Line #12 YMMV/DoctorDolittle


1	!!The books
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3	* FairForItsDay: While the books have plenty of issues in regards to their descriptions of African and Native peoples with a helping of MightyWhitey, the books give both groups virtues of their own and white characters aren't immune from criticism.
4	** While the King of Jolliginki is initially an antagonist in ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle'', he is given a valid reason to not like white men as previous visitors abused his hospitality to take gold and ivory.
5	** The South American native Long Arrow (introduced in ''The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle'') is stated to be the greatest naturalist in the world and far exceeds the Doctor in knowledge.
6	** While comedic, Prince Bumpo of Jolliginki is depicted more positively than many white characters and certainly is no sillier than they are. Unlike Matthew the Cat's Meat Man, Bumpo is a useful member of the crew of ''The Curlew'' in ''The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle'' and the narrator, ten-year old Stubbins, is flattered to be treated as an equal by a prince and an Oxford student. Bumpo's skin color is not an issue.
7	* FridgeBrilliance: ''Doctor Dolittle's Post Office'' mentions penguins in the North Pole, which reads like a clear case of MisplacedWildlife to the modern reader. However, the story is set in the 1830s, and the Doctor is probably referring to the now-extinct Great Auks, which were usually known as "penguins" back then.
8	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Doctor Aybolit, the Russian expy, is very well known, although the best known work about him is an original poem rather than the shortened translations of Lofting's works.
9	* ValuesDissonance:
10	** Although a FriendToAllLivingThings, the Doctor seems to have no trouble with eating sausages, even in front of Gub-Gub the pig. Then again, many real life pigs have no problem eating pork products themselves. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in the 1967 movie where the Doctor is a vegan, hinting in a song sequence that being able to understand the complaints of Gub-Gub and other animals essentially guilt-tripped him into it.
11	** In ''Doctor Dolittle's Post Office'', Doctor Dolittle manages to scare off an invading AmazonBrigade [[EekAMouse with mice]], because women are naturally scared of mice. Try getting that published in the modern world.
12	* ValuesResonance: The book's criticism of animal abuse remains very relevant. Bull-fighting, Fox-hunting, the treatment of circus animals, and exploitative pet shops are all strongly condemned by Lofting through the Doctor.
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14	!!The 1967 film
15	* CultClassic
16	* 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.'')
17	* FridgeBrilliance: Dr. Dolittle's ImprobableFoodBudget is actually explained when he talks about how his animal clients can't pay him with money, but still try to pay him by giving him offerings of their own foodstuff. Dolittle might not eat worms and leaves and the like, but he can keep it and use it to feed his houseguests!
18	* HarsherInHindsight: Creator/AnthonyNewley's Matthew speaks very highly of Doctor Dolittle and remains his loyal acquaintance throughout, even having a song called "My Friend the Doctor" that opens and closes the film. In reality, there was much friction between Newley and Rex Harrison throughout the majority of the production, with Harrison being very jealous of Newley's musical talents and even making anti-semitic comments against the other actor.
19	* HilariousInHindsight:
20	** At one point during the TroubledProduction, Creator/RexHarrison was being [[ThePrimaDonna so much of an asshole to everyone]] that the studio briefly fired him and recasted the role with Creator/ChristopherPlummer (before Harrison eventually came back). Christopher Plummer: [[Film/AllTheMoneyInTheWorld replacing problematic stars]] [[OlderThanTheyThink since 1967!]]
21	** Creator/RexHarrison famously objected to Creator/SammyDavisJr's casting before the character was written out [[ThePrimaDonna because he sang better then Harrison]]. Davis Jr. [[https://youtu.be/w-fJ-4f5aDk later covered "Talk to the Animals" in 1971]] and actually managed to make it sound SugarWiki/{{awesome\|Music}}. Looks like Sammy Davis Jr. had the last laugh.
22	* {{Narm}}: Creator/RexHarrison's singing; he simply wasn't 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.
23	* 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 co-stars, 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.
24	* {{Squick}}: At one point, Dolittle sings a love song to a ''seal'' completely straight faced. Incidentally, it's also a ''married'' seal -- it's a pretty major plot point that he was returning her to the ocean so she could go back to be with her husband.
25	* StrangledByTheRedString: Emma falls for Dolittle even though he's been nothing but rude, condescending 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.
26	* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Creator/RexHarrison basically played Dolittle as Professor Higgins from ''Film/MyFairLady'', complete with misanthropy, misogyny and a narrative arc that matches Higgins' character development near beat-for-beat, none of which impressed audiences or critics.
27	* VindicatedByHistory: While the film itself isn't universally considered to be this -- many regard it as the most successful attempt at translating the property to the big screen, though this isn't really saying much considering that the Creator/EddieMurphy movies are only nominal adaptations, and the [[Film/{{Dolittle}} 2020 adaptation]] was widely panned -- the soundtrack has gotten much greater acclaim in the decades since than it did on its initial release, and is now considered among the highlights of Leslie Bricusse's career.

Context YMMV / DoctorDolittle