Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief (2008) (V)

Director:

Craig Shapiro

Writers:

Matt Lieberman (writer) and
Kathleen Laccinole (writer)

Release Date:

4 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

Maya Dolittle, who can talk to animals like her father, is placed on special assignment by the President of the United States of America. |

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Sequel | Fourth Part | Veterinarian | Character Name In Title

Cast

Kyla Pratt	...	Maya Dolittle
Peter Coyote	...	President Sterling
Malcolm Stewart	...	Chief Dorian
Niall Matter	...	Cole Fletcher
Elise Gatien	...	Courtney Sterling
Karen Holness	...	Lisa Dolittle
Christine Chatelain	...	Selma
Kwesi Ameyaw	...	Prince Tharoor
Stephanie Belding	...	Doris Park-Weaver
Christopher Gaze	...	Academic #1
Andrew McIlroy	...	Academic #2
Kirsten Kilburn	...	Co-Ed
Adam Thomas	...	Frat Boy
Jason Griffith	...	Guard (as Jase-Anthony Griffith)
Alex Kliner	...	Janitor

Also Known As:

Dr Dolittle First Dog (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language and some rude behavior.

Runtime:

Argentina:85 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:PG | Finland:K-3 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:AL | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

DD4C Productions

Movie Connections:

Follows Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006) (V)

emotional Intelligence

I'm absolutely hypnotized by the stories that stories make. I often think of stories having their own agency, doing whatever they need to do to survive. That can take one of two paths I think.

The first is the path I normally pay attention to. A story can coax and guide it's tellers and receivers toward paths that matter, that penetrate and dissolve bits of us. These matter, and it's not just interesting to look at what they are and why they affect us, but also how they became so.

And then you have other path, which you could consider the quantity over quality model, where a story evolves so that it can simply be repeated. These reflect rather than make worlds and they thrive on a parasitic energy from other stories. I think that is what we have here.

The Dolittle story in it's basic form has been around for eons I suppose. In films I first encountered it as something which could carry some simple endearments spiced with enough humor to entertain. But that form has no juice today.

So it evolved, attracting Murphy and support to become something more colorfully funny, adapting a raunchy persona. But the fertility fades on that as well.

Now I suppose that there is a branch of evolution for all stories where they end up a Saturday afternoon kids babysitting material. And I suppose that this story already was headed in that direction. But the specific form is interesting at least. It has moved to the "black" theme part of the story ecosphere.

It's a comfortable, secure niche that guarantees longevity and repetition because it links to an audience that uses such stories to define self.

The story form has these elements: the focus is on women and how they make the world right. In every case, there is an environment in which men live and which has a dysfunctional dynamic, needing the common sense of women, common sense that is deeper in the African American woman than anywhere.

The chief character is always the same. Here she has poor grades and a focus on "social skills." she seems inept at first, but her pluck allows a situation in which she can apply her "emotional intelligence" to the problem. It invariably is the result of some family dynamic which incidentally explains deficiencies in our heroine.

She does her stuff and the world is made right, to the befuddled who lack this gift. In this case, it is the president that needs help, and by implication the soul of Africa (literally) that needs to be saved.

An interesting thing here is that the story includes multiple references to endangered species and preserved ecostructure in the context of personal (meaning in this sense, animal) personal inadequacies

Survival folded into survival.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.