Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.) was a doctor noted for his remarkably ability to talk to animals. Since his beloved wife Lily passed away, he closed himself off from any human contact and became a miserable recluse in his manor. His only companions were his menagerie of animals he had helped over the years, like Chee-Chee the nervous gorilla (Rami Malek), Yoshi the friendly polar bear (John Cena), Dab-dab the noisy duck (Octavia Spencer), Plimpton the finicky ostrich (Kumail Nanjiani), Jip the smart diagnosing dog (Tom Holland) and Polynesia the wise macaw (Emma Thompson).
One day, Tommy Stubbins (Harry Collett), a boy who loved animals, sought Dr. Dolittle's help for Kevin a squirrel he accidentally shot. That same day, Lady Rose (Carmel Laniado), a young princess from the palace, was also calling on Dr. Dolittle to deliver a message from Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) herself, who wanted the good doctor to go and treat a mysterious malady she was experiencing. This would begin a seaborne adventure to search for the island where the legendary Eden tree that bore a fruit that could heal anything.
Honestly, we almost gave this film a pass because of all the bad reviews it had been receiving since it was released in the US a couple of weeks ago. We tend to be wary if a film gets a January release, with the reputation that these are unpromising films which could not be summer blockbusters. However, we are talking about Robert Downey Jr. here in his first film since hanging up his Tony Stark / Ironman costume. You also cannot ignore the A-list actors they gathered together to voice all the animals. I needed to see this for myself.
Being introduced as a devastated man who cannot move on from the death of his wife, Dr. Dolittle was at first a bitter recluse, hence his disheveled look and reluctant behavior at first. This meant that most of the film's energy and comedy were delivered by the animals around him. Downey generously shared his screen time with the cute CGI animals, and amazingly he had realistic rapport with all of them. Michael Sheehan played the one-dimensionally villainous rival doctor Mudfly. Antonio Banderas played pirate king Rassouli who was also fathering a big loss, as Dolittle also did.
My verdict? It was actually not as bad as I was expecting at all. The premise was simple but the execution was very elaborate. The CGI animals were done quite well to be fair, and the voices were indeed funny in their delivery of zingers. There were scenes on a sailing ship at sea pulled by whales for more speed, a pirate palace (which looked a lot like that of Agrabah in "Aladdin") that had a dungeon with a neurotic tiger, and an uninhabited island with a healing tree guarded by a fire-breathing dragon.
From the start, you knew right away that this was made for children. That climax that featured a massive release of flatulence confirmed it in a major way. Yes, the lines were mostly of the cheesy corny variety, but I think kids will enjoy the light and juvenile tone of this adventure film a lot. No matter what those critics say, I know my inner child quite enjoyed it. 6/10.
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