Dr. Dolittle Movie Review 1998

Loose non-musical adaption of the 1967 movie has Eddie Murphy playing straight man to a group of furry friends voiced by the likes of Chris Rock, Garry Shandling and Albert Brooks. He is reduced to reacting lamely, and is upstaged throughout by the wisecracking critters created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Fellow humans Dr. Weller (Platt) and Calloway (Boyle) are shallow villains created to prop up a shaky plot involving the corporate takeover of Dolittle's vet clinic. May contain a bit too much bathroom humor for some family tastes. No animals were harmed during the making of this movie, but there was probably cruel and unusual treatment of the interns involving pooper-scoopers.

Distribution

Fox Home Entertainment, PO Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, Phone: (310)369-3900, Toll-free: 888-223-4FOX, Fax: (310)369-5811, URL: http://www.foxmovies.com/index1.html, Remarks: Also known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 85 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Wild Kingdom, Doctors & Nurses, Corporate Shenanigans, Flatulence, Talking Animals, Top Grossing Films of 1998, Veterinarians, Family Comedy, Family Ties, Monkeyshines, San Francisco, King of Beasts (Dogs)

Screenplay

Nat Mauldin, Larry Levin

Cast

Eddie Murphy, Oliver Platt, Peter Boyle, Jeffrey Tambor, Ossie Davis, Richard Schiff, Kyla Pratt, Raven, Steven Gilborn

Cinematography

Russell Boyd

Director

Betty Thomas

Music

Richard Gibbs

Other

Julie Kavner, Albert Brooks, Chris Rock, John Leguizamo, Garry Shandling, Norm MacDonald, Reni Santoni, Paul (Pee-wee Herman) Reubens, Gilbert Gottfried

Producer

20th Century-Fox