Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) User Reviews

Innocuous and mildly entertaining, but overall forgettable

[mattymatt4ever · 6/10 · 20 August 2001]

"Dr. Dolittle 2" is pretty much what you would expect out of a family comedy, only a tad more crude. We could've done with maybe one less gag about animal urination. The plot is a pious, predictable one involving the preservation of an endangered species of bears. You know, one of those storylines that's supposed to deliver a "message" to all the young ones out there.

Like usual, we have the talking animals voiced by a variety of celebrities. Steve Zahn lends his voice to one of the lead animal characters. He's actually quite funny at times, as a bear/circus performer who's overcome by stardom, and now that he found out he's part of an endangered species he has to learn how to live like a normal bear: start hibernating, eating fish, etc. Lisa Kudrow is the voice of his love interest. Michael Rapaport is funny as a racoon who's the henchman of an alleged animal Mafia.

Since the Dolittle's daughter (Raven-Symone) is all grown-up, we have to expect the obvious romantic subplot in which she hits puberty and engages in an active dating life. Her father, naturally, has doubts about her new supposedly rebellious boyfriend (Lil' Zane). So we're dragged through that unnecessary subplot, which pretty much serves as filler to complete a running time of 100 minutes.

Lately, Eddie Murphy has been tackling PG projects like this and "Shrek." A few years back, he took a try at cleaning his act when doing a voice-over for Disney's "Mulan." Then again, in the flop "Holy Man." I have to admire him for showing his more sanitized approach to comedy. Despite his inability to use the "f" word, he proves he's still a multi-talented comedian and not a talented comedian whose act is totally watered-down and dull because of being forced to clean up his mouth. Though he pretty much plays the straight man (I also have to admire him for his discipline, in remaining subdued and in character rather than viewing the movie as no more than a showcase for his comedy), he still belts out some witty one-liners and proves to be just as funny as his animal companions.

I don't really have any strong opinions about this movie. It's harmless, but it could've used a major rewrite. It's funny at times, but could've been a lot funnier (and less crude). Don't worry, you won't be seeing any gags involving birds crapping into people's mouths or a thermometer getting stuck into a dog's behind. The film has just enough crudeness to achieve the PG rating, but we still could've done without it. Your kids will be rolling in the aisles, while the adults may want to take a few popcorn and bathroom breaks. Not bad (especially for a sequel), but forgettable and even somewhat dull. You're better off catching this one on video.

My score: 6 (out of 10)

hard to say

[mm-39 · 6/10 · 30 July 2001]

If you like these kind of movies, then its funny. My wife loves these kinds of movie, and enjoyed this. Its amazing how well they can train bears, some of the stunts are incredible. The voice overs couldn't be done better. My opinion of the film is its cute, but not many surprises in this one. I laughed at this film, and comedy is the hardest thing to do, but I did not find this better the average comedy. Its funny, but not p**s your pants funny.

some family fun but gets tiresome

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 9 April 2017]

Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) is more successful than ever honing in on his new animal communication skills. With his dog Lucky (Norm Macdonald) at his side, he is able to help multitudes of animals. His daughter Charisse Dolittle (Raven-Symoné) is annoyed with him. It's her sweet sixteen and two rats pop out of her cake. To appease her, he promises to take the family on an European vacation away from the animals. He drives to the woods to meet the Godfather beaver. The animals are concerned about encroaching humans and the clear cutting of the forest. He needs an endangered animal to save the forest. Eugene Wilson tells him about unique female bear Ava (Lisa Kudrow) but they need to reintroduce male circus bear Archie (Steve Zahn) into the wild. Oppositing them are lumber company owner Joe Potter (Jeffrey Jones) and his lawyer Riley (Kevin Pollak).

It has some functional kids' movie aspects. The talking animals are funny sometimes although Steve Zahn may not be the best wacky voice actor. There is a lot of low brow humor. It could be good but the situation is too manufactured and the cabin setting is too fake. It has some good laughs but the story gets too tiresome. Kids might like this but even they should be bored by courtroom drama and corporate powerplay.

