Dolittle (2020) Review

Dolittle is a perfectly serviceable film, if you’re the type of person who asks for little more from a film than to just be entertaining. It isn’t deep, it isn’t particularly complex, it’s not part of a larger story, it’s just…Dolittle. It doesn’t try to be anything more, and I respect that.

The history of Doctor Dolittle films very much parallels the backstory of this incarnation’s main character. A rough start in the Sixties eventually led to a period of success in the late Nineties and early Two Thousands; but that success eventually soured and turned to near-obscurity. Audience members who saw the Eddie Murphy version in theaters probably remember those films fondly; but anyone who was either too young or too old to enjoy them when they came out most likely don’t think much of them.

The same goes for the 1967 Rex Harrison original. In talking with my mother, who was eight years old when the Harrison film was released, I learned that at the time she thought the film had done well. She had fun with it. Why shouldn’t a cute movie about talking animals be successful?

Well, I won’t go into much detail, but let’s just say money is easier to lose than it is to make.

This version of Dolittle falls somewhere between Harrison and Murphy. It’s not a musical like the Harrison version, but Dolittle is still British and the plot revolves (partially) around finding a way to cure the unnamed Queen Victoria stand-in of a mysterious illness. The story keeps itself open to possible sequels like the Murphy version, but also works as a stand-alone with a solid beginning, middle, and end.

But what about Dolittle himself? I think the best way to describe him is a blend of childishness, gentleness, stubbornness, and inner pain. Think Peter Pan if he’d allowed himself to grow up (kind of like the film Hook). Dolittle isn’t very social with people, but thrives when working with animals. He even considers them his family. He’s gentle and patient (especially with the neurotic but lovable gorilla Chi Chi) and rarely lets his temperament get the better of him. With people, it’s a different story. A tragedy from his past leads him to shut himself off from the world and reject the company of humans. He only begrudgingly lets them into his life when he’s literally given no other choice.

That being said, he never comes across as unlikable. The audience is made to understand early on that he is very good-natured and kind. He’s just been hurt so deeply that he never wants to feel that pain again. He wants to hide from it and leave out his days with his animals; and he bristles when his comfortable solitude is interrupted. Once a human comes along and proves that it is worth rejoining Society, however, Dolittle allows his views to be challenged and acquiesces to the idea that he can’t keep his back turned the people who need him anymore.

Let’s talk technicals. They’re…fine. The cinematography is fine, the CGI is fine, it’s all…fine. Nothing stands out as really good or really terrible, it’s all sort of middle-of-the-road. I’m not bothered by that as much as other people may be. The story is good enough that I can overlook a few less-than-stellar effects. If you can’t, and CGI that isn’t exactly realistic bothers you, then maybe don’t see this movie.

Essentially, if you’re going to complain that the movie about a man who can talk to animals isn’t realistic enough, don’t buy a ticket to the movie about a man who can talk to animals.

What I’ll leave on is this: in my opinion, it’s perfectly alright for a movie to just be perfectly alright. In this day and age, when it seems like everything is a blockbuster, box office titan, franchise, or big-budget epic, movies like Dolittle are refreshing in their simplicity. It’s a tidy little fairytale that I wouldn’t mind showing my future children; and if you can sit back, turn your brain off for an hour and forty-six minutes, and let yourself have fun, then I highly recommend giving it a chance.