Docteur Dolittle 2

I went to see Dr. Dolittle2 thinking that it was going to be really funny.And it was kinda, the first one was much much FUNNIER then this one. They should have brought back the Ginne pig he made the first one for me.I mean there is some funny parts in Dr.2 but not many,this one is more for the family then the other one was you can tell that by rating PG13 to PG.I mean come on.All together Dr2 will become a great thing to watch on a rainy afternoon, But other then that don't waste your time or money.

A couple of nights ago, I rented two movies at my local Blockbuster Video out of curiosity. Being someone who loves animals, I rented "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" and "Dr. Dolittle 2" just for the heck of it (the former because I think Jim Carrey is hilarious but had avoided that particular title out of fear of it being a disappointment, the latter because I was interested in seeing the talking animal effects). After loving the first title far better than expected, I had the pleasure of writing it up with compliments here for other IMDb readers.

"Dr. Dolittle 2", however, was a flop for me.

Now, I do have to admit that I was basically prepared to be disappointed for this one the same way I was with "When Nature Calls". I grew up with the beloved original "Dr. Dolittle" movie starring the talented Rex Harrison and adored the original books. I was absolutely convinced that this movie would be a dumb attempt to cash in on the original and make it "marketable" and "hip" in that lousy, gross-out way that only Hollywood marketing executives can when digging for dollars. But I watched it anyway, hoping that I could at least enjoy the talking animals, and I would have been spared a lot of headaches if only someone had been around to talk me out of this temporary lapse of better judgement.

Let me start by saying that this movie has nothing to do with the original concept. Nothing. The animals talk and the main character has a famous name along with the ability to understand them, and it's there that any similarities end.

How bad was this film? Let me put it this way: it was a heap worse than I had anticipated, so much so that I shut it off two-thirds of the way in. It was simply too much of an embarrassment, and I found myself plotting to return it in the middle of the night after work when Blockbuster would be closed so no one would see me carrying it!

The absolute worst problem with this film has to do with Eddie Murphy himself--a strong reminder of why he didn't have a hit film for something going on a decade. Simply put, he isn't likeable: he plays this role the precise same way he has played nearly all of his roles, as an obnoxious "Why do I have to be stuck in this position, I wish I was doing something else better with my time" jerk who merely puts up with his dilemma. He also seems so ANNOYED in most of his movies.

In the grossly overrated "Beverly Hills Cop" films, he was an annoyed cop who had to have everything his own way. In "The Golden Child", he was an annoyed locator of missing children who put up with his job as well as his mission simply because he was stuck with it. Except for the occasional "Mulan" (the only performance of his I liked, by the way), he always whines, snarls, screams, curses and is generally pessimistic. And in this film, he is annoyed at the mere idea of being the world's most unique animal doctor.

Eddie Murphy has managed to accomplish the impossible here--he has actually managed to make the idea of being able to talk to animals into a thoroughly unenjoyable and miserable routine. Simply put, he takes all the fun out of such a concept.

What child HASN'T wanted to talk to animals? It was the one thing I wished I could do for as long as I could remember. If given the choice of any one magical ability (even if I were to include the ability to fly in a would-be list to choose from), it would easily be being able to converse with animals. But here, you get the impression that God simply plopped this amazing talent on precisely the wrong individual. Murphy doesn't even seem to genuinely *care* about animals--it's all an "Okay, okay, I'll do it, but only because I feel like I have to and not because I have any heart for it" sort of arrangement for him. All the while, what with that expression on his face, you keep expecting him to mutter, "God, why ME? This is such a pain in the NECK!!!" And in this attitude while conversing with the various animals on screen, he does everything except slap them with his "I'm always right, so you'd better listen to me" sharpness.

There is something seriously wrong with a script when Dr. Dolittle is overly annoyed in dealing with, much more so being the only person on the planet able to talk to, animals.

Here's my say: if this material had to be remade at all, it should have at least been given to a comedian who could have worked wonders with its concept and genuinely enjoyed it. Imagine Robin Williams, or Steve Martin, or (you guessed it) even Carrey himself portraying this role. Heck, even the late John Candy. Any of them as well as dozens of others could have made this work because they have something which Murphy has always lacked--a sense of lightheartedness and joy when given the opportunity to work with fantastical and outlandish material.

Watching this dreck, though, I seriously get the impression that Eddie Murphy picked the project simply because he knows he had nearly killed his own career with portraying annoyingly selfish, self-centered bores and wanted to do something to change his image into something lighter in an attempt to save it. Or at least his agent did. Whatever. All I have to say is--Eddie, if you want to convince us you can do something fun then you need to lighten yourself up first. Talking animal effects and potty humour do no automatically make you a whiz at family entertainment. Basically, you're just doing your same old "Beverly Hills Cop personality" routine with gimmicky windowdressing, and it doesn't work.

