Common Sense Note
This Eddie Murphy vehicle lifts the name and basic concept from Hugh Lofting's famous stories about a man who can "talk to the animals." An enormous amount of sophmoric humor involving the good doctor's animal patients is added to the mix -- cute but wearying for adults.
Because many of the jokes include toilet humor and crude references to the human body, parents may want to decide whether or not they feel comfortable with this type of content for children younger than 5, though those children will certainly be charmed by the animal characters. Children above 5 will enjoy the jokes, but parents may still wish to exercise discretion, due to the nature of the humor.
Adult themes such as insanity, death and greed are depicted in the film, as well, and parents may want to be prepared to discuss them with their children.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Ed Grant
This gimmicky talking animal-comedy contains numerous mildly scatological jokes, some of which are actually amusing, thanks to a talented voice-cast. Unexceptionally directed, with unimpressive songs on the soundtrack.
John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy), an upwardly mobile San Francisco doctor, only wants the best for his wife and two daughters. One night driving home, Dolittle swerves away from a dog, and is subsequently gifted with a unique ability: he can "hear" the thoughts of any animal he encounters.
John ignores the upcoming sale of his clinic to a conglomerate in order to care for the injured and sick animals who invade his house and office, having heard of his gift. After a stay in a mental institution, John avoids the animals completely, but his humanitarian instincts soon reemerge. On the night of the big press conference that will announce the sale of his clinic, Dolittle must perform an operation on a sick circus tiger.
The operation is a success, and John's family accepts his peculiar "talent." The sale of the clinic is cancelled; henceforth, Dolittle will treat animals and humans.
Eddie Murphy's career has been a constant source of wonderment: He's gone from teenage standup to TV star to million-dollar movie actor to gossiped-about has-been to comeback kid to...straight man for a bunch of talking animals? Yes, the animals are the ones who get the laughs here, and the entire enterprise seems designed to lure in children who were enchanted by the talking animals in Babe.
The original Doctor Dolittle was a family-friendly musical and renowned box-office flop; this Doctor, a bona-fide hit, aims straight for youngsters' funny bones by spotlighting bodily-functions humor; however, actress turned-director Betty Thomas appears uncertain about where to draw the line.
The moment when two nebbishy pigeons (voiced by Garry Shandling and Julie Kavner) discuss the male pigeon's impotence is clearly meant to amuse adult viewers -- who will have long since tuned out or left the room, having been numbed by the chronic repetition of animal-rear-end jokes.
The movie's message ("be who you are and love who you are") is lost amid the crude humor. Similarly, Dolittle's transition from money-hungry yuppie to altruistic animal-lover is unconvincing, due to sloppy scripting and the fact that Murphy is still a better comedian than he is an actor.
The star-studded voice cast brightens up the proceedings, with Norm MacDonald and Chris Rock trading on their popularly-established personas, and other comic actors (Albert Brooks, John Leguizamo, Jenna Elfman) affecting colorful tones for their animal alter-egos.
Parents who are not amused by the toilet humor may prefer that their children watch the talking animals in the previously mentioned Babe and Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.
Rate It!
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual ContentMuch of the film contains mildly raunchy material, including double entendres and sexual innuendo. |
 |
|||
ViolenceThe rat characters keep goading each other into a fistfight. A rat nearly dies on the operating table. A woman with an allergic reaction to shellfish, visits Dolittle's office with horrifically puffed-up eyes (her bruised posterior is also featured). |
|
|||
LanguageAt one point Dolittle quickly utters the "s" word. Jokes involve excretion, flatulence, and urination; countless gags center around animals' "butts." The milder terms "crap" and "nooky" are also utilized. |
 |
|||
Message |
|
|||
Social BehaviorIn some scenes, Dolittle is unkind to animals: he shouts at a dog, and briefly ignores the animals' pleas for medical attention. |
 |
|||
Commercialism |
|
|||
Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco |
|
|||
