Dr. Dolittle (1998 film)
| Dr. Dolittle | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Betty Thomas |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Russell Boyd |
| Edited by | Peter Teschner |
| Music by | Richard Gibbs |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 85 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $71.5 million |
| Box office | $294.4 million[3] |
Dr. Dolittle (also written as Doctor Dolittle) is a 1998 American
The film's success generated one theatrical sequel, Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), and three films released direct to video: Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006), Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief (2008), and Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts (2009).[6]
Plot
In 1968, five-year old John Dolittle displays an ability to hear what
Thirty years later in 1998, John is a doctor and a surgeon living in San Francisco, California. 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 believes 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 in which one of his colleagues, Dr. Mark Weller, is enthusiastic about, though their other colleague, Dr. Gene Reiss, is skeptical about the deal due to the potential of downsizing patients and staff.
John's family goes on vacation, while John goes back to work to see a patient, and then pick up Rodney. On his way home, he accidentally nearly hits a dog with his
Believing his gift is a hindrance, John rejects all abnormality in his life and returns to work, but in doing so, ostracizes Maya as well, who comes to believe he dislikes her. Maya admits to Archer that she liked the idea of her father talking to animals, and John has a change of heart when he eavesdrops on the conversation. He admits to Maya that he does not like, but loves her for who she is, and encourages her to continue being what she wants to be.
John then apologizes to Lucky, and together, they sneak Jake out of the circus and take him to the hospital to perform surgery on him, on the same night a party is going on where Calloway will buy the company. Mark and Gene catch John, but Gene tires of Mark's greedy attitude and decides to assist John. Soon, Jake, his symptoms worsening to the point of becoming gravely ill, is exposed in front of everyone at the party, and they all watch as John and Gene operate on Jake in the operating theater. Archer reveals to Lisa that John's gift is real, encouraging her to venture into the theater and keep Jake calm while John and Gene discover Jake is suffering from a blood clot in his great cerebral vein and successfully remove it, saving Jake's life. Calloway is impressed with John's efforts and offers to buy the place, though John declines Calloway's offer.
John becomes both a doctor and a veterinarian afterwards, embracing his ability to talk to animals. Maya's egg hatches into a baby alligator, and the final scene shows John and Lucky walking on the street together with John talking about how he's going to treat animals and people, and Lucky talking about how he wants different treatment from now on, while the owl is shown chasing after the rats.
Cast
Live-action cast
- Eddie Murphy as Dr. John Dolittle, a physician who can talk to animals.
- Dari Gerard Smith as 5-year-old John
- Ossie Davis as Grandpa Archer Dolittle, the father of John.
- Oliver Platt as Dr. Mark Weller, a colleague and frenemy of John.
- Peter Boyle as Mr. Calloway, a man who seeks to buy John's practice.
- Richard Schiff as Dr. Gene Reiss, a colleague and loyal friend of John.
- Kristen Wilson as Lisa Dolittle, the wife of John.
- Jeffrey Tambor as Dr. Fish
- Kyla Pratt as Maya Dolittle, the nerdy daughter of John.
- Raven-Symoné as Charisse Dolittle, the teenage daughter of John.
- Steven Gilborn as Dr. Sam Litvack
- Paul Giamatti (uncredited) as Blaine Hammersmith
- Don Calfa (uncredited) as Patient at Hammersmith
- Pruitt Taylor Vince (uncredited) as Patient at Hammersmith
Voice cast
- Norm Macdonald as Lucky, a dog that John adopts.
- Albert Brooks as Jacob "Jake", a Bengal tiger.
