Searching for Doctor Dolittle...
Fairly recently, I was introduced to Stella the talking dog, the pet of speech pathologist Christina Hunger. Hunger trained Stella to communicate by pushing buttons that correspond to different English words. Hunger documents this journey with Stella on both YouTube and Instagram. Watching Stella’s progress is an awe-inspiring and moving experience. One of the most incredible moments occurred when Stella’s button for the word “beach” wasn’t working. After several unsuccessful tries of the button, Stella instead chose to push the “water” and “outside” buttons to communicate the same idea. As an animal lover, I have always longed to have this type of communication with animals, to truly understand what they are thinking and desiring, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the story of Doctor Dolittle to share the same desire. - Bailey
Who hasn’t had the wish to communicate with animals? This is one of those greatly debated ‘superpowers’ and is one idea that found home on the pages of a children’s book written a century ago. I am of course talking about ‘Doctor Dolittle,’ the fictional physician of Hugh Lofting’s beloved children’s book series, who can communicate with animals. Multiple film adaptations over the years have tried to reinvent Lofting’s story with varying levels of success. After reading the original novel, and watching the three mainstream film adaptations, I can safely say that the book is, once again, better than any of the adaptations thus far. The films pale in comparison to the simplicity and charm that should surround the modest country doctor turned unofficial ‘veterinarian.’ In order to discuss the most recent addition to the Dolittle saga, 2020’s misguided film version Dolittle, our January Film Club Pick-of-the-Month, it is important to go back to the very beginning and look at the book that started it all. - Sarah
The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts – author: Hugh Lofting, 1920
In reading the initial chapters of Hugh Lofting’s The Story of Doctor Dolittle, I was charmed by the tone in which Lofting writes. While the novel is written in a typical third person narration, it is also centered in a childlike point of view. I was blown away by the sheer brilliance of the first line of the book: “Once upon a time, many years ago when our grandfathers were little children…” Lofting was clearly one of those great writers of children’s literature, like my favorite author, Roald Dahl, who remembered and understood childhood with such vivacity that he could transcribe mature ideas into childhood experience. The consideration that human communication with animals is possible if the proper amount of will and effort is given is an idea that not only can be analogized to person-to-person understanding, but also, as we have seen with Stella the dog, can be taken quite literally. While some elements of the 1920 novel certainly do not hold up today (there are some cringe-inducing moments while Dolittle and company are traveling through Africa), the premise of the book itself is surprisingly progressive. Little did he know that translating his work to the screen would prove even more difficult than communicating with a near-sighted horse. - Bailey
I had not had the chance to read any of the ‘Doctor Dolittle’ novels growing up, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed Lofting’s first novel. The novel is well written and imaginative, which surprised me immensely. The description of Dr. Dolittle is that of a short, overweight, balding man, who doesn’t have many good clothes (they are shabby and in need of serious mending), as his entire focus in life is to care for his animals. The once well-off doctor shuns materialism, and capitalism, and would rather use his money to feed his animals than buy worldly possessions. He is a cheerful and optimistic man, despite all the hardships he faces, and the struggles and adventures he encounters. I could picture many actors, such as Wallace Shawn or Timothy Spall, fitting Lofting’s description far better than any of the Dolittles that have been cast in cinema over the past few decades. It’s a shame that Hollywood never seems to get the casting quite right, which quite often ruins the film adaptations, as they never can live up to the imagery conjured up by their source text. - Sarah
Doctor Dolittle – director: Richard Fleischer, 1967
The 1967 musical adaptation of the novel, starring Rex Harrison as the titular character, is one that was both a box office and critical failure. I saw this movie once when I was very young, and remember enjoying it immensely, with some of the images sticking with me to this day, such as the interior of the giant pink sea snail and the pushmi-pullyu (the latter of which I was completely convinced was a real animal). As I rewatched the film for the first time in decades, I realized that I was enjoying myself just as much as I did when I originally saw it. The main issue with the film is, unfortunately, the music. While I found certain songs such the doctor’s courtroom tirade, “Like Animals” both compelling and fun, there were a few too many unnecessary songs that were oddly inserted and brought the otherwise engaging film to a grinding halt. Aside from the clunkiness of these numbers, a strangely conflicting commentary on femininity, and an extraneous and inexplicably unresolved love triangle, I found the vast majority of the film to capture the tone that I sensed from Lofting’s novel. The wit of the dialogue was quick and clever, Rex Harrison captured Dolittle precisely as he was written, and the sense of interest and care for the animal world was likewise honored. - Bailey
