Common Sense Note
This classic family tale is exceedingly G-rated -- for lively songs, fuzzy animals, dancing and cavorting. You can't go wrong. Children younger than 5 will appreciate the fun and silliness, but may be impatient with the slow first half. For older kids, this is nonstop wholesome entertainment that parents can feel good about.
The movie makes learning new languages seem very appealing (Dolittle knows 498), and families may want to use it as a jumping off point for encouraging language development in their own children. The film also makes a plea for humans to treat each other with civility and kindness. Families may want to discuss what civility means and how each family members encourages kindness every day.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Scott G. Mignola
He's a bit awkward around people, but John Dolittle has no trouble talking to the animals. This delightfully wholesome 1967 musical sets the good doctor (Rex Harrison) on a daring sea adventure to find the legendary Great Pink Sea Snail. Children will swoon over the animals (lots and lots of them); adults may grow comfortably nostalgic.
Based on Hugh Lofting's popular children's stories from the 1920s, this 1967 Oscar nominee for Best Picture (by 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea director Richard Fleischer) is busting full of lively songs and exotic animals, but it takes its time gathering steam.
Rex Harrison, who flexed his vocal cords with Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, is quite likeable as Dolittle. He's at his best when interacting with animals, especially when asking for hints that might lead him to the Great Pink Sea Snail. There are prize moments in the first half, like a dog dusting furniture with its tail and the uneasiness of a pig while bacon is frying, but the movie only really flies once we leave Puddleby for the more exotic Sea Star Island. There the native leader, played by wonderfully charismatic Geoffrey Holder (yes, that was him painted to look like a skeleton in Live And Let Die) brings vivacity to the proper English proceedings. How come he didn't get a song?
The rest of the non-animal cast is a bit drab, unfortunately, with little more to do than tag along. That didn't get in the way of an 8-year-old viewer's enjoyment; nor did the "fake-looking" giant snail or two-headed llama. Dolittle's musings as to why humans can't seem to get along with each other the way other animals do wasn't lost on him.
Sure, you'll find more convincing effects in the flatulent 1998 remake starring Eddie Murphy, but the original delivers more child-friendly fun.
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