But such a long review on my behalf was far better than this film deserves. If it weren't for the fact that I wanted to share my feelings on it with others, I would have otherwise simply written one line here: "I'll pass on this movie."

Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) is more successful than ever honing in on his new animal communication skills. With his dog Lucky (Norm Macdonald) at his side, he is able to help multitudes of animals. His daughter Charisse Dolittle (Raven-Symoné) is annoyed with him. It's her sweet sixteen and two rats pop out of her cake. To appease her, he promises to take the family on an European vacation away from the animals. He drives to the woods to meet the Godfather beaver. The animals are concerned about encroaching humans and the clear cutting of the forest. He needs an endangered animal to save the forest. Eugene Wilson tells him about unique female bear Ava (Lisa Kudrow) but they need to reintroduce male circus bear Archie (Steve Zahn) into the wild. Oppositing them are lumber company owner Joe Potter (Jeffrey Jones) and his lawyer Riley (Kevin Pollak).

It has some functional kids' movie aspects. The talking animals are funny sometimes although Steve Zahn may not be the best wacky voice actor. There is a lot of low brow humor. It could be good but the situation is too manufactured and the cabin setting is too fake. It has some good laughs but the story gets too tiresome. Kids might like this but even they should be bored by courtroom drama and corporate powerplay.

'98's film "Doctor Dolittle" was no great feat but it did manage to create some pretty entertaining moments. So with that in mind I had mild hopes that the sequel would be just as funny. Well it wasn't, it did have a few funny jokes but for the most part this film just plods along, without even trying to be like an actual film. In fact, if it wasn't for the massive use of special effects, this movie could have passed for being direct to video or even a made for cable film.

Eddie Murphy does an okay job as the doctor who can talk to animals and Norm MacDonald is passable as Lucky, the family dog. There are a few other side characters, including an entertaining beaver whose seems very much like a mob boss, but not a violent one. It just isn't a very good movie. The bottom line is it's as basic as a family film can get. * out of 4 stars.

A few months ago, I saw "Doctor Dolittle" (the 1998 remake) for the first time in years. I liked it when I was twelve years old, so I was curious to know what I would think after growing up, despite having low expectations. My expectations were surpassed slightly, but if I had never seen "Dr. Dolittle 2" before, its predecessor wouldn't have been enough to make me interested in seeing it, but I did see it about four years ago, and enjoyed it. I was seventeen, past this movie's targeted audience, but didn't tend to watch a lot of movies at the time. I just watched this sequel again, and my once again low expectations were not surpassed at all.

Dr. John Dolittle has become famous for his ability to communicate with animals, but lately, he has also been having trouble with his family. One day, he is brought to the forest to see the Godbeaver, and learns that the forest is rapidly being cut down. The animals who live in this forest are counting on Dr. Dolittle to save their habitat, and in order to do so, the doctor must attempt to get a female Pacific Western bear in the forest named Ava together with a male so he can save the species! He gets a male bear of this species named Archie from a circus, and begins his attempt to get him adjusted to life in the wild and teach him how to win Ava's heart, both of which are easier said than done! It doesn't help that Archie has to compete with a Kodiak bear named Sonny, and logging company owner Joe Potter is determined to get his way!

Although I found no huge laughs in "Doctor Dolittle", I did find some minor ones. However, in this sequel, I found none. I smiled at times, but VERY rarely and briefly. Like its predecessor, "Dr. Dolittle 2" contains some juvenile excretion jokes, though it is a TAD cleaner, for better or worse (since it was aimed at kids, many would probably say it's for the better). These jokes are usually lame, if not always, a good example being the scene where Archie has diarrhea. There are also some embarrassing lines in the script, such as the one Dr. Dolittle has, humiliating his daughter, Charisse by telling her boyfriend how she tried to get out of diapers early and made messes around the house. Fortunately, the movie isn't totally filled with these problems, but most of the film is basically average and forgettable in my book.

Both Dr. Dolittle films starring Eddie Murphy are rather cheesy, and would definitely appeal to kids more than anyone else, but this one more so than the original. If you don't like the 1998 film, then you probably wouldn't like this one, either, but if you do, then you STILL might not like this sequel. "Dr. Dolittle 2" may have a slightly better plot than its predecessor, but overall, it is inferior, not that I'm saying the original is really that good. If you ask me, 1998's "Doctor Dolittle" is very close to being strictly for kids, and this sequel is right there. Remembering the film's targeted audience, I guess it deserves some credit, but if you're not part of that audience, and are not a parent of anyone who is, I wouldn't say there's any need to bother. After watching this, I definitely won't be watching the straight-to-video "Dr. Dolittle 3".