Robert Downey Jr.

A name that attracts the attention of many. Known for his role as Iron Man, it could be shocking to see how he switches up his persona and portrays a doctor. Doctor Dolittle to be exact, in his recently released movie called “Dolittle.” “Dolittle” was released on January 17, 2020 and has gotten its fair share of mixed reviews.  

This movie is about a man who has the ability to speak to animals, yet this is all that he does. His wife has died, and he has since decided to confine himself to the safety of his mansion in England. One day he is suddenly interrupted by two men who appear at his door requesting his presence is needed. For he is supposed to save the Queen because she is very ill.  

Dolittle arrives and examines the Queen. He believes that she is being poisoned and the only cure is petals from the Eden Tree which is located on a very secluded island. He doesn’t want to go but if he doesn’t, he will be punished. His mansion will be taken, and his animals will be released into the wild. So, he and his animals sail out to the island where they are encountered by a group of bad guys, appearing to have similar characteristics of bandits, who hold a grudge against Dolittle.  

As mentioned before this movie was given a lot of attention. Not necessarily because of the story but, more because of the actors that were going to be given live action roles as well as the voice actors that came on board the production later on. Previously noted, Robert Downey Jr, was a main actor in the production. However, this movie garnered respect and attention for its voice actors more than anything else. Emma Thompson is a two-time Oscar winner. She does the voice for Poly the Parrot. Poly is Dolittle’s go to animal and she plays an important role in the movie. Thus, making Emma Thompson the perfect choice for Poly.  

The next voice actor was Rami Malek. He is most well-known for his role in “Bohemian Rhapsody”. In this movie he plays Chee-Chee, the gorilla. An interesting thing about Malek playing this character is that he wasn’t going to at first, but then Robert Downey Jr. personally called him and suggested that he do it and then Malek knew he had to join. Some other big names that you may have heard of that played a role as voice actors in this movie. John Cena. He played Yoshi, the polar bear. Tom Holland. He plays Jip, the dog. Selena Gomez. She played Betsy, the giraffe. All of these plus more voice actors brought this movie a lot of attention and gave it more attention than it would have got otherwise.  

However, even with all of these actors and academy award winner director, Stephen Gaghan, the movie seemingly underachieved. Many say the shots and camera work was below average. The idea, concept, resources, actors, as well as directors were all there. But the execution of it was poor. This film had the potential of being one of the best, but it fell drastically short. With that being said, “Dolittle” is still in theaters and is a good watch, but just because of the big-name actors don’t be surprised if it falls short of your expectations.