Summary
The star-studded cast and some boundless energy doesn’t quite cover the patchwork production problems going on behind the scenes of the latest adaptation of a classic.
In 2019, Robert Downey Jr. completed a journey that he’d begun 11 years earlier, making his eleventh and (apparently) final appearance as Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2020, he follows this up with a role that sees him remove items from a flatulent dragon’s butt.
For context, that reductive introduction is alluding to the fact that DOLITTLE – loosely based on Hugh Lofting’s series of books – is a story for younger children. In an animated opening sequence, we learn that the gifted veterinarian and animal whisperer Dr. John Dolittle (Downey Jr.) shut himself off from the world following the death of his beloved Lily.
Years later, young ragamuffin Stubbins (Harry Collett) stumbles into Dolittle’s menagerie seeking help. As luck would have it, so does Lady Rose (newcomer Carmel Laniado), who has been sent to fetch the reluctant Dolittle’s help in curing the ailing Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley). Sailing off to find the mysterious fruit that can help her, old rival Dr. Blair Müdfly (Michael Sheen) secretly works to bring down both the Queen and the good doctor.
The widely reported production problems are evident from the start of DOLITTLE, a film that often struggles to find a happy medium between ‘effects feature’ and ‘light comedy.’ Indeed, there are jarring stretches of narrative leaps where it’s obvious that entire scenes were cut, abandoned, or perhaps never completed. The voice-over work from talking parrot Polynesia (Emma Thompson) acts a kind of narrative sticky tape, one that attempts to hide some of these story sins.
In fact, with The LEGO Batman Movie’s Chris McKay and TMNT’s Jonathan Liebesman allegedly brought in for reshoots, one wonders how Syriana and Gold helmer Stephen Gaghan got involved in the first place. So, what’s most surprising is that there’s still an entertaining romp at the heart of this thing. Part of this is thanks to RDJ just doing his thing, a variation on his persona to date but filtered through a Welsh accent – abeit one that often feels disembodied by ADR.
Targeting that sweet kiddie demographic means a massive voice cast, so all those eight-year-old fans of Ralph Fiennes, Jason Mantzoukas, Kumail Nanjiani and Rami Malek will have their little socks rocked. Seriously though, the voice cast is remarkable and is probably the star power – all of whom are presumably ‘just wanting to make something their kids can watch – that lifts this out of your average kiddie fodder.
At the end of the day, DOLITTLE is a film where a shy gorilla kicks a tiger in the nuts. Younger audiences will undoubtedly love the combination of slapstick and adventure, although there are some surprisingly dark parts that will scare the youngest among us. Either way, this won’t be the last time this story is told, and it’s just a shame that whatever original vision this picture had got lost in production hell.
2020 | US | DIRECTOR: Stephen Gaghan, Dan Gregor, Doug Mand | WRITERS: Charles Randolph| CAST: Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Marion Cotillard | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (AUS)| RUNNING TIME: 102 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 16 January 2020 (AUS)
