Doctor Dolittle

It starts out so well. A picturesque village and the promise of exciting things to come. Anthony Newley sings up as storm as Matthew Muggs skipping through the village and surrounding fields on their way to the great doctor's house with his young friend Tommy Stubbins (William Dix) singing "My Friend the Doctor" , then Rex Harrison appears as Dolittle and the film begins its downward spiral. Harison clearly felt he was above playing opposite sheep, mice, pigs, parrots, horses, cows and a pushmipullyou which looks surprisingly like two ballet dancers in a dancing lama outfit., the truth is he wasn't. The writing is muddled, the character lines unclear, the plot a mess of flashbacks and live action which in the second half takes us to an exotic island where the events which happen are so contrived one simply wants to switch off. Is the beautifiul Emma Fairfax on with Matthew or The Doc ? She flirts with both of them, they both sing love songs to and about her and yet Matthew doesn't react at all when she apparently becomes the good doctor's female companion. Add to this a 12 year old boy who takes a sick duck to the doctor's house and ends up living there and going on a sea voyage with the doc and his buddies, and it's all just too confusing and too dull to be bothered working it out. Leslie Bricusse's score ranges from great (he usually hits the bullseye once in every show he writes) to awful. The great moment is of course "Talk to the Animals" followed by "My Friend the Doctor" and "Fabulous Places", the musical horrors take the form of Like Animals, Vegetarian, Beautiful Things, Something in Your Smile (sung to a seal), After Today. The whole thing avoids exploring the relationship between a doctor who can talk to animals and the animals themselves. Instead it degenerates into a trite love story, with two contrite adventures, one where the doctor releases a seal disguised in women's clothing back to the ocean, only to be suspected of and arrested for throwing a woman over a cliff and facing trial. The other adventure follows his jailbreak, an escape to sea and becoming shipwrecked on a tropical island where the locals have all sorts of weird rules and laws. This all culminates in his finding the great pink sea-snail and sending his buddies home before being told by his friend the seal that he is free to go back to England, a journey he makes by employing the services of the great lunar moth. The whole venture is so uninspired at every level that it's hard to know who to blame most. The locations are of course divine even if ever present in the background one can see the infamous rainclouds (which at one stage threatened to close down production). This film was shot in 70mm so HD versions shall look exquisite. Doctor Dolittle should be a fantastical yarn, instead it is tedious, confused and boring, not knowing whether it's intended market is children or adults, and failing both by landing half way. A couple of sweet moments, but otherwise best viewed as a cure for nights when you have difficulty sleeping. Guaranteed cure for insomnia.