# Doctor Dolittle (1998 film)
**Doctor Dolittle** (also styled **Dr. Dolittle**) is a 1998 American fantasy comedy directed by [Betty Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/betty-thomas), in which [Eddie Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-murphy) plays a San Francisco physician who regains a childhood ability to converse with animals after a car accident. It was released by 20th Century Fox on June 26, 1998, runs 85 to 86 minutes, and is rated PG-13.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60812-DOCTOR-DOLITTLE?cxt=filmography) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_dolittle) The film takes its name and basic premise from [Hugh Lofting](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-lofting)'s stories about a man who can "talk to the animals," but it reinvents the material as a contemporary comedy rather than adapting the books directly.[3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dr-dolittle-1998) • [4](https://thegoodsreviews.com/doctor-dolittle-1998/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | June 26, 1998, distributed by 20th Century Fox; Los Angeles and New York openings the week of June 26[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60812-DOCTOR-DOLITTLE?cxt=filmography) |
| Director and writers | Betty Thomas; screenplay by Nat Mauldin and Larry Levin, from Hugh Lofting's stories[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60812-DOCTOR-DOLITTLE?cxt=filmography) |
| Lead cast | Eddie Murphy (Dr. John Dolittle), Ossie Davis (Archer Dolittle), Oliver Platt (Dr. Mark Weller), Peter Boyle (Calloway), Richard Schiff (Dr. Gene Reiss)[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118998/fullcredits) |
| Rating and runtime | PG-13, 85–86 minutes, color, English[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60812-DOCTOR-DOLITTLE?cxt=filmography) |
| Box office | $144.2 million gross in the United States; the sixth-highest-grossing film in the U.S. in 1998[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_dolittle) • [4](https://thegoodsreviews.com/doctor-dolittle-1998/) |
| Critical scores | Rotten Tomatoes 44% Tomatometer (50 reviews) and 35% Popcornmeter; Metacritic metascore 46 from 20 critics[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_dolittle) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dr-dolittle/) |
| Franchise | Followed by *Dr. Dolittle 2* (2001) and a string of lower-budget direct-to-video spin-offs[4](https://thegoodsreviews.com/doctor-dolittle-1998/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Dr. John Dolittle is a successful physician, a devoted husband to Lisa ([Kristen Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristen-wilson)), and father to two daughters, Maya ([Kyla Pratt](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyla-pratt)) and Charisse ([Raven-Symoné](https://www.edgepedia.org/raven-symone)). As a boy he could talk to animals, but his father treated this as an overactive imagination, and by adulthood Dolittle had suppressed the gift.[7](https://www.timeout.com/movies/doctor-dolittle-1) One evening he narrowly misses hitting a dog, and the indignant hound speaks to him; soon he hears voices from trees, dustbins, and café tables.[7](https://www.timeout.com/movies/doctor-dolittle-1)
The revived ability is a mixed blessing. Animals of every kind seek his help, including boozing monkeys, injured owls, and a depressed lion, while his colleagues and family conclude he has lost his mind, and he is committed to a mental institution until animal friends help him out.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_dolittle) His human circle includes his father Archer ([Ossie Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/ossie-davis)), partners Dr. Mark Weller ([Oliver Platt](https://www.edgepedia.org/oliver-platt)) and Dr. Gene Reiss ([Richard Schiff](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-schiff)), and the hospital's HMO executive Calloway (Peter Boyle).[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118998/fullcredits) • [8](https://eppc.org/publication/doctor-doolittle/)
## Production and animal effects
The film was produced by Davis Entertainment Company and Joseph M. Singer [Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment), with Russell Boyd as cinematographer, Peter Teschner as editor, William Elliott as production designer, and Richard Gibbs composing the music.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60812-DOCTOR-DOLITTLE?cxt=filmography) Animal actors were monitored under American Humane's No Animals Were Harmed program.[9](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/dr-dolittle/?form=save-a-life)
The talking animals combined live animals with animatronics, blue screen, split screen, and computerized digital effects. Animals were filmed moving their mouths naturally, and in post production the movements were manipulated frame by frame so each animal appears to form words with its own teeth, lips, and tongue.[9](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/dr-dolittle/?form=save-a-life) Time Out called these "some of the most realistic animatronic and computer effects to date," while noting that not all the animal characters rang true.[7](https://www.timeout.com/movies/doctor-dolittle-1) The dog playing Lucky, a mixed-breed named Sammy about five to six years old, was found at the East Valley Shelter in Los Angeles by a trainer from Birds & Animals Unlimited.[9](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/dr-dolittle/?form=save-a-life)
