Truly Dreadful Film

Really Surprised!

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

As an animal lover, I very much enjoyed Dr. Doolitle (1967). It's an enjoyable Comedy/Adventure/Musical/Fantasy movie about Dr. Doolitle, the animal doctor, and his journey to find the Great Pink Sea Snail in order to improve on his skills in animal languages. I gave this film a 6/10 because the vintage settings are authentic and beautiful, the overall message of the film, and the cinematography is excellent. The criticisms that I have are that some of the characters were boring, some songs were dull and there are some very corny and unfunny moments. The movie begins on a fishing deck in the middle of a town where the houses are yellow-brown brick and conjoined together with triangular rooftops, chimneys, and a sign reading "Fundlesy Clay". Dr. Doolite's home is not how you would expect an average veterinarian's home to look. Across the bridge and past, a small garden is Dr. Doolitle's brick house. There is a large doorbell and an engraved wooden and brass sign with his name on it on the wooden door. Inside his home, you will find all kinds of animals, such as pigs, monkeys, parrots, roosters, horses, donkeys, owls, sheep, ducks, rabbits, hedgehogs, cats, and dogs walking and sitting inside and outside.The message of the film is about why we treat animals different from humans even though humans are animals as well. Dr. Doolite is a proud vegetarian who speaks to animals. When he was in court and presented his case in an attempt to prove that he is able to speak to animals, the judge decided to sentence Dr. Doolite to an insane asylum. He claims the reason in that he treats animals like humans and then Dr. Doolite goes into a song explaining why we should not kill and eat animals, and rather treat them like people.The cinematography of the film is great. The director cuts to the new actors very smoothly when a new person is speaking or when something new has been introduced. The camera pans slowly onto Dr. Doolitle while he speaks the most important parts. While reading this book in the library after he is released from jail, the camera switches back and forth between Dr. Doolitle and Emma while they are conversing in a very smooth and professional manner. The film is 152 minutes long. Adults may find some parts to be very immature humour or very corny. For example, there is a scene where Dr. Doolitle is singing what appears to be a love song to a baby seal in a stroller. Also, although some of the songs are humorous, short, sweet, and catchy, others are not. There are some songs in the film that I think should have been taken out completely. The characters, other than Dr. Doolitle, are boring and uninteresting. Their motives, strengths, and weakness are unclear as most characters in the film are not very dynamic.I would recommend this movie to people who enjoy musicals. The film definitely gets better after the 1-hour mark. It is a good film to watch when you had a long day and just want to shut off your brain and enjoy a film with your family. The comedy is light and easy but there are definitely some funny moments. The animals are enjoyable, especially the two-headed llama.I gave this film 6/10 stars because it was not nearly as good as I was hoping that it would be. The areas that I think that could be improved would definitely be that Tommy, Lady Petherington, and Matthew were all very boring characters. Some more detail could have been added to bring them to life. There were only 1 or 2 songs that I really enjoyed and found catchy in the film and some of the jokes made in the film seemed a tad lazy. The parts that made the film good were the cinematography, the settings, and the overall message of the film.

I loved this film as a kid. I thought it was magical and beautiful. Seeing it again, I wasn't so impressed. Granted I do not hate it as it does have its charms, but the film also does have glaring flaws that prevent it from being anymore enjoyable. The film does look colourful, with beautiful costumes, scenery and photography, the music and songs are gorgeous and memorable and Rex Harrison's lead performance is superb. I also liked the animals, they were cute and charming and actually much more likable than the human characters.Conversely, while the dialogue has its witty moments, it can have a tendency to be slushy and unfunny. The story is also very slight and poorly paced and the direction is a little too relaxed. Harrison excepted, I wasn't impressed with the other acting. Anthony Newley is very annoying and dull, while Samantha Eggar while beautiful is underused and has no chemistry with her co-stars. Overall, a big disappointment despite its charms. 5/10 Bethany Cox

It wasn't until Eddie Murphy did his two versions of Doctor Doolittle acting as a straight man to some hip talking animals in a modern setting that Doctor Doolittle made some real money. I certainly suppose the film was done a bit too soon before the age of computer graphics.I remember the film flopped badly and was roasted by critics at the time of release. I saw it back in the day and have seen it a few times over the year on television. Maybe a simpler story of a Doctor in Puddlesby- by-the-Sea treating animals might have been better. Certainly computer graphics would have been easier than all the animals that director Richard Fleischer had to deal with and who ran the budget up so bad with their difficulties there was no way this film could have made money.Still Rex Harrison for all the difficulties encountered plays the fantasy doctor who's learned the animal languages and can speak with them plays it absolutely straight under some trying circumstances. Just read some of the trivia on the film and you'll see what he, Anthony Newley, young William Dix, and Samantha Eggar had to deal with.Anthony Newley and his song writing partner Leslie Bricusse contributed the score which included the Academy Award winning Talk to the Animals which Sammy Davis, Jr. enjoyed a hit record from. Rex sings it here in his talk/sing style perfected from My Fair Lady.However my favorite in the cast who is so infectious in his delivery of his one number, I've Never Seen Anything Like It In Me Life is Richard Attenborough. He plays the circus owner to whom Doctor Doolittle reluctantly parts with a two headed llama called a PushmePullyou to help pay the rent. Attenborough looks like he's having a ball doing this elaborate production number where in the end the whole circus is serving as his chorus. Doctor Doolittle might have been better done in the way it was done today. Still it does have some charm to it and more than little children might actually enjoy it now.

Firstly, let me say that I am a sucker for any epic made at Fox between about 1950 and 1977. During this period, artists such as Bernard Herrmann, John Williams, Richard LaSalle, L.B Abbott, Howard Lydecker, Irwin Allen, etc would give the studio a special identity it no longer has today. Maybe my love of Fox has blinded me of the various problems others have seen in Doctor Dolittle (1967)? Or maybe "the movie that almost killed Fox" title has partly blinded some of the greatness of Dolittle? Is it un-cool for some movie-fans to call Dolittle a classic? Well, I have got news for you, it is a classic, even better than The Wizard Of Oz (1939) in fact.Things in Dolittle would appear in 1960s Fox TV shows. When that giant whale first appears in the sea it resembles the whale seen in an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. The inside of the giant snail would later be used in an episode of Land Of The Giants. When the ship sails in the storm it looks like an L.B. Abbott warm up for his Poseidon Adventure (1972) miniature effects. Was that island set used in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea? And so it goes. But it takes more than special effects to make a movie really special, yes, this film has great songs from Anthony Newley.