1998's "Doctor Dolittle" is nothing special, but this sequel is inferior

[Beta_Gallinger · 5/10 · 12 January 2008]

A few months ago, I saw "Doctor Dolittle" (the 1998 remake) for the first time in years. I liked it when I was twelve years old, so I was curious to know what I would think after growing up, despite having low expectations. My expectations were surpassed slightly, but if I had never seen "Dr. Dolittle 2" before, its predecessor wouldn't have been enough to make me interested in seeing it, but I did see it about four years ago, and enjoyed it. I was seventeen, past this movie's targeted audience, but didn't tend to watch a lot of movies at the time. I just watched this sequel again, and my once again low expectations were not surpassed at all.

Dr. John Dolittle has become famous for his ability to communicate with animals, but lately, he has also been having trouble with his family. One day, he is brought to the forest to see the Godbeaver, and learns that the forest is rapidly being cut down. The animals who live in this forest are counting on Dr. Dolittle to save their habitat, and in order to do so, the doctor must attempt to get a female Pacific Western bear in the forest named Ava together with a male so he can save the species! He gets a male bear of this species named Archie from a circus, and begins his attempt to get him adjusted to life in the wild and teach him how to win Ava's heart, both of which are easier said than done! It doesn't help that Archie has to compete with a Kodiak bear named Sonny, and logging company owner Joe Potter is determined to get his way!

Although I found no huge laughs in "Doctor Dolittle", I did find some minor ones. However, in this sequel, I found none. I smiled at times, but VERY rarely and briefly. Like its predecessor, "Dr. Dolittle 2" contains some juvenile excretion jokes, though it is a TAD cleaner, for better or worse (since it was aimed at kids, many would probably say it's for the better). These jokes are usually lame, if not always, a good example being the scene where Archie has diarrhea. There are also some embarrassing lines in the script, such as the one Dr. Dolittle has, humiliating his daughter, Charisse by telling her boyfriend how she tried to get out of diapers early and made messes around the house. Fortunately, the movie isn't totally filled with these problems, but most of the film is basically average and forgettable in my book.

Both Dr. Dolittle films starring Eddie Murphy are rather cheesy, and would definitely appeal to kids more than anyone else, but this one more so than the original. If you don't like the 1998 film, then you probably wouldn't like this one, either, but if you do, then you STILL might not like this sequel. "Dr. Dolittle 2" may have a slightly better plot than its predecessor, but overall, it is inferior, not that I'm saying the original is really that good. If you ask me, 1998's "Doctor Dolittle" is very close to being strictly for kids, and this sequel is right there. Remembering the film's targeted audience, I guess it deserves some credit, but if you're not part of that audience, and are not a parent of anyone who is, I wouldn't say there's any need to bother. After watching this, I definitely won't be watching the straight-to-video "Dr. Dolittle 3".

Really bad.

[corvair · 2/10 · 3 July 2001]

Yes, it's full of jokes based on body fluids (both gaseous and liquid), but even those can be funny. Not here. This movie delivered almost no laughs.

The unfunny script offers no relief from the other irritations in "Dr. Doolittle 2": the obnoxious older daughter character and the preponderance of closeups. Seeing what appears to be the cast from "The Cosby Show" on screen so tight that the image cuts off just above the eyebrows and below the chin is not fun and not entertaining.

The script comes off like a sixth grade class's presentation on ecology. Disappointing.

Winnie the who?......

[FlashCallahan · 3/10 · 26 May 2013]

Dr. Dolittle plays cupid to bumbling circus bear Archie, as he's so smitten by a Pacific Western bear female, Ava.

Dr. Dolittle must help a group of creatures to save their forest. But with the aid of his animal friends, Dr. Dolittle must teach Archie the ways of true romance in time to save his species and his home before their habit is destroyed.

So John holds a meeting for every animal in the forest to not give up without a fight, no matter what....

So Murphy is back in the inevitable sequel, and to be honest, this is the poorest sequel Murphy has been in, and i'm counting Shrek the Third, and BHC2.