## Voice cast
The animal characters are voiced by well-known comic performers. Norm MacDonald voices the dog Lucky, and the cast also includes [Chris Rock](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-rock), Albert Brooks, John Leguizamo, and [Jenna Elfman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenna-elfman); [Garry Shandling](https://www.edgepedia.org/garry-shandling) and Julie Kavner voice a pair of pigeons.[3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dr-dolittle-1998) • [10](https://time.com/archive/6733092/cinema-short-takes-doctor-dolittle/) Reviewers noted that the celebrity voices often carry the comedy while Murphy, cast as a reactive straight man, spends much of the film responding with surprise.[10](https://time.com/archive/6733092/cinema-short-takes-doctor-dolittle/)
## Reception
Critics were mixed to negative. The film's Metascore of 46 breaks down as 4 positive, 11 mixed, and 5 negative reviews among 20 counted; Newsweek's Veronica Chambers called it "a zoo and a blast" (90), while Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called it "a complete waste of time and potential" (30).[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dr-dolittle/) Leonard Klady's Variety review found it "slim on story and rife with scatological jokes," appealing to pre-teens but missing older audiences.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dr-dolittle/) Roger Ebert, reviewing for the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times), defended the bodily-function humor and reported that parents and children in his audience laughed together.[11](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doctor-dolittle-1998) Common Sense Media described the film as crude but funny, with heavy innuendo, potty humor, and iffy language, and suggested discretion for younger children.[3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dr-dolittle-1998)
Audiences were warmer than critics. The Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter stood at 35 percent against the 44 percent Tomatometer, and Cinafilm's aggregation gave cinema-goers an average of 75 percent versus 53 percent for critics.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_dolittle) • [12](https://www.cinafilm.com/movies/doctor-dolittle-1998/) Commercially the film was a success: $144.2 million in U.S. grosses made it the sixth-highest-grossing film in the American market for 1998.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_dolittle) • [4](https://thegoodsreviews.com/doctor-dolittle-1998/)
## Place in the Dolittle franchise
The character had previously reached the screen in the 1967 musical *Doctor Dolittle* starring [Rex Harrison](https://www.edgepedia.org/rex-harrison), and the 1998 producers described their aim as bringing "a contemporary and hip '90s spin to the material."[13](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-26-ca-63609-story.html) The film's commercial performance led Fox to make a theatrical sequel, *Dr. Dolittle 2* (2001), in which Murphy's doctor plays second fiddle to a performing bear, and a series of lower-budget direct-to-video spin-offs.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_dolittle) • [4](https://thegoodsreviews.com/doctor-dolittle-1998/) A third live-action version of the character, *Dolittle* (2020) with Robert Downey Jr., followed later.[14](https://as.com/us/us/2020/01/15/tikitakas/1579123423_256969.html)
## References
1. [Doctor Dolittle (1998), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60812-DOCTOR-DOLITTLE?cxt=filmography)
2. [Dr. Dolittle, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dr_dolittle)
3. [Parents' Guide to Dr. Dolittle (1998), Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dr-dolittle-1998)
4. [Doctor Dolittle (1998) review, The Goods](https://thegoodsreviews.com/doctor-dolittle-1998/)
5. [Doctor Dolittle (1998) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118998/fullcredits)
6. [Dr. Dolittle reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dr-dolittle/)
7. [Doctor Dolittle review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/doctor-dolittle-1)
8. [Doctor Doolittle, Ethics & Public Policy Center](https://eppc.org/publication/doctor-doolittle/)
9. [Dr. Dolittle (1998) animal action report, American Humane](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/dr-dolittle/?form=save-a-life)
10. [Cinema Short Takes: Doctor Dolittle, TIME](https://time.com/archive/6733092/cinema-short-takes-doctor-dolittle/)
11. [Doctor Dolittle movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doctor-dolittle-1998)
12. [Doctor Dolittle (1998), Cinafilm](https://www.cinafilm.com/movies/doctor-dolittle-1998/)
13. ['Dolittle' Could've Used a Joke Doctor, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-26-ca-63609-story.html)
14. [Llegaron las primeras críticas a 'Dolittle', AS](https://as.com/us/us/2020/01/15/tikitakas/1579123423_256969.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1995 to 1999 › Family and children's comedies*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license