---
title: "Dolittle"
year: 2020
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/dolittle"
fi1m_score: 32
critics_score: 25
critics_reviews: 28
published: "2026-09-16T15:23:57.904513+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-16T15:23:58.184176+00:00"
region: "US"
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."
---

# Dolittle (2020)

Directed by Stephen Gaghan · 1h 41m · MPA PG · Family, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure

**Fi1m score: 32** · Critics 25 from 28 reviews

*In a sentence:* Dolittle can talk to animals; getting them to stop would be more useful

> Robert Downey Jr. makes an oddly distant animal doctor in this poor, muddled family adventure. Michael Sheen offers some welcome comic relief, though the animals’ relentless chatter soon makes even modest pleasures difficult to enjoy.

## Synopsis

Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.) wants little to do with people. A recluse in the time of Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley), he keeps company with animals whose speech he understands, including Poly (Emma Thompson), Chee-Chee (Rami Malek) and Yoshi (John Cena). Tommy Stubbins (Harry Collett) joins the human side of his adventure, while Dr. Blair Müdfly (Michael Sheen) provides opposition. Dolittle sets sail with his animal companions, and palace intrigue complicates his attempts to keep human troubles at a distance.

## Review

A doctor who can speak to animals ought to be a useful centre for a family adventure. There are patients to help, peculiar friends to make and human rules to ignore, all without having to explain much. Stephen Gaghan’s *Dolittle* is a poor, muddled film that keeps interrupting those possibilities with another quip. The screenplay, by Doug Mand, Dan Gregor and Stephen Gaghan, adds complications so readily that simply enjoying the doctor’s company becomes a considerable effort.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Dr. John Dolittle with a distracting Welsh accent and a delivery that often makes the words difficult to catch. The accent itself need not have been a problem. The trouble is that his muttering gives us little sense of what he wants from whoever is listening. A withdrawn doctor could still be funny, curious or unexpectedly tender, and his preference for animals over people offers a reasonable place to start. This performance seldom finds the warmth needed to make us follow him willingly.

Michael Sheen fares better as Dr. Blair Müdfly, allowing himself the broad, spiteful comedy that the material needs. His enjoyment is welcome in a film whose leading man so often seems preoccupied. Rami Malek’s Chee-Chee and John Cena’s Yoshi are among the animals competing for attention, but the stream of remarks gives their voices little chance to become personalities. We were bored by their chatter, because another interruption so often takes the place of letting a conversation develop into something funny.

Craig Alpert and Chris Lebenzon’s editing shifts between palace intrigue, animal antics and crude jokes without finding a comfortable pace for any of them. A scene barely establishes what we should care about before something else demands attention. The constant activity becomes tiring because it rarely builds anticipation; there is little pleasure in guessing what these characters might do next. At 101 minutes, the film should not feel this laborious.

Guillermo Navarro’s crowded images do the animals few favours, especially when the humans’ eyelines fail to meet their digital companions. We need to believe that these creatures share a space before we can believe they share a friendship. Dominic Watkins’s period surroundings and Jenny Beavan’s costumes are more persuasive than the dialogue, with its determinedly modern attitude. The clutter nevertheless makes it difficult to appreciate the production design for long.

Danny Elfman’s music tries to encourage a sense of adventure, but it cannot make events matter when the characters have made so little impression. Nor is the problem simply that the humour is crude: a family comedy can make a bodily function funny if somebody has bothered to construct a joke around it. Too often, *Dolittle* seems satisfied to have mentioned one. Against the modest requirements of a talking-animal adventure, it falls short on affection, comic timing and the simple business of telling a story clearly.

Small children may enjoy the animals, and Michael Sheen provides a brief diversion for the adults. Neither is a good reason to commit the family evening to something this muddled. If the appeal is simply watching people and animals become friends, we would look elsewhere.

*Fi1m score 32, published 16 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The consensus on Dolittle is overwhelmingly negative: most critics find a muddled family adventure short of charm, coherent storytelling and reliable laughs. Complaints cluster around Robert Downey Jr.’s affected performance, awkward accent and weak connection with the computer-generated animals. Praise is scarce, though Michael Sheen’s villainous turn earns several approving notices, and a few reviews find occasional amusement in the incidental jokes and animal antics.

The disagreement is chiefly over how much younger viewers might enjoy despite those faults. The Guardian considers it passable but forgettable family entertainment, while HeyUGuys finds fun, wonder and a worthwhile message about friendship. Den of Geek explicitly rejects the idea that it is worth watching even for children. That leaves a broad negative consensus with a small, more forgiving fringe; elsewhere, the recurring objections concern haphazard editing, clashing tones and crude humour that substitutes for character or narrative.

