The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

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If you grew up watching Eddie Murphy’s Doctor Dolittle, you’ll probably remember how warm the films were, realising our childhood fantasy of being able to talk to our pets. So the announcement of a new Dolittle appealed to us, and it sounded even more promising with Robert Downey Jr.’s name listed on the bill, but little did we know!

Dolittle follows a doctor (Robert Downey Jr.) who has the gift of speaking to animals. After a personal tragedy, he locks himself away, avoiding any social contact with anyone, except for a bunch of animals whom he calls family. However, when the Queen of England personally urges him to save her from a mysterious illness, Dolittle finally has to leave his mansion and embark on a journey to find the rare and lost cure, which is the Queen’s only hope.

Many fans of the previous saga were deeply apprehensive of the new film ruining their fond memories, yet they can rest assured it has nothing to do with the old adventure, and that as you watch it, you’ll forget that the two are related. The only things the two have in common are the doctor’s name, that he speaks to animals, and that it is a comedy – or at least that’s what the new film tries to be. The Eddie Murphy films are so much funnier, more sophisticated, and more memorable than the new movie that we could go as far as calling it a disaster.

The plot is very messy, and even though it starts with an adorable and whimsical love story, it soon turns into mayhem where things do not make sense at all.

The animal characters have their moments, especially the anxiety-crippled gorilla (Rami Malek) and the feisty squirrel (Craig Thompson). But there are so many animal characters, as well as various incoherent events, that the focal point is lost. This mess takes away from the potential of the film as a comedy, despite the attempts of some of the all-star voice actors, and Michael Sheen, who plays the villain, Dr. Blair Müdfly.

The biggest disappointment of the film, and the hardest to fathom, is Robert Downey Jr.’s performance; the usually charismatic actor speaks in an accent that wobbles from Irish to Jamaican, with no rhyme or reason. He also uses a voice that gives off the feeling that it has been digitally modified, which is not captivating, to say the least.

Downey seems lost in the movie, and you can barely recognise him as the actor who gave so many unforgettable charismatic performances. It is even accurate (and somewhat sad) to say that his performance was an anchor that dragged this sinking ship of a feature to the bottom. While some voice actors like Rami Malek, Craig Thompson, and Emma Thompson gave memorable performances, they did not stand a chance against the failed setup of the film.

While young children may enjoy the talking animals and the change of scenery in Dolittle, older audiences will probably be deeply disappointed and wishing they were watching Eddie Murphy instead.