It tells the story of Dr. Dolittle as he tries to help the animals protect their forest from unscrupulous human developers. He decides to populate the forest with a species of animal that the law protects, and enlists the help of Ava (voiced by Lisa Kudrow), a lone Pacific western bear living in the condemned forest. To provide her with a mate, Dolittle turns to Archie (voiced by Steve Zahn), a wise-cracking circus-performing bear.
This is the last Dr. Dolittle film to feature Eddie Murphy in the lead role, before Kyla Pratt assumed the lead role in future films, starting with Dr. Dolittle 3 in 2006. It is also the last Dr. Dolittle film to feature Raven-Symoné as Charisse Dolittle.
Plot
Three years after the events of the first film, veterinarian Dr. John Dolittle's ability to talk to animals has made him famous, and he travels the world performing his skills. Returning home from France, he gives his daughter Maya a chameleon named Pepito, and punishes his elder daughter Charisse for doing poorly in school, confiscating her phone for a week. Charisse's boyfriend Eric joins the family for Charisse's 16th birthday party, where an opossum and a raccoon named Joey tell John that their boss, the Godbeaver (Godfather of the rodent mafia), wants to see him. John meets the Godbeaver and agrees to save the forest from being cut down by mating an endangered female Pacific western bear with a male.
At a circus, John persuades Archie, the sole surviving Pacific western male, to accompany him to the forest and become a real bear. John takes his family on a month-long vacation to the forest, where he makes a deal with the sole surviving Pacific western female bear named Ava, who is involved with a male Kodiak bear named Sonny. She agrees not to make any decisions for a month after John promises to turn Archie into a bear she will love.
Struggling to train Archie, who is used to the pampered lifestyle, John hires the local forest creatures to chaperone Charisse and Eric, and neglects his wife Lisa. After assuring Archie that he will find a way to win Ava's heart, John attempts to win Lisa back by dancing in their cabin, with every animal in the forest watching, but Lucky the dog accidentally ruins it.
Archie attempts to get Ava's attention by imitating John singing, but falls from a tree branch. Humiliated, he refuses to leave his new-found cave, but becomes frustrated with John's insults and knocks him into a muddy hole, finally listening to his "inner bear". Later, Archie spends the day with Ava, whose relationship with Sonny is declining. Lucky tries to woo a female wolf, successfully urinating around her territory, but is interrupted by one of her packmates before she agrees to go out with him. Meanwhile, Sonny forces Ava to leave Archie.
Logging magnate Joseph Potter and his lawyer Jack Riley attempt to make a deal with John to spare some parts of the forest, until Archie tells John he has prepared his "big finish" to win Ava and goes after a beehive at the edge of a tall hill, ignoring John's warnings and the attacking bees who also attack a nearby Riley. He manages to get the hive, finally winning Ava's heart and the respect of the other forest animals. Ava then dumps Sonny, finally having had enough of his rudeness to Archie.
In a game of hide and seek with Ava, Archie is tranquilized by Riley. John learns that Archie had somewhat destroyed the back of a restaurant. After getting information from a weasel, John visits Archie in jail, telling him that he may be too dangerous to go free and will be sold to a Mexican circus, ending John's chance of saving the forest. John realizes that Charisse has developed her father's gift of talking to animals, reigniting his determination to save the forest. He rallies the animals of the forest not to give up without a fight and free Archie. Charisse, Eric, and Maya rebel against the loggers with the aid of wolves, while word of Archie's predicament spreads, leading animals around the world to go on strike.
At Potter Wood Industries, Mr. Potter and Riley are attacked by the animals. While Riley takes the brunt from the birds, wolves, and bees, Mr. Potter is cornered by Ava and Joey, forcing him to finally start negotiating with John and the animals. As the negotiations go on, the strike continues to grow with several animal pros like race horses and Shamu getting in on the act. Finally, a deal is made and the Dolittles and animals accept, freeing Archie and saving the entire forest outside San Francisco.
John and Charisse become closer, talking with and helping animals together, while Archie and Ava mate and have two cubs who try to take after their father.
A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on June 5, 2001 by J Records. It peaked at 76 on the Billboard 200, 26 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and 10 on the Top Soundtracks. Five singles were spawned from the album, "Do U Wanna Roll (Dolittle Theme)", "Cluck Cluck", "Absolutely Not", "We Fit Together" and "Life Is Good". Allmusic rated this soundtrack four stars out of five.[3]
Information taken from Dr. Dolittle 2: Original Soundtrack liner notes:[4]
"Do U Wanna Roll (Dolittle Theme)" contains an interpolation of "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)" (R. Troutman, L. Troutman), performed by Zapp
"What It Is (Part II)" contains replayed elements from "Children's Story" (R. Walters), performed by Slick Rick
Notes
The song "Life Is Good" did not appear in the film.
Reception
Box office
On its opening weekend, the film grossed $25,037,039 from 3,049 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #2 at the box office, behind The Fast and the Furious.[5] Like the first film, it was the best debut for a Fox film that week. By the end of its run, Dr. Dolittle 2 had grossed $112,952,899 domestically and $63,151,445 internationally, totaling $176,104,344 worldwide.[1]
Critical response
Like the 1998 version, Dr Dolittle 2 received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 42% based on reviews from 107 critics, with an average rating of 5.00/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Although there are laughs to be had in Dr. Dolittle 2, its preoccupation with toilet humor and Murphy's restrained performance makes this a missed opportunity".[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100 based on reviews from 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[7] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F.[8]
Joe Leydon of Variety said "the film has all the symptoms of a sure-fire smash hit", noting that it was more family-friendly than its predecessor, and that "Eddie Murphy [is] once again in fine form".[9]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4, calling it "cute, crude and good-hearted movie".[2] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post praised Eddie Murphy saying that after having been upstaged by the animals in the first film "brings bite as well as bark to the funnier sequel".[10] Desson Thomson also of The Washington Post did not find the film funny, called it forgettable and thought it should have gone straight to video.[11]
Home media
Dr. Dolittle 2 was released on VHS and DVD on October 23, 2001[12] and generated $7.32 million in its first week in stores.[13]
Related Research Articles
Edward Regan Murphy is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He shot to fame on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. Murphy has received accolades such as the Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023.
