The punishingly long DR. DOLITTLE 1967 somehow has too much plot and no plot at all. Why are we supposed to be impressed by this veterinarian who can speak with animals, rather than the bird who can speak with other animals
and English
and who teaches said veterinarian each "language"? This would've been a more interesting story if Polynesia the parrot had been the protagonist. Instead, the title character is... I don't know. His intelligence, his social skills and his levels of empathy vary so much from scene to scene. When I say that all the songs sound the same, I mean that in the worst way possible. The only one that's catchy is I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. I can't tell if it's because of the composition or because Richard Attenborough and company sound like they're having a blast. The other actors sing well, but they don't really convey emotions like that. Although, after watching the movie, I read about the behind-the-scenes drama... and I can't blame them for not having fun on set. When I say "the other actors," I don't include Rex Harrison. His method of speaking his songs rather than singing them doesn't work like it did in
MY FAIR LADY, because this time around: A) None of his-co-stars have as much screen time as him (which would've balanced things out and appeased our ears), like Audrey Hepburn/Marni Nixon; and B) The songs aren't fast and potent enough to shift the viewer's focus to his energy rather than his delivery.
3/10
DR. DOLITTLE 1998
5/10
DR. DOLITTLE PART 2 has a slightly more interesting plot than its predecessor (John, the title character, has to save a forrest from being cut down by making sure a wild bear named Ava and a circus bear named Archie mate), as well as an unpredictable 3rd act twist that results in a very touching moment. Unfortunately, the humor is still hit-or-miss, and David Newman's music score is very intrusive. In the previous installment, Eddie Murphy did his "talking fast and yelling routine" whenever his character was scared or stressed. He had a clear idea on which scenes he had to be serious... and he did a decent job at that. Here, he does this routine no matter the context. In fact, he seems more focused on mugging for the camera. Luckily, we have Kristen Wilson and Raven-Symoné to carry the dramatic moments. I'm against the idea of softening comedy just so people don't get offended. That being said, I could not-not notice how these 2 movies use words like "Hell," "Ass" and even "Shit." This sequel in particular has constant references to sex (I don't mean double entendres; they're pretty direct), including at the very beginning... right before an alligator bites a person's arm off. Are we sure children are the target audience? When they meet, Ava shows no interest in Archie. Why didn't John tell her "Can't you just pretend to be his girlfriend until the loggers go away? Don't you care about the other animals? Don't you realize that you'll lose your home too?" In one scene, Archie falls down from a tree and Ava tells him that he should learn how to climb them. Why? A branch breaking is an unrelated issue.
Later, Archie grabs a beehive hanging from a log on a cliff and Ava is impressed. Why? He only succeeded because John held the log down, which she could clearly see. By the way, I'm surprised John felt the need to save him, considering he barely reacted when Archie fell down to the basement in an earlier scene.
5/10
DR. DOLITTLE PART 3 focuses on Maya (the title character's daughter). While she has the same last name, she's not a veterinarian yet, so the title is a lie. Anyway, this sequel continues the theme of accepting who you are by showing Maya going to a ranch, making up a new last name (so that people don't know that she can talk to animals) and learning a lesson. However, it's kind of contradictory when there's also a fat character (Clayton) whose entire personality is "I like to eat." Also, Maya is terrible at hiding her identity. She's constantly talking to animals out in the open without making sure there's no one around. She could ignore them or at least whisper to them. Since she doesn't, her complains about not wanting to get caught are annoying. It's not really a spoiler to say that the truth eventually comes out. Well, I appreciated that she chose to confess rather than get exposed, because it's less cliché. At one point, Maya and her new friends play by throwing eggs at each other. Why didn't she hear the chickens' horrified screams?
Bo (the love interest) falls down during a bull riding contest, but nothing happens to him. Wait. In a previous scene, Jud (his father) said "According to the doctor, if you fall down from a bull one more time, you might never walk again." I know it that meant it was just a possibility and not a fact, but it still seemed odd that Jud wouldn't object to Bo's friends lifting him up without checking his legs or his back first.
During the 1st act, Vivica (Maya's friend) wants to be popular very badly, even to the point where she doesn't defend Maya when the other students treat her like a freak. Obviously, I kept expecting a scene where Maya realizes this and does something about... but there's no payoff! Vivica shows up at the end and they're both still friends! What the Hell?! You can tell that this went direct-to-video due to its production values. Well, after watching it, I read that it was a last-minute decision. That it was originally going to be released in theaters. They even had a planned date. Then there's no excuse for the presentation, especially Eric J. Goldstein's cinematography.
3/10
In DR. DOLITTLE PART 4: TAIL TO THE CHIEF, the P.O.T.U.S. (Sterling) is afraid that his dog Daisy will continue to ruin his international affairs, because she's always causing chaos. Apparently he can't just keep her locked in another room whenever he has a meeting. Maya is hired to help and they go to a ranch. What, this again?! But the poster shows the White House! Talk about false advertising! Maya struggles because, even though she can hear animals when they talk, she can't read their minds. Why not also hire a psychologist and have Maya be an interpreter? Among the staff members, there's Yale students Cole Fletcher and Selma. Wait. People can get a job like this while they're still studying? I know there are colleges that offer internships to help secure a future job, but one that allows them to have direct contact with the Commander in Chief? When Sterling is arguing with this daughter Courtney, she leaves the room angry and runs into Maya and Chief of Staff Harold Dorian. Dorian introduces them, but Courtney walks away without saying anything. Dorian says "Don't worry. She'll grow out of it." What is he talking about? Being an angsty teen has nothing to do with this. Even an adult would've been too caught up in their anger to say hi to someone immediately after a fight. When they all arrive to the ranch, Selma says "I'm not really an animal person. Allergies." The shot is held for enough time to indicate that this is supposed to be funny. How, exactly? Maya sees the French monkey. You know, the one that has appeared in every installment of this series and that the Dolittles at some point took in in their home (without an on-screen explanation). This time, he pretends to be someone else, even though Maya recognizes him immediately. I honestly have no idea why this is a subplot. Even for an absurdist joke, it makes no sense. By the way, Maya literally refers to him as "Monkey." The family that has a connection to animals than other humans don't have doesn't bother to give their pet a name?! There's a scene where Maya and Sterling are feeding some lemurs. You can see Peter Coyote pushing one of them away from the food bucket while Kyla Pratt stands still... and then the shot keeps going. Since this wasn't the focus of the shot, it's clearly an error. Why not yell "Cut!" and start over? I don't know what's the point of the Presidential staff when the level of security is so poor!