- Chris Rock as Rodney, a guinea pig owned by the Dolittle family
- Reni Santoni as Rat #1
- John Leguizamo as Rat #2
- Pigeon
- Garry Shandling as Male Pigeon
- Ellen DeGeneres as Prologue Dog, John's childhood pet
- Brian Doyle-Murray as Old Retriever
- Phil Proctor as Drunk Monkey
- Jenna Elfman as Owl
- Gilbert Gottfried as Compulsive Dog
- Phyllis Katz as Goat
- Douglas Shamburger as Pound Dog
- Jeff Doucette as Possum
- Archie Hahn as Heavy Woman's Dog
- Tom Towles as German Shepherd
- Eddie Frierson as Skunk
- Paul Reubens as Raccoon
- Royce D. Applegate as "I Love You" Dog
- James F. Dean as Orangutan
- Chad Einbinder as Bettelheim the Cat
- Jonathan Lipnicki as Baby Tiger
- Hamilton Camp as Pig
- Kerrigan Mahan as Penguin
Puppeteers
Lead puppeteer
- Allan Trautman - lead puppeteer
Puppeteers
- Bill Barretta
- Kevin Carlson
- Bruce Lanoil
- Drew Massey
- Ian Tregonning
- Mak Wilson
Music
Soundtrack
| Dr. Dolittle: The Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hip hop, R&B | ||||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, The Legendary Traxster, Various | |||
| Dr. Dolittle soundtrack chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Dr. Dolittle | ||||
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The soundtrack was released on June 16, 1998 through
The soundtrack's only charting single, "Are You That Somebody?" by Aaliyah, also found success, making it to 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards.[8]
Information taken from Dr. Dolittle: The Album liner notes:[9]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | " | Warryn Campbell | 3:38 | |
| 14. | "Push 'Em Up" (Eddie Kane & DeVille featuring DJ Toomp) |
| DJ Toomp | 3:46 |
| 15. | "Ain't Nothin' but a Party" (The Sugarhill Gang) |
|
| 3:57 |
Sample credits[9]
- "Lovin' You So" contains elements from "Pack'd My Bags", written by Chaka Khan and Tony Maiden.
- "Dance" contains "If Ever I Fall" by The Winans.
- "Ain't Nothin' but a Party" contains an interpolation of "8th Wonder", written by Sylvia Robinson, Clifton Chase, Michael Wright, Cheryl Cook, and Guy O'Brien.
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[10] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Reception
Box office
On its opening weekend, Dr. Dolittle earned $29,014,324 across 2,777 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office, the best debut for a 20th Century Fox film that week. It would go on to achieve the biggest opening weekend for an Eddie Murphy film, beating The Nutty Professor.[11] That record would be surpassed by its successor Nutty Professor II: The Klumps in 2000.[12] By the end of its run, the film had grossed $144,156,605 in the United States and $150,300,000 internationally, totaling $294,456,605 worldwide.[3]
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 43% based on reviews from 53 critics, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Doctor Dolittle finds some mirth in the novelty of wisecracking critters, but this family feature's treacly tone is made queasy by a reliance on scatological gags that undercut the intended warmth".[4] On Metacritic, it has weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.[13]
Leonard Klady of Variety called it "slim on story and rife with scatological jokes, the film may strike a chord with pre-teens but misses for an older crowd despite some nifty effects and broad humor".[14] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times dismissed the film as "a complete waste of time and potential".[15]
Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club wrote: "Murphy is stuck playing second fiddle to the film's menagerie of nutty animals, he makes an engaging straight man. Dr. Dolittle isn't as sharp or consistent as Murphy's The Nutty Professor, but it's an amusing, lightweight diversion".[16] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 and wrote: "Too many adults have a tendency to confuse bad taste with evil influences; it's hard for them to see that the activities in Doctor Dolittle, while rude and vulgar, are not violent or anti-social. The movie will not harm anyone".[17]
Home media
Dr. Dolittle was released on LaserDisc and VHS on November 24, 1998, on DVD on August 3, 1999 and on Blu-ray disc on March 18, 2014.
Other media
Video game
A video game based on the film was released in Europe for the PlayStation 2 on November 29, 2006.[18]
References
- ^ Petrikin, Chris (February 18, 1998). "Fox renamed that toon". Variety. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ "DR DOLITTLE (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. July 1, 1998. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09.
- ^ Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
- ^ a b "Dr. Dolittle (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- IMDb
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "Nine Things We'll Never Forget About Aaliyah". Billboard. 25 August 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
- ^ a b Dr. Dolittle: The Album (booklet). Atlantic. 1998.
- ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Doctor Dolittle: The Album". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Linder, Brian (July 31, 2000). "Weekend Box Office: Nutty II Grosses Out Critics, Out Grosses Competition". IGN. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ "DOCTOR DOLITTLE (1998) A-". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
- ^ Klady, Leonard (24 June 1998). "Dr. Dolittle". Variety.
- ^ Kenneth Turan (26 June 1998). "'Dolittle' Could've Used a Joke Doctor". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Nathan Rabin (2002). "Dr. Dolittle". The A.V. Club.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (June 26, 1998). "Doctor Dolittle". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ "Dr. Dolittle Box Shot for PlayStation 2 - GameFAQs". www.gamefaqs.com. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
External links
- Dr. Dolittle at IMDb
- Dr. Dolittle at Box Office Mojo
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