History YMMV / DoctorDolittle

* HarsherInHindsight: Creator/AnthonyNewley's Matthew speaks very highly of Doctor Dolittle and remains his loyal acquaintance throughout. In reality, there was much friction between Newley and Rex Harrison throughout the majority of the production, with Harrison even making anti-semitic comments against the actor.

* {{Narm}}: Creator/RexHarrison's singing; his was simply not up to snuff with his co-stars, a fact that caused him to butt heads with many of them throughout the production. He didn't want to be upstaged by their superior skill, and it's demonstrated by his difficulty in emoting the lyrics he recites onscreen. In particular, "Talk To The Animals" is meant to be a bright and bouncy number, but we don't get to hear the tune since Harrison is merely talking for most of the song and ''shouting'' the last verse.
* QuestionableCasting: One of the biggest reasons critics ripped into the film was because they felt Creator/RexHarrison was badly miscast as Dolittle, as he was basically channelling his role from ''Film/MyFairLady'' and had nothing in common with Dolittle's personality from the books. The fact that he was so notoriously difficult to work with through the entirety of the production, and increasingly at odds with his costars, didn't help matters in the slightest. Unsurprisingly, after the film flopped he was all but disowned by the industry, ensuring he'd never secure another major leading role.

* DesignatedHero: Dr. Dolittle comes off as self-absorbed and inconsiderate, due in large part to Creator/RexHarrison's [[Film/MyFairLady Higgins-esque]] handling of the character. When his sister tumbles down a flight of stairs, for instance, Dolittle sits indifferently at his desk and babbles about animal trivia. Later (after we've learned that he has no concern for the physical well-being of his human patients), the doctor boasts about disowning his sister and not speaking to her for years. From there, Dolittle heaps verbal abuse upon Miss Fairfax, steals a circus animal from his colleague (as well as a bonnet and shawl from a woman he's never met), permits a small child on a dangerous voyage across stormy seas in a non-seaworthy ship (all while milking his friends for all the cheap physical labor they're worth), and allows Emma's clothing to be lost in a shipwreck despite managing to save all his books. The film seems to suggest that Dolittle's compassion for animals expiates all these wrongdoings, but it's never a good sign when one of the songs in your musical is a [[TheVillainSucksSong "The Designated Hero Sucks" song]] (Even his 'compassion' is debateable; when he receives the pushmi-pullyu he immediately puts it in a circus to make money; he tells Gub-Gub to stop fussing when the pig is understandably distressed that he's cooking sausages and bacon for Matthew and Tommy; and while by necessity he's become a vegan, he's not very happy about it and even rants at the end of one song about all the types of meat he enjoys eating, including "pork of course, my favourite meal!!!". ''Whilst seizing Gub-Gub.'')

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Creator/RexHarrison basically played Dolittle as Professor Higgins from ''Film/MyFairLady'', complete with misanthropy, misogyny and several songs that match Higgins' character development beat-for-beat, none of which impressed audiences or critics.

* DesignatedHero: Dr. Dolittle comes off as self-absorbed and inconsiderate, due in large part to Creator/RexHarrison's [[Film/MyFairLady Higgins-esque]] handling of the character. When his sister tumbles down a flight of stairs, for instance, Dolittle sits indifferently at his desk and babbles about animal trivia. Later (after we've learned that he has no concern for the physical well-being of his human patients), the doctor boasts about disowning his sister and not speaking to her for years. From there, Dolittle heaps verbal abuse upon Miss Fairfax, steals a circus animal from his colleague (as well as a bonnet and shawl from a woman he's never met), permits a small child on a dangerous voyage across stormy seas in a non-seaworthy ship (all while milking his friends for all the cheap physical labor they're worth), and allows Emma's clothing to be lost in a shipwreck despite managing to save all his books. The film seems to suggest that Dolittle's compassion for animals expiates all these wrongdoings, but it's never a good sign when one of the songs in your musical is a [[TheVillainSucksSong "The Designated Hero Sucks" song]] (Even his 'compassion' is debateable; when he receives the pushmi-pullyu he immediately pts it in a circus to make money; he tells Gub-Gub to stop fussing when the pig is understandably distressed that he's cooking sausages and bacon for Matthew and Tommy; and while by necessity he's become a vegetarian, he's not very happy about it and even rants at the end of one song about all the types of meat he enjoys eating, including "pork of course, my favourite meal!!!". ''Whilst seizing Gub-Gub.'')

* DesignatedHero: Dr. Dolittle comes off as self-absorbed and inconsiderate, due in large part to Creator/RexHarrison's [[Film/MyFairLady Higgins-esque]] handling of the character. When his sister tumbles down a flight of stairs, for instance, Dolittle sits indifferently at his desk and babbles about animal trivia. Later (after we've learned that he has no concern for the physical well-being of his human patients), the doctor boasts about disowning his sister and not speaking to her for years. From there, Dolittle heaps verbal abuse upon Miss Fairfax, steals a circus animal from his colleague (as well as a bonnet and shawl from a woman he's never met), permits a small child on a dangerous voyage across stormy seas in a non-seaworthy ship (all while milking his friends for all the cheap physical labor they're worth), and allows Emma's clothing to be lost in a shipwreck despite managing to save all his books. The film seems to suggest that Dolittle's compassion for animals expiates all these wrongdoings, but it's never a good sign when one of the songs in your musical is a [[TheVillainSucksSong "The Designated Hero Sucks" song]].

* StrangledByTheRedString: Emma falls for Dolittle even though he's been ''nothing'' but rude and sometimes downright mean towards her, including forcing her to do all the work aboard the ship; and Dolittle falls for her despite being a misanthrope who even took pride in driving away his own sister and not speaking to her for years. In a revised cut of the film, apparently Matthew was meant to fall in love with Emma, which would have made much more sense considering the far more positive interactions between the characters.