### Reviews we read (28)

- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (50/100, inferred): The film is an average, passable family entertainment rather than a disaster, though forgettable and unmemorable overall. The critic singles out the shaky effects and lacklustre comedy for complaint amid the convoluted plot and big-name voice cast. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/15/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jr)
- **Empire**, Ian Freer (40/100, inferred): The critic concludes that Dolittle is not a Cats-level disaster but remains too frenetic yet underpowered, with clumsy direction and a lead performance lacking charm or depth. They single out the incidental jokes and Michael Sheen’s sarcastic turn as the few elements that briefly lift the mostly lacklustre kids’ film. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dolittle/)
- **The Telegraph** (2/5): The film is far from a success, with a heavily reworked storyline and countervailing guff undermining even simple tasks. The critic notes children enjoyed some parts like the dragon bagpipe scene but highlights the chaotic production and Welsh accent issues. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jr-flails-around-50-knot-wind/)
- **Screen Daily** (30/100, inferred): The critic describes Dolittle as a jumble of cutesy ideas and strained whimsy in which a large starry cast is wasted. They single out the troubled production’s lack of creative spark and stale attitude. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/dolittle-review/5146153.article)
- **Sight and Sound**, Anna Smith (30/100, inferred): The critic finds this misfiring adaptation swamped by CGI and crude humour that will not appeal to families alongside their kids. They single out the perplexing choices such as Robert Downey Jr.’s Welsh accent and the plot’s failure to balance palace conspiracies with animal antics. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jrs-good-doctor-goes-dogs)
- **The Independent** (30/100, inferred): The critic finds Dolittle flatter and hokier than the hype suggested, with mismatched eye lines on the CGI animals, awkward lip sync and a budget bloated by reshoots. They single out the valiant but flawed effort to inject movie-star charisma into an overstuffed production that ends up the worst screen version of the story. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jr-cast-director-cats-comparison-a9315991.html)
- **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★☆☆☆): The film is borderline awful rather than fully offensive, a messy result of reshoots and rewrites with nothing to say despite surface distractions. The critic praises that it is not as bad as expected but complains about the awkward, unwieldy execution and self-regarding delivery. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jr-talks-to-the-animals-in-a-beastly-mess-5f7d36zqv)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Nell Minow (25/100, inferred): The film is a wild, incoherent mess without guiding principles or coherence despite a fine concept. It fails to deliver on the expected charm, humor, or emotional resonance of the source material and previous adaptations. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dolittle-movie-review-2020)
- **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (20/100, inferred): The critic calls it a train wreck and $175 million fiasco that even Robert Downey Jr. cannot salvage, noting the writer-director of Traffic and Syriana was ill-suited to this kids movie about talking animals. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jr-1202203289/)
- **Little White Lies**, Charles Bramesco (1/1/1): The critic concludes Robert Downey Jr takes on the role with predictably disastrous results in a garbled nothing bereft of warmth and wit. They single out the menagerie of mouthy mammals as wretched beasts that fail to amuse except for one brief duck-voiced bit. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/dolittle)
- **Radio Times**, Trevor Johnston (20/100, inferred): The critic calls the result a staggeringly charmless non-event that falls short on every level. They single out the constant wisecracking from the stellar voice cast as struggling to raise so much as a half-smile. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-yckk9j/dolittle/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the film terribly off from the first scene, a lavishly misbegotten attempt that fails to make a case for reinterpretation, with an oddly diffident Robert Downey Jr. never energizing the tale. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/dolittle-review-1269681/)
- **Time Out**, Olly Richards (20/100, inferred): The critic sees the film as another apology owing to the animal kingdom, with a slapdash approach and laziness typical of most things in it. They single out the finale centred on one grumpy creature’s impacted bowel as the point where all sense vanishes. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dolittle)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Katie Walsh (10/100, inferred): The film is hasty, hectic, harried and utterly halfhearted, a cursed endeavor that feels slapdash with negligible character development and unoriginal jokes. It fails to deliver charm or substance despite its big budget and star. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-01-15/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jr)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (10/100, inferred): This is a dreary, overextended yawn of a misbegotten adventure that should have been dramatically shortened or ditched. The story of the reclusive doctor and his animal companions drags without sufficient wit or engagement. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/movies/dolittle-review.html)
- **Variety**, Courtney Howard (10/100, inferred): This sloppy, predictable and obnoxious period-set overhaul does very little to stoke the imagination and quickly curdles into an awful experience full of crass jokes and misfired attempts at humor. It wastes Downey's magnetism and lacks emotional wallop. [Read](https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/dolittle-review-1203467269/)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (10/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as anti-cinema whose incompetence boggles the mind, with cluttered and shrill execution that leaves the viewer questioning reality rather than enjoying silly insouciance. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/dolittle-movie-review-robert-downey-jr-why.html)
- **HeyUGuys**, Amanda Keats (3/5): The film is great fun for the family with wonder, adventure, and a message of friendship. It is silly with mild peril but entertaining for younger viewers. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/dolittle-review/)
- **/Film**, Hoai-Tran Bui (4/10): The film is a messy, ill-conceived voyage with tonal whiplash, lazy editing, and poor use of its cast. The potty humor and haphazard construction are highlighted as major flaws. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/571657/dolittle-review-a-messy-ill-conceived-voyage-youre-better-off-not-taking/)
- **The Ringer**, Rob Harvilla (40/100, inferred): Downey's first post-MCU outing is a bizarre, mildly amusing kids' movie featuring dragon enemas, talking animals kicking tigers in the nuts, and a mumbled Depp-esque performance that is hard to understand. It is not very good but serves its modest purpose of moderate child amusement better than a serious drama would. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2020/01/15/movies/robert-downey-jr-dolittle-movie-review)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (30/100, inferred): The review calls it largely a miss, blaming the star's performance and off tone, though noting the cute animals may appeal to young kids. [Read](https://deadline.com/video/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jr-doctor-dolittle/)
- **Digital Spy**, Ian Sandwell (30/100, inferred): The critic says it's mainly boring rather than truly bad, with a mish-mash of tones, lacklustre performance, and dull treatment of the quirky concept. Complains about the serious approach making it dull, praises the potential for quirkiness that isn't realized. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a30687774/dolittle-review-ending-robert-downey-jr/)
- **Film Stories**, Mark Harrison (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a rudderless star vehicle with an affected performance from Downey and inconsistent tone. Michael Sheen's villainous turn is singled out as a welcome diversion. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/dolittle-review-fantastical-but-fatally-muddled/)
- **Den of Geek**, Natalie Zutter (1/5): The critic finds the film a mess with juvenile jokes and irresponsible messaging, not worth watching even for kids. Praises nothing really, complains about the tone, jokes, and lack of charm. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dolittle-review/)
- **Polygon**, Karen Han (20/100, inferred): The film is utterly incoherent, a chopped-up mess of fart jokes, burp jokes, and other lowbrow gags that leaves no room for narrative sense or character development. Downey's sleepwalking performance fails to connect, though Michael Sheen as the villain provides the sole standout element tuned to the absurdity. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/2020/1/15/21067244/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jr-tom-holland-michael-sheen-emma-thompson-john-cena-kumail-nanjiani/)
- **Collider**, Perri Nemiroff (10/100, inferred): The film is a near total bust, with Downey Jr.'s performance lacking any charm or appeal as an anchor for the story. The sloppy editing, lack of urgency, and overall absence of fun compound the problems in this Stephen Gaghan-directed misfire. [Read](https://collider.com/dolittle-review-robert-downey-jr/)
- **Paste**, Andy Crump (2.5): Downey and director Gaghan have lowered themselves with this bewilderingly bad January misfire, a cheap attempt at a kids' franchise full of hammy anachronistic one-liners and a plot that ends in a fart joke. Kids deserve better than this insulting celebrity-voiced mess. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/robert-downey-jr/dolittle-robert-downey-jr-review)
- **The Wrap**, Alonso Duralde (10/100, inferred): The critic finds the film charmless with few laughs and no charm, criticizing the CG animals and unfunny dialogue. He singles out the awkward accent and modern sass in a Victorian setting as particularly misguided. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/dolittle-film-review-2020-robert-downey-jr/)

