Family Movie Night: “Dr. Dolittle” (1998) and “Dr. Dolittle 2” (2001)
- Matt Palmer
- Nov 24, 2025
- 4 min read
Up next on my Family Movie Night series with the 1998 remake of “Dr. Dolittle” and its 2001 sequel “Dr. Dolittle 2.”
In the 1998 remake, after a fender bender, Dr. John Dolittle gets back his childhood ability to converse with animals. But the gift turns out to be a mixed blessing when the good doctor finds himself besieged by boozing monkeys, injured owls and depressed lions who need his special assistance.
When Dolitte’s strange behavior catches the attention of his wife, Lisa, he winds up in a mental institution. Luckily, he has some animal friends to help him out of his hairy situation.
Now, while the 1998 and 2001 “Dolittle” movies can be a decent watch for the family, the younger ones may just want to catch the sequel since the 1998 movie has some humor that can be a little on the slightly crude side. And, despite the crude humor that the 1998 movie delivers, the remake can be quite amusing.
Many people (like myself) have grown up with this remake and can be considered as a beloved favorite by many. In between the slightly crude humor that’s scattered throughout, Eddie Murphy does what he does best with some physical comedy as Dolittle struggles to maintain his sanity and career while dealing with the animals (which provides a lot of the movie’s humor).
This 1998 remake also delivers some hilarious moments, including where Dolittle is trying to treat a bunch of animals that ended up flocking to his own home and pretty much every scene that features the characters Lucky the Dog (voiced by the late Norm MacDonald) and Rodney the guinea Pig (voiced by Chris Rock) who absolutely steals the show in every scene they’re in.
“Dr. Dolittle” also stresses the importance of family with the family doing all they can to accept the doctor’s unique gift and throughout the movie, Dolittle must also learn to balance his ability to communicate with animals with his responsibilities as a husband and father.
Overall, “Dr. Dolittle” is a fast-paced comedy that delivers a lot of laughs. It successfully delivers lighthearted (and sometimes crude) entertainment that endures as a nostalgic favorite for many who grew up with it.
MPA: Rated PG-13 for crude humor and language (runtime 85 minutes)
In the 2001 sequel, a group of beavers, headed by a Godfather-style leader, ask Dolittle
to save their habitat from loggers. The only hope is to get the forest preserved because it’s the home of a protected bear, but there’s a problem: the bear’s the only one of its kind in the forest so she can’t reproduce. Undaunted, Dolittle persuades a circus bear to help out, but he has to teach him not just the ways of the wild, but the wiles of lady bears too.
During its initial release, general audiences enjoyed the sequel’s family-friendly humor. Compared to the 1998 movie, “Dr. Dolittle 2” is more suitable to children as it provides humor that all audiences of all ages could easily enjoy. Families can also enjoy the simple, good-hearted plot centered on saving a forest.
This sequel also delivers quite a few memorable moments that features Dolittle trying to get a circus bear ready for the wild that will easily keep the younger ones and the whole family laughing. The 2001 sequel was a commercially successful movie that delivers a simple, lighthearted story.
MPA: Rated PG for language and crude humor (runtime 87 minutes)
You can currently find both “Dr. Dolittle” and its 2001 sequel on Netflix and Disney Plus.
Eddie Murphy is terrified of live animals, and insisted that as many as possible be superimposed digitally in scenes. When he couldn't avoid acting in the same room as an animal, the shots frequently ended with Murphy screaming.
The large variety of animals in the film, required months of pre-production planning and patient training. Trainers use natural training methods that involve studying the behavioral characteristics of each species and the unique traits and temperament of each individual animal. The animals learned to respond to voice, sound and hand commands and were rewarded with their favorite foods.
One of the newest technological innovations 2-D imaging, was used to create the illusion that the animals are actually talking. The animals are filmed moving their mouths naturally and in post production the movements were manipulated frame by frame to make it seem as if the animal is forming the words with its own teeth, lips and tongue. This differs from the imaging done on the film Babe (1995) where all the animal mouths were 3-D images. For Babe, computer generated mouths were superimposed on the animal actors. Although that technology was advanced for its day, the newer, more precise 2-D imaging in Dolittle takes the animals to a new level of photo-reality.
Very few elements from the original Doctor Dolittle (1967) film or books were used in this film. The few notable exceptions are John's stay in a mental hospital, John giving the horse glasses (made of magnifying glasses), and the Pushmi-Pullyu in the background at the circus. The circus was also named 'Blossom' just like in the original film.
Several scenes required a large number of animals to be present on set together. Weeks prior to filming, these animals were prepped to become accustomed to working together. As many as 45 trainers were present for a single scene to provide adequate care and focus for the animals.
Generally, when a large variety of animals appear in a scene together, like the animals rallying in the woods, the individual species were filmed separately using a technique called motion control. A camera was set up and ran continuously as animals of each species were brought into the scene and placed on their mark by a trainer, then removed so that the next species could be set into position. When editing was complete the scene appears as if the camera was merely panning a single area filled with all manner of wildlife, standing in harmony at their union meeting.
When Archie gets tranquilized and falls down unconscious, no real bear was used. A stuntman in bear suit actually doubled for Archie.
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