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Movies / On DVD / Doctor Dolittle
Doctor Dolittle

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Doctor Dolittle (1967)

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28 %
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Reviews Counted:18

Fresh:5

Rotten:13

Average Rating:4.2/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 32 mins

Genre: Childrens

Synopsis: A musical about an English doctor who becomes disillusioned with human beings and travels off to commune with the birds and the beasts. After learning 468 animal languages, he sets off to find the... A musical about an English doctor who becomes disillusioned with human beings and travels off to commune with the birds and the beasts. After learning 468 animal languages, he sets off to find the mythical Great Pink Sea Snail. Based on Hugh Lofting's stories from the 20's. Academy Award Nominations: 9, including Best Picture, Best Original Music Score. Academy Awards: Best Special Visual Effects, Best Song ("Talk to the Animals"). [More]

Starring: Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, Peter Bull

Starring: Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, Peter Bull, William Dix, Richard Attenborough

Director: Richard Fleischer

Director: Richard Fleischer
Producer: Arthur P. Jacobs

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Doctor Dolittle

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1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Not even a decent performance from Richard Attenborough can save this disappointing production.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/12/08
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Doctor Dolittle might be a little woolly at times but it's impossible not to be impressed by Rex Harrison and his marvellous menagerie.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/12/08
Richard Luck
Richard Luck
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[It] almost bankrupted the studio when audiences stayed away in droves. In retrospect, it's not hard to see why.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the worst films to be ever nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and one of the weakest Hollywood musicals of the 1960s.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
03/15/09
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Will put the kids to sleep, but may kill you.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/12/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Leslie Bricusse's adaptation retains the delightful aspects while taking considerable liberty with the plot. His music and lyrics, while containing no smash hits, are admirably suited to the scenario.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/12/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's so clumsy and pounding that taking a child to it might be grounds for a visit from family services.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/12/08
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

Glossy, overlong, but still fun kids' musical with Rex Harrison in good form.

comment Comment
08/14/07
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

The music is not exceptional, the rendering of the songs lacks variety, and the pace, under Richard Fleischer's direction, is slow and without surprise. Indeed, toward the end it is perfunctory. Things happen mechanically.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
02/14/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Click to read the article.

Full Review Source: StaciWilson.com | comment Comment
12/31/04
Staci Layne Wilson
Staci Layne Wilson
StaciWilson.com

The lush sets and presentation are a big disconnect with the silly story, but that ultimately turns out to be part of the joy of the movie.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/17/04
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/09/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/03
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

No review available.

comment Comment
05/11/03
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

A major factor in the death of the film musical.

comment Comment
01/16/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/15/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Unfortunately -- even as escapist fare -- it's a failure due to its lifeless, meandering plot, and characters.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/22/02
Jon Lap
Jon Lap
Apollo Guide
 
 
1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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