I can see why this film has a cult following for some people. To me, it is a pretty typical 1960s musical, and has only one really good, and memorable, song. “Talk to the Animals” went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, was recorded by many famous artists, and even making an appearance as the closing music in the 1998 Dr. Dolittle film. However, the downfall of this film is that Rex Harrison doesn’t match up to my idea of Doctor Dolittle. Harrison plays the Doctor as too prim and proper, his clothing is not shabby enough, he is too tall, and not rotund, essentially the antithesis of Lofting’s description. I think the thing that stood out to me was how many of the scenes from Doctor Dolittle have since been ‘re-created’ in other, more recent, films. Take for instance the scene where Dolittle disguises the seal, which is basically re-created in Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) when Elliot dresses E.T. up like a ghost. Even Doctor Dolittle’s final sequence, with Harrison riding the giant lunar moth, becomes reminiscent of the luckdragon Falkor in The NeverEnding Story (1984), particularly that film’s final scene with Bastian riding Falkor (sounds strangely familiar yet?). While this version has its issues, it is the most family-friendly of the ‘Dolittle’ films, pays decent homage to Lofting’s novel, and is the one adaptation I would readily show to younger audiences. - Sarah
Dr. Dolittle – director: Betty Thomas, 1998
It’s a stretch to call the 1998 version of Dr. Dolittle, starring Eddie Murphy, an adaptation. The only connection between the source material and the film is that it features a doctor called Dolittle who can speak to animals, but even his ability to do so comes not from study and a desire for connection, but rather an unexplained supernatural ability. The morals of the film shift from the original text’s importance of understanding to those of those of family appreciation and being true to yourself. This was another film I only saw once as a child, and like the 1967 film, I remember enjoying it at the time. On rewatch, I enjoyed the moments in which Dolittle was interacting with his family. I found those scenes to be funny, charming, and heartwarming, hearkening back to some of my favorite ‘90s family comedies. The animal moments, however, I found a lot less charming, not at all funny, and inanely annoying. Enduring one animal pun after another, and one crude bit after another, felt more like a punishment than anything else. This movie would have been great without the animals in it. Some “Dolittle” adaptation, huh? - Bailey
This is probably the loosest adaptation of the “Doctor Dolittle” films, and certainly not for children. Eddie Murphy basically turns this film into a paired down version of one of his typical stand-up routines and packages it under the guise of being ‘family-friendly’ entertainment. Re-watching this film was a strange trip down memory lane, I was surprised at all the crude jokes (the film probably should have been rated PG-13), and memorable casting (Raven Simone and Oliver Platt, and the voices of Ellen DeGeneres and Chris Rock, among many others), which went right over my head when watching this film at age 7… In a weird way, I now appreciate the satirical take this film turns the Dolittle story into. Instead of tirelessly learning to ‘speak’ animal languages, this Dolittle is merely blessed with the ability to ‘understand’ and ‘talk’ to animals, setting the stage for some interesting exploration and commentary on mental health and the ramifications of being labeled insane within modern society. I have to admit that I enjoyed re-watching this film, for me, it holds up as a comedy film even after 22 years… - Sarah
Dolittle – director: Stephen Gaghan, 2020
This leads us to our newest iteration of Doctor Dolittle, starring Robert Downey, Jr., andI can’t think of a film that I have seen in a theater that so adeptly managed to avoid penetrating my mind in any way. Watching this film was like the equivalent of staring at zoo-themed wallpaper for a couple of hours. The film was 99% comprised of the ridiculous animal puns of the 1998 version, with about three scenes in a row clumsily capped off with Dolittle coming to the same emotional conclusion again and again. I have read that several scenes were changed and/or added very shortly before the movie’s release, and the slapdash results give this away very quickly. And don’t get me started on Downey’s painfully post-produced Welsh accent that was clearly entirely re-recorded after filming. Downey claims that this was a decision on his part to differentiate him from his role as ‘Sherlock Homes’ in Guy Ritchie’s films... You know, Rob, there’s another way you can do that, right, like acting? Though, when I consider it, I don’t know if Downey has it in him to play a character that cares one iota about anyone but himself. This movie was sloppy, stupid, empty, and just plain bad. - Bailey
It’s almost like with every incarnation, and shortening of the title, the films have gone from bad to worse. What were people thinking with this version? I can’t believe that anyone would have thought Dolittle was a good idea. Robert Downey Jr. is not my idea of Doctor Dolittle, he mumbled away half his lines, and put as much life into this performance as a sleeping tiger (wait, the sleeping tiger was more entertaining…). From the throw away fart jokes, lifted directly from the Eddie Murphy version of ‘Dolittle,’ to the meandering and weak storyline, I doubt very much that even today’s younger moviegoers would enjoy this film. This was the least enjoyable movie version of Lofting’s work. Here’s hoping that the next time anyone tries to tackle the Dolittle story, they do it with more finesse and stick closer to the books. - Sarah
It has been unanimously decided that we have yet to be presented with a successful adaptation of “Doctor Dolittle” in any of these three films. We both find the 1967 musical to be spiritually closest to the source material, and seem to enjoy it more than most audiences, but, thus far, we have not yet discovered our quintessential movie version of ‘Dolittle.’ It is our hope that more interest and advances in communication like those of Christine Hunger and Stella will lead to some artistic inspiration regarding Lofting’s work, rather than the cheap humor that Hollywood seems to find in the concept of communicating with animals. Who knows? A truly great ‘Dolittle’ production may be as rare and difficult to find than a giant pink sea snail. Maybe we’ll just have to wait for this story to be adapted for television (*cough* we’re talking to you BBC)... - Bailey & Sarah
What did you think about the novel? Which film version did you enjoy the most? What movie was the least enjoyable? Share your thoughts and reactions to any of the ‘Dolittle’ versions in the comments below! Don’t forget to check back soon for our announcement of the upcoming February Film Club Pick-of-the-Month.
Copyright © 2020 Sarah Crane & Bailey Lizotte