I mean, the First Daughter is able to go to a party by sneaking out... if you can even call it that, since she walks towards her motor scooter out in the open! And don't get me started on the dinner party! Maya is able to walk up to the table where Sterling is eating with Prince Tharoor, who comes from some fictional country (no, not Wakanda). Even if they know who she is, her behavior is weird enough to be suspicious. OK, maybe the guards are just too slow. Well, they have plenty of time, since Maya doesn't go away immediately. Later, Daisy runs towards the Prince. There's a half-second shot of him reacting that's repeated 3 times in a row. No, it's not a glitch of the film, because the music score plays normally. However, you can hear the audio of that one shot (that they recorded during filming) also being repeated. You couldn't have muted it and use post-production tricks to hide it?! Pathetic! It's then revealed that Dorian has responsible for Daisy's bad behavior all along. He's been putting something in her food, because he knows her messes can ruin the international agreement, and he can make money out of this. Ummm... Then why did he make her act this way when Sterling had meeting with other people? Him insisting Maya to help Daisy and him letting Daisy sneeze on his pants was all an act to not be a suspect? That seems far-fetched. And why did Daisy act rude and destructive in scenes when Dorian wasn't feeding her? And what's up with her saying, in an earlier scene, that she was acting out because she felt abandoned by her owner?! It seemed like she was confessing her motives!
1/10
No matter how flawed the previous installments were, at least they all showed situations with high stakes. In DR. DOLITTLE PART 5: MILLION DOLLAR MUTTS, Maya has to decide between going to college or working on a TV show. How riveting! This whole thing starts right after the requisite establishing shots of San Francisco (I can't confirm it, but I think they filmed a trolley for the 2nd sequel and just re-used the shot for the 2 follow-ups). Maya gets an orientation video and feels disappointed that students have to wait 7 years before directly interacting with animals. Aren't people supposed to read the syllabus before they get enrolled? And we're not talking about an idiot; Maya is supposed to be smart. Hell, her own father studied medicine! Did John never tell her about the details? She helps a cat stuck in a tree who tell her he doesn't like his owner at all. She appears on the news and we never find out what happens to this cat. A Paris Hilton parody (yeah, that's totally not going to date the movie at all) named Tiffany Monaco is in awe when she sees this story. Apparently, working with the fucking President doesn't put you in a celebrity's radar, but helping a neighbor does?! Despite her being portrayed for the most part as a shallow airhead, she also seems to be a genius, because she's the first character in the entire franchise to think that this superpower should be televised. I'm not counting the beginning of DR. DOLITTLE PART 2, because that was a guest appearance. How the fuck has no one else ever offered Maya and/or John their own daily/weekly show?! While we're on the subject of the timeline, the nameless monkey has been an alcoholic for 11 years and no one in this family of the animal saviors seems to care anymore. Among all 7 movies, Jason Bryden's performance is the worst.
0/10
At no point while watching (the simply titled) DOLITTLE did I believe the animals looked real. Jessie Buckley, Carmel Laniado and most of the voice actors don't do a bad job at all. Robert Downey Jr. and Antonio Banderas play goofy characters, but only the latter's performance is believable. Michael Sheen is just embarrassing himself. All of the previous movies and all of Hugh Lofting's books made it clear that humans who don't have the Dolittle last name can't understand what animals try to communicate through their noises. That's because, while it's a fantasy franchise, it doesn't mean that there are no limits in regards to logic. There are other stories where animals are capable of speaking like a human, but this fictional world is still supposed to remain somewhat grounded in reality. With that in mind... why is there a fucking dragon now?! There's a scene where a gorilla kicks a tiger in the crotch area. Why is he in pain if has no balls?! I mean, there was an earlier shot where he was lying on his back and there was nothing there! He was like a Ken doll! Among the 2 adaptations that take place in the 1800s, which one is worse? Let's see... The 2020 version is shorter and has a more coherent plot structure, but it's a tonal mess (the makers couldn't decide between whimsical or wacky and edgy). Both versions are unfunny and boring, and they both show an underdeveloped connection between the title character and a co-star. In the 1967 version, it was a love interest (I give that movie credit for not showing them together at the end (that was rare back then, especially in a family movie)); in the 2020 version, it's an apprentice who doesn't want to tell his family about his mission. Why not?! They would stop treating him like a freak if they knew he was helping the Queen! In the 1967 version, there were many moments where Richard Fleischer's directing and Robert Surtees' cinematography shined, especially during the musical number AT THE CROSSROADS. The lovely wide shots showed Samantha Eggar running through the fields. At one point, her dress got caught. Later, she skipped on rocks, slipped and fell on water. This was all shown with little-to-no editing, meaning it required a lot of coordination. In the 2020 version, director Stephen Gaghan and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro miss the mark to the point where they worsen the experience.
1/10
-------------------------------------
You can read comments of other movies on my blog.
