Paging Doctor Dolittle!
1920 first edition cover for The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting.
It is amazing to us, here at The Film Rewind, that the popular children’s book character, Doctor Dolitte, is turning 100 this year! The original novel, The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts (often shortened to just The Story of Doctor Dolittle), was written by British author Hugh Lofting and first published in 1920. To celebrate this character, and the novel’s lasting impact upon the world of modern media, we’ve decided to switch things up this month and pick two official film club items.
It just so happens that a new film adaptation of the second Doctor Dolittle novel (titled The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, originally published in 1922) starring Robert Downey Jr., and simply dubbed Dolittle, is opening in theaters on January 17th of this month. Naturally, we decided to pair a reading of the original 1920 novel with the soon-to-be-released 2020 film as our film club picks-of-the-month. Because, who wouldn’t want to talk to animals? But wait, there’s more!
No preparation for the new 2020 Dolitte movie would be complete without reexamining the film renditions that have come before. That is why we will also be ‘unofficially’ re-watching the classic 1967 film adaptation, Doctor Dolittle, starring Rex Harrison, and the modernized 1998 film, Dr. Dolittle, starring Eddie Murphy. (We will not, however, be viewing the 4 sequels that were spawned off of the 1998 film, as most were low-budget direct-to-video releases and unnecessary for us to examine at this time…) We are truly excited to be revisiting the world of ‘Doctor Dolittle’ and hope that you will join us in our book and film adventure!
Without further ado, please track down a copy of the 1920 novel, The Story of Doctor Dolittle, and book your tickets for the 2020 film, Dolittle, in theaters on January 17th! If you have time, hunt down copies of the 1967 Doctor Dolittle film and/or the 1998 Dr. Dolittle film, and join us for our discussion of all things ‘Dolittle’ by the end of the month. Happy viewing and reading!
What do you think of our January book & film club choices? Which film version(s) are you most interested to watch? What are your memories or impressions of Doctor Dolittle as a character? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Copyright © 2020 Sarah Crane
