Other Titles • DR.2 (2001) • DR2 (2001) • Doctor Dolittle 2
Synopses for Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001)
1.
Eddie Murphy returns as the doctor who can talk to the animals, in Dr. Dolittle 2, the sequel to the blockbuster 1998 comedy, which grossed over $290 million worldwide. This time, it’s Dolittle versus Darwin in the ultimate man vs. nature show down, in the midst of the animal kingdom’s first strike.
In Dr. Dolittle 2, the now-famous doc has more patients – two-legged and four-legged – than he can handle. But his animal friends want more than office visits. But his animal friends want more than office visits. The outraged critters want to save their forest from unscrupulous human developers, and they’re seeking Dolittle’s help.
Dolittle concocts a plan to save the forest: Find an endangered species the law protects. He discovers a lone endangered Pacific Western Bear, Ava, living in the condemned forest. But she needs a mate – and Dolittle thinks he’s found one in Archie, a city-dwelling, wise-cracking, fast-food-loving, circus-performing bear. Although Archie initially resists the idea, Dolittle convinces him there’s live to be found in his natural habitat.
Dolittle and his dog Lucky head to the forest to try and teach Archie the ways of the wild. Unfortunately, it’s hardly a love connection for the mismatched bears, as Ava is unimpressed by Archie’s bumbling antics. And Lucky’s live life with the local wolf isn’t faring much better.
The now-famous doc has more patients - two-legged and four-legged - than he can handle. But his animal friends want more than office visits. The outraged critters want to save their forest from unscrupulous human developers, and they're seeking Dolittle's help.
Dolittle concocts a plan to save the forest: Find an endangered species the law protects. He discovers a lone endangered Pacific Western Bear, Ava, living in the condemned forest. But she needs a mate - and Dolittle thinks he's found one in Archie, a city-dwelling, wise-cracking, fast food-loving, circus-performing bear. Although Archie initially resists the idea, Dolittle convinces him there's love to be found in his natural habitat.
Dolittle and his dog Lucky head to the forest to try and teach Archie the ways of the wild. Unfortunately, it's hardly a love connection for the mismatched bears, as Ava is unimpressed by Archie's bumbling antics. And Lucky's love life with a local wolf isn't faring much better.
Will Dolittle's animal friends start walking picket lines? Can he come up with the right prescription to bring Ava and Archie together, and save the forest? Will Lucky get lucky? It's down to the wire, as Dolittle and company give the money-hungry land-grabbers a taste of real bargaining power - wilderness style.
3.
Eddie Murphy returns as the doctor who can talk to the animals. This time, it's Dolittle versus Darwin in the ultimate man versus nature showdown, in the midst of the animal kingdom's first labor strike.
4.
It's only a marginal improvement, but Dr Dolittle 2 defies the odds by rising above its popular 1998 predecessor (and once again, let's not confuse these movies with the earlier Rex Harrison musical). Eddie Murphy plays the title role with ease and with the confident professionalism of a comedian who knows when to share the spotlight--especially when he's being upstaged by a bunch of animals who steal all the punch lines. And once again the film is aimed at a pre-teen audience: so many of those punch lines involve flatulence, bodily functions and frequent use of the word "butt".
The difference this time is that Dr Dolittle has settled into his talk-to-the-animals routine; his 16-year-old daughter (Raven-Symone) is getting to be a feisty handful (it turns out she's coping with a hereditary gift); and his lawyer wife (Kristen Wilson) is representing him in a trial against corporate villains who want to clear-cut a local forest. Naturally, the local critter mafia (their Don is a beaver... fugeddaboutit!) want Dolittle to fight for their cause, and this involves the successful mating of an endangered bear and a domesticated circus bear who's forgotten all the bear necessities of life in the wild. The bears are voiced by Lisa Kudrow and Steve Zahn and they almost steal the show, but the whole menagerie (with digitally animated "talking") is equally amusing. Adults might wish that the filmmakers had tried harder to make a truly memorable sequel, but this is a movie for kids, and they're going to love it without quibbling. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
5.
Doctor Dolittle Betty Thomas directs and Eddie Murphy stars in Doctor Dolittle, the 1998 hit film which, while ostensibly aimed at children, has a high quotient of hip and even mildly gross humour. Murphy stars as John Dolittle, whom we see as a child talking to a neighbourhood dog who explains that the reason mutts sniff each others' butts is to assess their characters when first meeting them. Little John promptly tries this out on being introduced to his school principal. Warned off such social eccentricity, Dolittle stops talking to animals and as an adult becomes a respectable doctor running his own medical practice--until a bump on the head revives his capacity to understand animals, whereupon mayhem, mortification and a menagerie of needy and freeloading creatures are heaped upon his ordered existence. Murphy plays it relatively straight. It's the animals, some of them vividly enhanced by Jim Henson's animating team, who provide the real laughs here, and a thoroughly worldly, wisecracking bunch of characters they prove to be. There's a couple of hard-boiled, squabbling rats, a pigeon who complains of impotence, Rocky the guinea pig (voiced by Chris Rock) with a neat line in hip backchat, while Albert Brooks voices the gruff, melancholy tiger whose life Dolittle must try to save. A sweet but by no means saccharine comedy. --David Stubbs
Dr Dolittle 2 It's only a marginal improvement, but Dr Dolittle 2 defies the odds by rising above its popular 1998 predecessor (and once again, let's not confuse these movies with the earlier Rex Harrison musical). Eddie Murphy plays the title role with ease and with the confident professionalism of a comedian who knows when to share the spotlight--especially when he's being upstaged by a bunch of animals who steal all the punch lines. And once again the film is aimed at a pre-teen audience: so many of those punch lines involve flatulence, bodily functions and frequent use of the word "butt". The difference this time is that Dr Dolittle has settled into his talk-to-the-animals routine; his 16-year-old daughter (Raven-Symone) is getting to be a feisty handful (it turns out she's coping with a hereditary gift); and his lawyer wife (Kristen Wilson) is representing him in a trial against corporate villains who want to clear-cut a local forest. Naturally, the local critter mafia (their Don is a beaver... fuggeddaboudit!) want Dolittle to fight for their cause, and this involves the successful mating of an endangered bear and a domesticated circus bear who's forgotten all the bear necessities of life in the wild. The bears are voiced by Lisa Kudrow and Steve Zahn and they almost steal the show, but the whole menagerie (with digitally animated "talking") is equally amusing. Adults might wish that the filmmakers had tried harder to make a truly memorable sequel, but this is a movie for kids, and they're going to love it without quibbling. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
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