## Details

- **Director:** Stephen Gaghan
- **Director:** Stephen Gaghan
- **Screenplay:** Stephen Gaghan, Dan Gregor, Doug Mand
- **Story:** Thomas Shepherd
- **Cinematography:** Guillermo Navarro
- **Editor:** Craig Alpert, Chris Lebenzon
- **Music:** Danny Elfman
- **Production design:** Dominic Watkins
- **Costume design:** Jenny Beavan
- **Producer:** Susan Downey, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Joe Roth
- **Cast:** Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. John Dolittle; Harry Collett as Tommy Stubbins; Michael Sheen as Dr. Blair Müdfly; Jim Broadbent as Lord Thomas Badgley; Antonio Banderas as King Rassouli; Rami Malek as Chee-Chee (voice); Jessie Buckley as Queen Victoria; Emma Thompson as Poly (voice)
- **Runtime:** 1h 41m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 17 January 2020
- **Genres:** Family, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure
- **Budget:** $175 million
- **Box office:** $251 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjm6rDgKNMY

## Where to watch in the US

- Disney+: streaming, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: free, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-16.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie 2021: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Babe* (1995), Fi1m 88: Talking animals with distinct personalities, proper jokes and room for quiet feeling. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/babe.md)
- *Paddington* (2014): A displaced animal causes household trouble, with jokes that include the adults.
- *Ernest & Celestine* (2012): A bear and a mouse make friendship worth caring about.
- *The Black Stallion* (1979): For the animal bond, with patient storytelling and far less chatter.
- *The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* (1988): For older children, a peculiar expedition with inventions worth stopping to inspect.

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