History Film / DrDolittle

* AnimalStereotypes: The animals' personalities are this, unless something else is required for the plot.

* InstantlyProvenWrong: When Dr.Dolittle is in the Vet's waiting room, he overhears a woman screaming at her dog to lie down. The dog doesn't and the woman tells Dr. Dolittle that her dog is deaf. The dog immediately tells Dr. Dolittle, "I'm not deaf. I just can't stand listening to her."

* CatsAreMean: Discussed.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Calloway in the first film and Potter in the second.

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Dr. Dolittle becoming this is part of the plot.

* MotorMouth: Rodney the guinea pig.

* YouCanTalk: Dolittle and Rodney's reaction when they discover that the each of them can understand what the other is saying.

(For the 1967 film starring Creator/RexHarrison, see ''Film/DoctorDolittle'' and for the 2020 film with Robert Downey Jr., see ''Film/{{Dolittle}}''.)

* AnimalTalk: At least they talk to Dolittle, as well as to each other for the most part, regardless of species. Oddly enough, there is one orangutan that does not understand Dolittle - because it is from a Mexican zoo and thus only speaks Spanish. For the most part, they also all talk to each other.

* DoggedNiceGuy: Subverted with Charisse’s boyfriend, Eric. Though Dolittle is openly rude and unwelcoming towards him, Eric maintains a positive attitude and takes it in stride.

A sequel, ''Dr. Dolittle 2'', was released in 2001. There are also three more direct-to-video sequels in which the central character is Dr. Dolittle's daughter Maya, played by Creator/KylaPratt. Pratt, along with Creator/NormMacDonald, the voice of family dog Lucky, are the only actors to appear in all five movies. Oddly enough, MacDonald’s appearances in each of the sequels are all uncredited.

* AnAesop: "It's okay to be weird", for the first film.

A sequel, ''Dr. Dolittle 2'', was released in 2001. There are also three more direct-to-video sequels in which the central character is Dr. Dolittle's daughter Maya, played by Creator/KylaPratt. Pratt, along with Creator/NormMacDonald, the voice of family dog Lucky, are the only actors to appear in all five movies.

* AscendedExtra: Charisse had a fairly small part in the first film but is given more focus in the second while Maya, who had a lot more focus in the first film, is DemotedToExtra.

* {{Bowdlerize}} Depending on the network airing the movie, the line "Throw the damn ball!" might have its expletive removed, and Dolittle's question about dogs sniffing each other may also be trimmed.

A sequel, ''Dr. Dolittle 2'', was released in 2001. There are also three more direct-to-video sequels in which the central character is Dr. Dolittle's daughter Maya, played by Creator/KylaPratt. Pratt, along with Creator/NormMacDOnald, the voice of family dog Lucky, are the only actors to appear in all five movies.

A sequel, ''Dr. Dolittle 2'', was released in 2001. There are also three more direct-to-video sequels in which the central character is Dr. Dolittle's daughter Maya, played by Creator/KylaPratt.

* ArtifactTitle: The direct-to-video sequels are this, as John does not appear and the movies star his youngest daughter Maya, who is a teenager and not yet a doctor. In fact, the fifth movie is about how she thinks she doesn't ''need'' to go through the trouble of becoming a licensed vet to help animals. She ultimately changes her mind, but we only see her ''begin'' college, not earn her DVM.

* ArtifactTitle: The direct-to-video sequels are this, as John does not appear and the movies star his youngest daughter Maya, who is a teenager and not yet a doctor. In fact, the fifth movie is about how she thinks she doesn't ''need'' to become a vet to help animals. She ultimately changes her mind, but we only see her ''begin'' college, not earn her DVM.

* NonIndicativeName:
** Rodney the guinea pig ponders how he came to that name, since he's not a pig, and neither from Africa nor an Italian "guinea".
** The direct-to-video sequels are a meta-example, as they star a teenage Maya who is not yet a doctor. In fact, she doesn't even begin college until the end of her third movie (the fifth overall).

* NonIndicativeName: Rodney the guinea pig ponders how he came to that name, since he's not a pig, and neither from Africa nor an Italian "guinea".

* EggMcGuffin

* AnimalTalk: At least they talk to Dolittle. Oddly enough, there is one orangutan that does not understand Dolittle - because it is from a Mexican zoo and thus only speaks Spanish. For the most part, they also all talk to each other.

** In the original film, Charisse wants to go the bathroom, but her father Dr. Dolittle stops her because there are ducks in a goat in the bathroom. He tells her that she's drinking too many liquids and needs to go back to bed, but she insists she has to go. He manages to hide the ducks in the bathroom and ''somehow'' manages to get off without her seeing any of what is going on, even though the house is filled with animals.

(For the 1967 film starring Creator/RexHarrison, see ''Film/DoctorDolittle''.)

* AnimalTalk: At least they talk to Dolittle. Oddly enough, there is one orangutan that does not understand Dolittle - because it is from a Mexican zoo and thus only speaks Spanish.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Dr. Dolittle. He at first hates animals after he stops talking to them as a child and at times doesn't take Charisse and Maya seriously, but especially Maya, who wants him to like her as a person. In the second film, this continues when he becomes a bit of an OverprotectiveDad to Charisse and snaps at Archie out of frustration at his refusal to cooperate. He still loves his family, though, warms up to animals after a while when he embraces the fact that he can talk to them, convinces the tiger not to commit suicide, is willing to save a rat (who had been a jerkass to him throughout the movie) from what he thinks is death (it's just gas), tries to save an entire forest from being levelled by a logging company, and the reason he snaps at Archie is not only because he won't cooperate, but because Lisa and Charisse are mad at him, he's being pestered by Charisse's annoying boyfriend, Eric, and because if Archie doesn't cooperate, the entire population of the forest won't have anywhere to live, and when it looks like the animals seem to have giving up trying to save the forest, he rallies them to carry on.