“After all, it’s only by helping others that we can truly help ourselves.”

From Dolittle.

Years ago, Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.) was a hero for animals because he was known as a doctor that could speak with animals, but when his wife died, Dolittle sealed himself off from the world.  When young orphan Stubbins (Harry Collett) accidentally injures a squirrel (voiced by Craig Robinson), he takes the animal to see Dolittle.  When Stubbins arrives, he meets Lady Rose (Carmel Laniado) who has come to ask Dolittle to help the Queen (Jessie Buckley) who is fighting for her life from an unknown illness.  Despite his brilliance and amazing gift, Dolittle refuses to speak with Rose or acknowledge Stubbins, until wise parrot Poly (Emma Thompson) realizes that the Queen’s death would be the end of Dolittle’s sanctuary.  Poly, with the help of Yoshi (John Cena) the always-cold polar bear, Chee-Chee (Rami Malek) the terrified gorilla, Dab-Dab (Octavia Spencer) the one-legged Duck, Jip (Tom Holland) the dog, and Plimpton (Kumail Nanjiani) the standoffish ostrich, convinces Dolittle to go see the Queen.  Desperate to be Dolittle’s apprentice, Stubbins stows away and joins Dolittle, Rose, and the animals.  Realizing that the Queen has been poisoned and that the only cure is the legendary Eden Tree fruit, Dolittle ignores the ridicule of his old rival, Mudfly (Michael Sheen) and the members of parliament (led by Jim Broadbent) to head off to find the fruit.  Leaving Rose and Jip behind to guard the Queen, Dolittle, Stubbins, and all the animals head off on an adventure to save the Queen before it is too late.  Along the way, Stubbins meets a wide array of fascinating animals (including Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Jason Mantzoukas, and Marion Cotillard) and dangerous humans (including Antonio Banderas) that seek to stop them.

More similar to the 1967 classic film than the Eddie Murphy films, this movie creates a story that is funny and sweet.  It features a widely-talented cast, both on-screen actors and voice actors with humor that is family friendly with several jokes that are surprisingly hilarious for adult viewers without spoiling the family-friendly quality. Dolittle is a pleasantly surprising story that uses humor, action, heart, and impressive computer animation to captivate viewers from start to finish.

| Rated: PG | Running Time: 101 minutes |Genre: fantasy/adventure |

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 0 of 10|Nudity: 0 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 1 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|