It's not his fault though, it's the poor script, story and execution of the lame jokes and animal script. Murphy shows his funny side in the first ten minutes when he is having a heated debate with his daughter, but after that, it's downhill all the way.

The trouble with these types of sequels is that they just want to make a quick buck, so use the old family trip and place in peril schtick that can be found in hundreds of poor sequels.

The first movie was amiable enough, but even my daughter became intolerable of this.

a useless dud, by all accounts, and Murphy should have smacked is daughters boyfriend right in the face, he made the film that little bit more horrid....

Absolutely nothing like the books, but a pleasant film and better than Murphy's other Doolittle film

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 10 June 2007]

I am pretty surprised at the low scores for this film, as I thought for a family comedy it achieved its goals quite well. Plus, I usually hate these sort of schmaltzy films, and so the fact that I liked it is a bit unusual and says something about it. I think the biggest reason was that they did NOT attempt to recreate the famous Doolittle novels or re-create the Rex Harrison film but boldly took the character in other directions in both Doolittle films. Plus, unlike Murphy's first Doolittle film, this one had a very nice infusion of humor--and I THOUGHT, incorrectly, that I would hate all the talking animal nonsense (just like I hated LOOK WHO'S TALKING). While this little film won't change your life, it's a decent film that won't insult your intelligence and will give you a few good laughs.

Also, while I have seen enough of "That's so Raven" because of my kids, Raven Simone did a lovely job in the film--proving she's not just a cute flash-in-the-pan child actress.

Worst Type Of sequel

[slightlymad22 · 30 January 2018]

Continuing my plan to watch every Eddie Murphy movie in order, I come to Doctor Doolittle 2 (1998)

Plot In A Paragraph: Doctor Doolittle (Murphy) tries to save a forest.

Like Nutty Professor 2, this is the worst kind of sequel!! It exists just because the first movie made money. Again I watched this with my girlfriends daughter, I don't think many people over the age of 10, will find much to enjoy here, as it is pretty much laugh free, devoid of any original ideas, the animal "lip synching" is awful and like with the Nutty Professor 2, the humour is ruder and cruder!! And sadly Murphy is now the angry out of touch Dad, yelling at his teenage daughter to open her bedroom door. There are no attempts to make any jokes to even amuse, let alone entertain the adults watching this. Shrek was far mor intelligent than this. Murphy is the best thing in this, he is not at his best, but he has a relaxed charm. Sadly it's not enough to save the movie. I spent most of my time playing 'Guess the celebrity voice'

Like with The Nutty Professor sequel, this performed slightly worse than the original, but it was still a decent hit, as Dr Doolittle grossed $112 Million at the domestic box office to end the year the 16th highest grossing movie of 2001. Due to the financial success of both movies, I'm actually surprised there has not been third movies in both cases

A Forest of Failure

[ivanfanatic · 2/10 · 21 June 2005]

"Dr. Dolittle 2" continues the story of Dr. Dolittle (Eddie Murphy), a doctor-gone-veterinarian who can talk to animals. The sequel begins with a raccoon gangster trying to recruit Dr. Dolittle into saving a forest that is going to be taken over by a lumber company. Dr. Doolittle takes the lumber company to court and an agreement is made: if Dr. Dolittle can get the lone Western Pacific bear, Ava, to mate, the forest will be saved under the Endangered Species Act. Comedy and action ensues as Dolittle tries to introduce a circus bear, Archie, into the wild in order to save the forest.

Director Steve Carr's intentions of this movie seems to prove anything can be possible if one puts effort into it. This is shown by Dolittle's attempts to reintroduce a bear which has been raised by humans back into the forest. Another example is when the animals perform various comic scenes of stopping forest destruction (both inside and outside forest), but with the more serious intentions of saving their home in mind. A different perspective from the director is the underlying idea explaining it is important to preserve the forests and their inhabitants. As seen in this movie, many animals, such as the Western Pacific Bear, are becoming extinct.

