Doctor Dolittle (1967)

After the animal communicating veterinarian goes too far for his clientèle, he and his friends escape their hometown to the sea in search of the Great Pink Sea Snail.

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Hugh Lofting (novels), Leslie Bricusse (screenplay)

Stars:

Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley

Won 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rex Harrison	...	Dr. John Dolittle
Samantha Eggar	...	Emma Fairfax
Anthony Newley	...	Matthew Mugg
Richard Attenborough	...	Albert Blossom
Peter Bull	...	Gen. Bellowes
Muriel Landers	...	Mrs. Blossom
William Dix	...	Tommy Stubbins
Geoffrey Holder	...	William Shakespeare X
Portia Nelson	...	Sarah Dolittle
Norma Varden	...	Lady Fetherington

Storyline

Dr. John Dolittle lives in a small English village where he specializes in caring for and verbally communicating with animals. When Dr. Dolittle is unjustly sent to an insane asylum for freeing a lovesick seal from captivity, his animals and two closest human friends, Matthew Mugg and Tommy Stubbins, liberate him. Afterward, they join Emma Fairfax and set out by boat to find a famed and elusive creature: the Great Pink Sea Snail.

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Plot Keywords:

veterinarian | england | 19th century | africa | 1840s | 

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Taglines:

You've never seen anything like it in your life!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doktor Dolittle

Filming Locations:

Jungleland, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

APJAC Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min 145 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rex Harrison suggested his friend Dame Maggie Smith for the role of Emma Fairfax. Dame Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, and Hayley Mills had been on the studio's wish list.

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Goofs

In opening credits, a bactrian camel, with two humps, is in front of the Egyptian pyramids. African and Middle Eastern camels are dromedaries, with one hump.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Matthew: Will you stop your daydreaming, Tommy Stubbins.

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Alternate Versions

In the general release version of the film, the songs "Where Are The Words", sung by Anthony Newley, and "Something in Your Smile", sung by Rex Harrison, were omitted.

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Connections

Referenced in En la cama (2005)

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Soundtracks

Like Animals
Written by Leslie Bricusse
Performed by Rex Harrison

User Reviews

A more family friendly Dolittle

Having grown up loving the music, storyline and animal interactions in the origional Doctor Dolittle, it was a jarring shock to watch the scatological-joke loaded remake.

Doctor Dolittle is a wonderful clean family film, with plenty of adult jokes to keep the parents chuckling and visual slapstick to tickle the young ones' funnybones. The music is top rate with the Oscar winning "Walk With the Animals" leading the way as the good Doctor searches for the Great Pink Sea Snail, encountering a number of wacky adventures along the way.

Doctor Dolittle would make a great companion to "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" for an evening of old fashioned family entertainment. Suspend you disbelief for a few hours and watch this one with your kids and toss the remake in the garbage disposal.