Dolittle Review

The vibrant colours, lively characters, and over-the-top imagination of writer/director Stephen Gaghan’s Dolittle may be enough to entertain young audiences, but it’s periodically sloppy CGI and predominantly lackluster storytelling leaves it unable to compete with other films of its budget in terms of memorability or effectiveness. Much of Dolittle’s humour is idiotic and foreseeably immature, while the often stale and emotionless directing style from Gaghan does little to compliment the films atmosphere. Surprisingly, one of the films most inconsistent elements exists within its titular character, as Robert Downey Jr’s performance shoots back and forth between insanely manic and overly sincere, struggling to find a balance between the two that keeps the character enjoyable. While many of the more bizarre or questionable approaches throughout the film can be forgiven due to the target audience a movie like Dolittle was made for; the final result is still a highly dubious experience that may even divide its adolescent audience.

After the tragic death of his wife, renowned medical doctor John Dolittle locked himself away within the solitude of his sprawling manor that crawls with wildlife that he lives with harmoniously. Although Dr. Dolittle is perfectly content living alone with his animal companions, urgency arises when news that the young Queen Victoria is gravely ill. Upon inspection, the queen's illness is worse than expected, sending Dolittle and his friends on an enchanting quest to find the medicine she needs to live.

The narrative of Dolittle starts with purpose but quickly becomes nonsensical, depending on grandiose CGI spectacles to engineer its memorable moments. This would prove to be a valuable strategy if the production design was more gracefully created, but the visuals of Dolittle struggle to keep a riveting or likeable style. Occasionally excellent sets and landscapes are ruined by animals who look too obviously added in post. At the same time, many poor performances from the talented collection of voice actors ultimately lower the likability of their characters, further taking away from the films engagement.

There's a successful level of whimsy that's constructed throughout the odyssey of Dolittle, and the diverse collection of characters offers an array of potential within each scene. But little of that potential seems ventured throughout the film, and much of the well-executed environments are often burdened by aimless dialogue or bizarre creative choices. Many elements within Dolittle prove to have potential, but Gaghan is often caught stumbling with his own material.

Overall, Dolittle does very little for older audiences, who will spend much of the film wondering why many of the big names in the cast chose to be apart of this blatantly unorganized movie. Even the incredible likability of Downey Jr cannot ­bail the film out of its more questionable narrative decisions. The colourful palette and wacky surface-level humour may be somewhat memorable for its youthful target audience but succeeds minimally for anyone who is old enough to expect some form of logical flow.

The disorderly story structure and an uncreative cast of characters make the majority of Dolittle a rather bland adventure that may even prove divisive for younger audiences.

Produced By: Universal Pictures
Runtime: 106 minutes
Rating: PG