Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001)

Dolittle must save a forest and a bear's life.

Director:

Steve Carr

Writers:

Hugh Lofting (Doctor Dolittle stories), Larry Levin

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Cedric the Entertainer, Kristen Wilson

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Murphy	...	Dr. John Dolittle
Kristen Wilson	...	Lisa Dolittle
Raven-Symoné	...	Charisse Dolittle
Kyla Pratt	...	Maya Dolittle
Lil' Zane	...	Eric
Denise Dowse	...	Secretary
James Avery	...	Eldon (as James L. Avery)
Elayn J. Taylor	...	Eldon's Wife
Andy Richter	...	Eugene Wilson
Kevin Pollak	...	Riley / Alligator
Victor Raider-Wexler	...	Judge B. Duff
Jeffrey Jones	...	Joe Potter
Mark Griffin	...	Logger / Nature Show Narrator
Ken Hudson Campbell	...	Animal Control Officer / Dog / Animal Groupie #3 / Forest Animal (voice) (as Ken Campbell)
Anne Stedman	...	Woman

Storyline

Dr. John Dolittle the beloved doctor is back, but this time around he plays cupid to bumbling circus bear Archie as he's so smitten by a Pacific Western bear female, Ava. Dr. Dolittle must help a group of forest creatures to save their forest. But with the aid of his mangy, madcap animal friends, Dr. Dolittle must teach Archie the ways of true romance in time to save his species and his home before their habit is gone. So John held a meeting for every animal in the forest to not give up without a fight no matter what kind of animal expression they have and everyone agrees to do it and save their home.

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Plot Keywords:

second part | california | sequel | veterinarian | sequel to remake | 

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Taglines:

The Doctor Is Back!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and crude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Fox

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

DR2

Filming Locations:

Alpine Lake, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,037,039, 24 June 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$112,952,899

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$176,104,344

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Davis Entertainment, Joseph M. Singer Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steve Zahn is the voice of Archie the Bear. He later costarred with Eddie Murphy in "Daddy Day Care." He previously appeared on "Friends" as the gay ice dancer ex-husband of Phoebe (played by Lisa Kudrow). Lisa Kudrow plays the voice of Archie the Bear's love interest Ava the Bear.

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Goofs

When Doctor Dolittle is visiting Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's TV set in Australia, the animal is presented as an alligator (which it is) but there are only crocodiles in Australia. To add insult to injury, the alligator has an Australian accent.

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Quotes

Archie: I am the Alpha Bear! Grrr! Grrr! Bears say "grrr," right?

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the movie, besides the music, some of the animals have some small extra parts during the credits.

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Connections

References Family Affair (1966)

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Soundtracks

(Don't Wanna) Hear About Love
Written by Curt Sobel and Gary Schreiner
Performed by Katie Mac

User Reviews

Innocuous and mildly entertaining, but overall forgettable

"Dr. Dolittle 2" is pretty much what you would expect out of a family comedy, only a tad more crude. We could've done with maybe one less gag about animal urination. The plot is a pious, predictable one involving the preservation of an endangered species of bears. You know, one of those storylines that's supposed to deliver a "message" to all the young ones out there.

Like usual, we have the talking animals voiced by a variety of celebrities. Steve Zahn lends his voice to one of the lead animal characters. He's actually quite funny at times, as a bear/circus performer who's overcome by stardom, and now that he found out he's part of an endangered species he has to learn how to live like a normal bear: start hibernating, eating fish, etc. Lisa Kudrow is the voice of his love interest. Michael Rapaport is funny as a racoon who's the henchman of an alleged animal Mafia.

Since the Dolittle's daughter (Raven-Symone) is all grown-up, we have to expect the obvious romantic subplot in which she hits puberty and engages in an active dating life. Her father, naturally, has doubts about her new supposedly rebellious boyfriend (Lil' Zane). So we're dragged through that unnecessary subplot, which pretty much serves as filler to complete a running time of 100 minutes.

Lately, Eddie Murphy has been tackling PG projects like this and "Shrek." A few years back, he took a try at cleaning his act when doing a voice-over for Disney's "Mulan." Then again, in the flop "Holy Man." I have to admire him for showing his more sanitized approach to comedy. Despite his inability to use the "f" word, he proves he's still a multi-talented comedian and not a talented comedian whose act is totally watered-down and dull because of being forced to clean up his mouth. Though he pretty much plays the straight man (I also have to admire him for his discipline, in remaining subdued and in character rather than viewing the movie as no more than a showcase for his comedy), he still belts out some witty one-liners and proves to be just as funny as his animal companions.

I don't really have any strong opinions about this movie. It's harmless, but it could've used a major rewrite. It's funny at times, but could've been a lot funnier (and less crude). Don't worry, you won't be seeing any gags involving birds crapping into people's mouths or a thermometer getting stuck into a dog's behind. The film has just enough crudeness to achieve the PG rating, but we still could've done without it. Your kids will be rolling in the aisles, while the adults may want to take a few popcorn and bathroom breaks. Not bad (especially for a sequel), but forgettable and even somewhat dull. You're better off catching this one on video.

My score: 6 (out of 10)