While this movie had good intentions, in reality it was just a bad movie. The animals were cute, but many of the "comedy" scenes were trying a little too hard to be funny. This movie was supposed to be for kids, but there was a large amount of adult situations in this film. Excluding Eddie Murphy, most of the actors were extremely annoying thanks to corny dialogue and poor character expressions. The only positive about this movie were the themes; a little effort can go a long way and the importance of forest preservation. "Dr. Dolittle 2" is a poor sequel and I would only recommend this movie to someone with a "cheep" sense of humor.

Endangered Story & Animals Roar!

[meeza · 6/10 · 6 July 2001]

`Dr. Doolittle 2' does have some of the same old doggoned hilarious animal-talking moments as the original. However, the story of this sequel was sometimes so tedious that a few times throughout the movie I wanted to say `bye bye birdie' to this one. Eddie Murphy once again stars as the doctor who can talk to the animals. In this one, Dr. Doolittle must play matchmaker to two bears in order to save an animal habitat from being taken over by developers. Yea! I know ! The plot sounds beary beary boring! I must admit though that is those talking animals that overshadow any plot storyline in this film. If this sounds fishy to you- then check out the italian racoon, the deceiving weasel, the mobster beaver, the drunken monkey, and the mexican iguana. Let's not left the dog out, and remember that `lucky' once again steals the show as the Doolittle's right hand pooch. It might be a `little' uninteresting at times, but i `doo' recommend for you to check this one out! Later gator!!!!!! *** Average

Is it Mr. or Dr. Dolittle. This movie kinda forgot.

[PatrynXX · 4/10 · 27 November 2001]

SPOILER's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved the first movie. It's one of my favourite movies. So when I heard about the sequel I couldn't wait for the DVD. I shoulda waited even longer. There is so many things wrong with this movie that I'm amazed anyone would say this is better than the first. Only one thing saved this movie from total destruction. And that's the character of Charisse. Who we learn is beginning to have this thing called Dr. Dolittle's talent. It saved it from being a total waste of time. I'll probably go buy it now. (Thank God for online rentals!!) Some of the humor I liked of course, but.....

The bad is really bad. First..continuity. Okay.. Dr. Dolittle has ended and number 2 starts. Did I miss something here? They don't explain what happened to Rodney (the Guinea Pig) or how bout the baby Gator. Hmmm perhaps the Gator ate Rodney and they deemed it not to the liking of family entertainment. Two... they shift the focus off the fact that Dolittle is a doctor. There's a time for an environmental movie and there's not a time for it. This wasn't the time. Imagine ER suddenly became a tv show about what George Clooney does in his spare time. Eddie shoulda been doing what he does best. Doctoring. At least have it so the bear needed physical help, instead of the instructional video on bear mating.

Finally.. at the end of the first movie we are left knowing that it doesn't take riches to get places in one's life. Great moral feeling here. The bad guys were rich. So guess what... The second movie Dr. Dolittle is now a rather rich doctor. Lives in a mansion with a push button gate.

This movie doesn't even try to be a family movie. It's doesn't try anything. It takes the old lets do an environmental movie to save face trick.

PS: We really needed to rely on the fact that Charisse has bigger (ahem) than Britney Spears. Which reminds me. they cared more about bringing the old actors in for continuity. But I think they forgot this movie is about animals first and foremost and totally forgot about the first movie. If the first movie didn't exist maybe I'd like this more, but it does and so I really don't like this movie all that much

4/10 Quality: 5/10 Entertainment: 4/10 Replayable: 5/10

Pure fun!Eddie Murphy wins everyone over.

[jessie-39 · 9/10 · 23 June 2001]

If you love eddie murphy, you will love this movie. Take it for what it is a very funny silly comedy. We laughed and laughed at the adult humor and the pure fun of it. To hell with the critics. If you want a good time for your money, go and see it. It is very very funny.

Yes, it's better than the first, because Eddie Murphy has a bigger and more active role in the plot. *** (out of four).

