---
title: "Doctor Dolittle: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/doctor-dolittle-1998/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/doctor-dolittle-1998"
critics_score: 51
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Doctor Dolittle (1998): what the critics said

Critics' score 51 from 7 reviews: 1 positive, 3 mixed, 3 negative.

The reviews lean mixed to negative, and the one point on which nearly everyone agrees is that the animals carry the film. Critics praise the animatronic creatures and the set pieces that put Murphy in among them, and several single out the voice work, Norm Macdonald’s dog Lucky in particular. Murphy himself gets credit for playing it straight and letting the menagerie take the laughs, a restraint that even the harsher notices acknowledge.

The complaints cluster on everything around the animals: a thin story, jokes pitched low and often scatological, and comedy that more than one critic finds slapdash or stuck at sitcom level. Total Film, broadly entertained, still says the final third drags. The spread is wide, from a sunny recommendation at The New York Times, the only clearly positive notice, down to Empire and Eye for Film, which find it bland and unoriginal and regret the wasted talent, Ossie Davis among it.

## The New York Times — Janet Maslin

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 June 1998. 

Maslin calls the film a sunny, breezy family comedy. She praises Murphy’s comic restraint and the animal performers’ lively, well-integrated work.

[Read the review](https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/062698doolittle-film-review.html)

## Time Out — DA

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

The available page labels this a film review, but its critical verdict is not visible. The accessible description mentions Dolittle’s childhood ability to talk with animals.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/doctor-dolittle-1)

## Total Film — Total Film

Rating 3/5. 31 July 1998. 

The review finds it an entertaining family comedy, though it drags in the final third. It praises the animal antics and slapstick humour as a hoot.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/dr-dolittle-review/)

## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert

Rating 2/4. 26 June 1998. 

Ebert’s verdict is negative, finding the comedy slapdash rather than engaging. He singles out the talking animals as the film’s strongest element.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doctor-dolittle-1998)

## Variety — Leonard Klady

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 24 June 1998. 

Klady finds the film a letdown, with a thin story and scatological humor limiting its appeal. He praises the animals and their performances, especially Norm Macdonald’s comic delivery as Lucky.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/dr-dolittle-1200453932/)

## Empire — Caroline Westbrook

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2006. 

Westbrook finds the film a bland, lacklustre disappointment despite its promising premise. She praises the crafted animatronic animals and impressive man-and-animal set pieces, but says the creatures’ cheap jokes and weak story undermine them.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/doctor-dolittle-2-review/)

## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. 

The critic finds the film unoriginal and stuck in sitcom territory. He praises Eddie Murphy’s restrained performance and calls the effects fruitful, while lamenting the wasted talents of Ossie Davis.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dr-dolittle-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/doctor-dolittle-1998.md