After his wife's death, Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey, Jr.) decided to hide from the world with his beloved animals. But he has to take a journey to a mysterious island to find a healing tree, which is the only medicine that can help the dying Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) in Buckingham Palace.... (Full plot summary below)
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After his wife's death, Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey, Jr.) decided to hide from the world with his beloved animals. But he has to take a journey to a mysterious island to find a healing tree, which is the only medicine that can help the dying Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) in Buckingham Palace.
Leave your thoughts about Dolittle.
| The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenFor a fun time to dispel the gloom of January, Dolittle is just what the doctor ordered. |
| Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerFor all its lumpen, awkward narrative and sometimes less-than-dazzling CGI, there's a peculiarly endearing and vibrant heart to Dolittle, and his name is Robert Downey Jr. It may be the closest he's ever come to channeling the surrealist instincts of his father, embracing Downey Sr.'s willingness to swim in the absurd. |
| Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattThe film is so eager to please, so relentlessly quippy and quirky and tipped with antic whimsy, it often feels like visiting a zoo built into a Tilt-A-Whirl. |
| New York PostSara StewartHeck, between this and “Cats,” maybe Universal is now just specializing in confounding talking-animal movies. At least this one leaves you feeling kindly toward other species, rather than freaked out by them. |
| PolygonKaren HanCharacters go from one place to the next with no explanation and no second thought, and even single scenes play out as if someone attacked the reel of film with a pair of scissors. |
| USA TodayBrian TruittFor every really cool interaction Downey's hero has with one of his animals as a caring listener, there's either an over-the-top spit take or an eye-rolling cheesy line of dialogue. |
| Arizona RepublicKiMi RobinsonDolittle’s animals are easier to relate to, with their humanlike self-esteem and family issues, than the film’s central characters. |
| Screen RantMolly FreemanIt's fun enough to keep audiences mostly entertained for its hour and 45 minute runtime, but there's nothing particularly memorable to latch onto - not the CGI animals, not the fantasy world and not even Downey Jr's performance. |
| Consequence of SoundBlake GobleAt 100 minutes, with just enough digital chutzpah to keep everyone reasonably amused and never quite annoyed, Dolittle is tolerably fine. |
| The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Lara ZarumIf the muddled plot and aesthetic chaos of Dolittle leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, seek the antidote – an episode of "Planet Earth." |