[Movie-12 · 7/10 · 9 July 2001]

DR. DOLITTLE 2 / (2001) *** (out of four)

I am often cautious when I walk into a theater to screen a sequel, but even more so when it's the sequel to a family comedy. Family comedies are so lazy these days. Many filmmakers seem to think their target audience isn't analytical, therefore, they do not take the proper precautions. The 1998 hit "Doctor Dolittle" wasn't a great movie, but it was entertaining and amusing. Steve Carr's "Doctor Dolittle 2" is even better. The film works because it doesn't waste time explaining what we already know. It relies on the first film for the character development and circumstances, and also creates a story that stands on its own. The plot drifts a little here and there, but it's new material, not a duplication of "Doctor Dolittle." This is the kind of movie that revives this struggling genre.

Eddie Murphy takes center stage again as Dr. John Dolittle, but he has a more important role in this film. In the original, he was upstaged by the talking animals; he simply reacted to their various crude and witty comments. Here, he's the main focus of the plot, thus, the film provides us with a stronger central character. I like the way the movie gives Dolittle dimension by incorporating his family into the story. We learn more about his wife (Kristen Wilson), and his lovely daughter Charisse (Raven-Symone), who learns of a new ability and forms a love interest with a young man. Some of these family aspects work well, and others fall flat. Charisse's relationship with her father is involving, but the subplot dealing with her boyfriend does not pay off.

John Dolittle is a world-famous veterinarian who can talk with animals. The premise involves Dolittle's attempts to save a forest that is about to be leveled by a powerful forester (Jeffrey Jones). A slick attorney (Kevin Pollak) represents our enemy, while Dolittle recruits his lawyer wife to defend his case in court. Dolittle's only true argument depends on a protected species of bear. Unfortunately, there's only a single female bear who cannot reproduce by herself, so why save her habitat? But wait! There's a circus performer male bear of the same species. Dolittle rushes to persuade the animal to come to the wild and mate with the female bear, but will he want to leave his circus home?

"Doctor Dolittle 2" is not an extremely funny movie; its more amusing than hilarious. A lot of the film's humor comes off as surprisingly dual and annoying. Such humor evolves from a lizard's inability to blend with his environment, a canine's attempts to pick up a wolf, convincing the two bears to mate, and a monkey's drinking problems. These jokes lack the sharp impulse, the zest, the perfect timing, and the wit we encountered in the first film. Until the creative, prosperous final act, "Doctor Dolittle 2" invokes very few laughs.

Eddie Murphy supplies his character with the perfect amount of wit and energy. He is the funniest thing in the movie. The filmmakers decided to tone down some of the crude humor and sexual entendres to warrant the movie family-orientated PG rating. Murphy still takes advantage of the mildly risqué material present, however, as he makes the film more viewable and entertaining. The filmmakers learned from the first film, where Murphy was too passive and reactive. Here, they put him on screen whenever possible, and that's why "Doctor Dolittle 2" is better than the original.

Loved the first film, but this movie is like a vacuum (it sucks)

[Fallen_angel_kizmet · 1/10 · 17 August 2009]

I mean it wasn't that horrible, but it was pretty bad. I didn't care for the plot. Actually it was pretty funny--this and Nutty Professor are both remakes, both star Eddie Murphy, and both were funny. But more to it, both had pretty mediocre sequels, and both sequels had a very sexually driven plot. But that's not why I hate this movie. There's way too much pop culture, the jokes weren't really funny, and I just couldn't believe how annoying everything about it was. I really wish I could be more in depth, but sorry, I just don't care about this film. It's more like a repressed memory now, and I only commented here because I was trying to find out what the Spanish Orangutan in the first movie was saying. The original Dr Dolittle with the white guy in it was OK, the first Dr Dolittle with Eddie Murphy was hilarious and a very underrated film, but this movie sucks.

Worst movie since "The Brothers"

[dmc3de · 1/10 · 23 June 2001]

Last time I ever walked out of movie disgusted and ashamed of being an American was after watching "Freddy Got Fingered", but at least that movie was trying to be a bottom of the barrel movie. First off, I don't know about you all, but I'm tired of seeing this tired format of "Girl growing up crap". Going out on a date on your birthday. Oh but honey we always have dinner together on your birthday. Puuuleeease. Maybe the rest of the movie became better afterwards, but I'm sorry, not even a "Schindler's List" plot could make up for the rest of the movie. This is one of those type of movies you watch, and when you leave you get pissed at the movie theater employees, even though they relatively had nothing to do with why you're mad. Trust me, save your money and rent a movie.

