) and a crew of strange pets . All of them set out In search for a cure: a healing tree , which is the only medicine that can help the dying Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) in Buckingham Palace , and while regaining his wit and courage as he crosses enemies (Michael Sheen) and encounters fantastic creatures. He's just not a people person !. Ride across the sea with Dr Dolittle!. Learn to talk in 500 animal languages from a parrot who speaks 1000!. Fly across the world aboard Dolittle ship !. The most joyous entertainment for the whole family! You've never seen anything like it in your life!.

An epic adventure about a journey to a mythical island in search of a cure , regaining his wit and courage as Dolittle crosses adversaries, takes on a dragon and finds wondrous creatures. The marvelous and enjoyable premise suffers , at times , from a poor and weak script, though it's made up for Guillermo Navarro's colorful and gorgeous cinematography Children will find this flick very amusing thanks to Robert Downey Jr's stunning acting , attractive exteriors, a lot of beloved animals and excessive use of computer generator images . Robert Downey is nice as the reluctant Dolittle who's forced to go on an epic adventure to a mythical island . He's well accompanied by the always sympathetic Antonio Banderas as King Rassouli, along with Harry Collett, Michael Sheen, Jim Broadbent, Carmel Laniado, Kasia Smutniak, Ralph Ineson and Jessie Buckley as Queen Victoria . While other known actors provided the voices of the multiple animals that appear here and there, such as: Rami Malek, John Cena , Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Marion Cotillard, Frances de la Tour, among others. Traditional values and great movie for families , resulting to be an exciting movie from beginning to end, this is an amazing feel nice film and I was hoping to see more like it.

The film packs glamorous and brilliant cinematography by Guillermo Navarro, Guillermo del Toro's regular cameraman. As well as lively and rousing musical score by Danny Elffman . The motion picture was profesiionally directed by Stephen Gaghan, though has some flaws and holes. He has written two screenplays where Harrison Ford was offered a role : Robert Wakefield in Traffic (2000) (which went to Michael Douglas) and Bob Barnes in Syriana (2005) (which George Clooney won the Oscar). He's a prestigious writer , such as : Chaos, The Alamo , Rules of Engagement , Dolittle , Traffic , who has directed a few films , such as : Abandon , Gold , White city , Syriana and Dolittle. Rating : 6/10. Acceptable and passable but neither notable, nor extraordinary. Wholeheartedly recommend for a great family movie. Fun enough and great adventure for kids and adults. Doctor Dolittle is one of the most joyous entertainment for the whole family.

Other versions about Hugh Lofting's acclaimed tales were starred by Eddie Murphy , such as : ¨Dr Dolittle 1 , 2, and 3¨ , made in 1998 , 2001 and 2006 . And Doctor Dolittle (1967) by Richard Fleischer with Rex Harrison, Anthony Newley, Samantha Eggar, Richard Attenborough, Peter Bull.

This is one of those films that brings a lot nostalgia back to mind. I like the concept these people are going with here. A Dr. Dolittle remake would be perfect especially the time right now. I know people have mixed feelings about this, but I like it.

Dolittle boasts an all-time great (predominantly voice) cast, but wastes its talent on an all-time abhorrent script. It will likely do enough to keep your kids entertained, but the lazy jokes and awkward performances will prove a chore to sit through for the rest of us.

Dolittle is pretty adventurous, fast paced, great voices, and beautiful! This has such a grand scale of big budgeted scenery and set design which is very nice. Some nice charm for sure, I like how the story plays out. I do prefer the humor, voices and story in Doctor Dolittle (1998) more!

What a waste of a talented cast and $175 million dollars. You could have taught a bear to speak for real for less.

If you don't take Dolittle too seriously I'm sure you'll find enough enjoyment in the experience. It's really a family film, probably aimed at kids in the 6-12 demographic. It's got a few good laughs and it's a feel good adventure. Is it amazing? No, but it's not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

Poorly cut scenes mar what could have been a fun adventure. By the end of the film I couldn't name a single character aside from the protagonist. No character development occurred anywhere so I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. Most of the time I couldn't tell who was speaking because all of the voices sounded as though they were coming from a sound stage. The editing shows that there were reshoots and questionable choices. The opening ten minutes were so jarring that I can list this as the first movie to make me carsick. Underneath all of the issues could have been a great story, but I couldn't even get my 7 year old daughters to take an interest in this lackluster film. I even had to leave the room at one point because it gave me a headache.

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.

The film is greatly enhanced by it's very strong voice acting cast, beyond that it is not special, but more importantly does not fail in any way either.

With interesting visuals and an engaging plot accompanied with a great cast this should do more than enough to fill an evening with the family or to pass time by yourself.

Struggled to hold me attention from 10 mins in. Just seemed lazy to me.

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.