Dr. Doolittle

[Ben]

Yeah...except that Disney bought Fox, which owns the Rex Doolittle.

This is a Universal release (who own the rights through the barely connected Eddie Murphy movies)...nothing to do with Disney. Or Fox.

indeed.

[EricJ]

This is a Universal release (who own the rights through the barely connected Eddie Murphy movies)...nothing to do with Disney. Or Fox.

Oh, I see, it's "From the Producer of ALICE IN WONDERLAND and MALEFICENT!"

Heh, probably would have noticed that better on the big screen. Good work, Universal, fooled me too.

[Daniel]

Nah, just you.

[Daniel]

One week away from the reboot! I don't think it will do so good...

To borrow a line, I just had to post this!



I can so relate. Gotta love Skinner!

[EricJ]

It would be funnier if it actually WAS a non-partisan childhood-legacy attack on Rex's Embarrassment, rather than the Simpsons taking a cheap low-hanging Groening-esque fifth-grade bite at the Fox hands that feed them (they've already done enough Planet of the Apes jokes), but it's good that these things are finally said.
If you want it on Blu-ray, though, beware, it's a limited print and selling fast.

[ShyViolet]

Lol. And yeah, I love sharing movies I like with friends too!

Also, I love Rex Harrison and always have. My Fair Lady (50s version) was a favorite growing up. I also saw the movie adaptation of another George Bernard Shaw play he was in, Major Barbara. There he was a lot younger with a very different role, but he still did an incredible job.

Actually, his son Carey Harrison (a well-respected novelist and playwright) was an English/Creative Writing professor at my undergrad alma mater, Brooklyn College. I was never his student, but I knew him anyway because I wrote a profile of him for the college newspaper. I really can’t express enough what a nice person he is (he still teaches there). Also a GREAT writer (read one of his plays before writing about him).

[Ben]

Aw, c'mon...back in the early 80s when the Disney films and Sound Of Music were MIA on tape, the likes of Doolittle got us through some rough times, even if we even knew then that it wasn’t as good as the others, or even My Fair Lady (which was actually more of a snoozefest when you’re eight than Doolittle was; at least that had the funny songs in it).

I can’t believe the new one comes out next week though. There has been, what, absolutely zero publicity for it so far, so how is it even going to make an opening weekend dent, let alone a noticeable splash!? First major casualty of 2020 coming right up...

[Bill1978]

I see to get an ad every second ad break while watching Pay TV, although every time I see the ad I can't share the feeling that the movie is going to do little at the box office.

[EricJ]

Aw, c'mon...back in the early 80s when the Disney films and Sound Of Music were MIA on tape, the likes of Doolittle got us through some rough times, even if we even knew then that it wasn’t as good as the others

I like the genre of late-60's G-rated over-budgeted big-studio kiddy musicals, just on the strength of Willy Wonka and Chitty/Bang, and want to like Doolittle for the sake of genre, but it betrays my trust every time.

I just got through the Hugh Lofting audiobook out of curiosity, and one big problem with the movie (which the Murphy and Downey versions try to address, with relative degrees of success) is that in the book, when Doolittle talks to the animals, we can hear them too, and they're funny supporting characters.
Here, apart from the parrot, we have Anthony Newley, Samantha Eggar and the kid inserted as someone for Rex to talk to, when he isn't talking dog and horse to the trained animals on the set. And, out of the loop, we're left in the same position as everyone else in the town, namely thinking that the Doc is a nut embarrassing himself. Doubly so in the romantic seal number.

I see to get an ad every second ad break while watching Pay TV, although every time I see the ad I can't share the feeling that the movie is going to do little at the box office.

You've SEEN an actual ad? A real one? What's it like??

Seriously, think this was originally intended for a combination Christmas-vacation kiddy film and December dump, but Star Wars and Jumanji were in the way, so Universal gave it the only thing more humiliating than an under-the-radar December dump--A January dump.
Which does not bode well.

[Ben]

Well it can’t do any worse than Cats, right?

Oh...

[Daniel]

Me-ow!

I've been seeing a lot of commercials, too. Here's the one I've been seeing most of:



Yeah...

[EricJ]

Yeah...

Poor Downey...From what we see of his Holmes-like spin on the Doc, he apparently went in thinking they were doing a "real" version of the books, too.

[Bill1978]

There is also an ad where Robert Downey Jr is auditioning animals for the roles using previous movies. ie Jaws. But as I type I'm wondering if I saw that in the cinema

[Daniel]

Might be, haven't caught it on the telly. Here it is via the 'Tube:



"Say hello to my little friend. Hello!"

[Ben]

Funny how all those critters only watch Universal movies...!