Doctor Dolittle is a 1967 American musical comedy film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, and Richard Attenborough. It was adapted by Leslie Bricusse from the Doctor Dolittle novel series by Hugh Lofting, primarily The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920), The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922), and Doctor Dolittle's Circus (1924).
Kyla Alissa Pratt is an American actress. She provided the voice of Penny Proud in the first Disney Channel animated series, The Proud Family, and portrayed Breanna Latrice Barnes in UPN's One on One. After playing the daughter of Eddie Murphy's character in the films Dr. Dolittle and Dr. Dolittle 2, Pratt became the main character in the spin-off series of the franchise which included Dr. Dolittle 3, Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief, and Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts. Pratt has also been in the films Fat Albert, Hotel for Dogs, and The Proud Family Movie. From 2012 to 2014, she appeared in the series Let's Stay Together. She was formerly a part of VH1's Black Ink Crew: Compton and the cast of Call Me Kat on Fox and is reprising the role of Penny in The Proud Family revival The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder on Disney+.
Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 The Story of Doctor Dolittle. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in their own languages. He later becomes a naturalist, using his abilities to speak with animals to better understand nature and the history of the world.
Daddy Day Care is a 2003 American family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy in the lead role, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, and Anjelica Huston. Written by Geoff Rodkey and directed by Steve Carr, it marks Murphy and Carr's second collaboration after Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001). The plot follows two fathers who start a child day care out of their home after they are laid off from their corporate jobs.
John Andrew Davis is an American film producer and founder of Davis Entertainment.
Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American fantasy comedy film directed by Betty Thomas, written by Larry Levin and Nat Mauldin, and starring Eddie Murphy in the title role along with Ossie Davis and Oliver Platt. The film was based on the series of children's stories of the same name by Hugh Lofting, but used no material from any of the novels; the main connection is the titular character Dr. John Dolittle and his ability to talk to animals, although the Pushmi-Pullyu, a much-loved feature of the books, notably makes a very brief appearance in a couple of scenes. The first novel, The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920) had originally and previously been filmed in 1967 as a musical of the same name, which was a closer adaptation of the book. The film was a box-office success, although it received mixed reviews from critics upon release.
Dr. Dolittle 3 is a 2006 American direct-to-video fantasy comedy film and the third film in the Dr. Dolittle series. It stars Kyla Pratt, the original daughter in the remake series, as Maya. Starring alongside Pratt are Kristen Wilson as Lisa Dolittle and Norm Macdonald as the voice of Lucky the Dog.
Doctor Dolittle is a 1970–1971 Saturday morning animated series produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises in association with 20th Century Fox Television. The series is loosely based on the books by Hugh Lofting, as well as the 1967 film of the same title which center around Doctor Dolittle, an animal doctor who has the ability to talk to animals.
Doctor Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books written by Hugh Lofting between 1920 and 1952.
"Talk to the Animals" is a song written by British composer Leslie Bricusse.
Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Craig Shapiro and starring Kyla Pratt and Norm Macdonald. It is the fourth film in the Dr. Dolittle series.
Willis Robert "Billy" Drummond Jr. is an American jazz drummer.
The Razzie Award for Worst Screen Combo is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst movie pairing or cast of the past year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of the awards, along with the film(s) for which they were nominated.
Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Alex Zamm and starring Kyla Pratt and Norm Macdonald. It was released on May 19, 2009, and like its predecessor, Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief (2008), was a direct-to-DVD release.
Bart the Bear 2, also called Bart the Bear II, Bart 2, Bart II, or Little Bart was a male interior Alaskan grizzly bear who appeared in several films and television series, including An Unfinished Life, Into the Wild, Evan Almighty, We Bought a Zoo, Game of Thrones, and most recently Into the Grizzly Maze. His trainers were Doug Seus and Lynne Seus of Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife, Inc., in Heber City, Utah. Bart 2 was named after the earlier Seus-trained Bart the Bear, although the two bears are not related.
Dolittle is a 2020 American fantasy adventure film directed by Stephen Gaghan from a screenplay by Gaghan, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand, based on a story by Thomas Shepherd. Dolittle is based on the title character created by Hugh Lofting and is primarily inspired by the author's second Doctor Dolittle book, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922). Robert Downey Jr. stars as the title character, alongside Antonio Banderas and Michael Sheen in live-action roles, with Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, and Marion Cotillard voicing an array of creatures.
Bluff Lake is a lake in the Big Bear Valley of the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California. It is located southwest of Big Bear Lake reservoir and Big Bear City.
The Dr. Dolittle franchise consists of American feature-length family films, based on the book series written by Hugh Lofting, Doctor Dolittle. Like their source material, the plot of each respective film follows the titular characters' adventures given their abilities to communicate with animals. The series consists of the original fantasy-period piece musical movie, a contemporary comedy remake, and a period piece fantasy-adventure reboot.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