It Needs More Than a Doctor.

[anaconda-40658 · 2/10 · 9 July 2015]

Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001): Dir: Steve Carr / Cast: Eddie Murphy, Jeffrey Jones, Kevin Pollack, Kyla Pratt, Raven-Symone: Picking up where the first film left off, Dolittle is now a famous doctor who can communicate with animals. He arrives home to discover that his oldest daughter doesn't wish to celebrate her birthday. He promises his family a trip to Europe but ends up answering a call to a forest where a beaver frets about it being cut down. To save it there must be an endangered species and Archie the circus bear is just that. Dolittle must make chemistry between Archie and a female bear but there are those whom are out to sabotage the event. Perhaps they should have sabotaged the entire film. Idiotic conclusion has all the animals banding together against the villains. Director Steve Carr fares okay but creates a film only marginally better than Next Friday. For a film aimed at families one must wonder why all the crude humour. Eddie Murphy does what he can with what amounts to a re-take. Supporting roles certainly don't rise above conventions. It features Jeffrey Jones, Kevin Pollack and Kyla Pratt among others and none of them had anything worth showing up on set for. Murphy even learns that one of his daughters has the gift for gab with animals and she seems more uncomfortable with that than the fact that the film she is in sucks. Fine production given to a screenplay that is in bad need of a doctor. Score: 2 / 10

Kid Movie

[Quinoa1984 · 4/10 · 1 July 2001]

Dr. Dolitle has Murphy back as the doctor who can talk to animals once again comes back, this time he has to help a bear become a, uh, man of a bear in order to save a forest. While the first one had as many fart and poop jokes as this one, it didn't have it's vivacity and it's effect to be funny to both kids and adults. This time, it's strictly for kids and it is below par for Murphy; if you want to see him in an exceptional comedy see Shrek again. Various stars give voices which keep this movie afloat including Steve Zahn, Lisa Kudrow, Isaac Hayes, Kevin Pollack, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Dick and above all, Norm MacDonald. C+

Something of a Bear

[EmperorNortonII · 7/10 · 31 May 2002]

Long ago, I enjoyed the original "Dr. Dolittle," with Rex Harrison. Eddie Murphy made a remake some years ago, and his version wasn't so bad. Although his version was set in more modern times. For some reason, I can't see Dr. Dolittle outside of the Victorian Era. Yet, Eddie's new take on the man who can talk to animals spawned a sequel. I found Part 2 a bit better than Part 1. The funniest lines come from the animals. But still, this movie wasn't perfect. I think maybe the producers of the movie tried a little too hard, giving it an environmental theme. Eddie Murphy has been an enjoyable comic, but I think he deserved better than this. He doesn't need to be upstaged by flatulent and neurotic animals.

Doctor Dolittle 2

[jboothmillard · 4/10 · 22 December 2010]

The first film which followed after the leading actor's success in The Nutty Professor, with his fast trash talking attitude, was pretty funny, and there was this sequel, from director Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care, Are We Done Yet?). Basically Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) has now become renowned for his gift to talk to animals, in fact there isn't a day when they don't come to him for help, which annoys his wife Lisa (Kristen Wilson), and he tries to keep an eye on his daughters Charisse (Raven-Symoné) and Maya (Kyla Pratt). John does find out that Charisse plans to spend her sixteenth birthday with her date Eric Wilson (Lil' Zane), so he insists she brings him home to celebrate properly, but of course an animal informs him he is needed by the God Beaver (Richard C. Sarafian). He is told that the forest he and numerous other animals are living in is slowly being torn down by wood cutters, and the only way to save the few thousand acres left is to convince the authorities there is an endangered species living there. So John comes up with the idea to save the forest by reintroducing a trained bumbling circus brown bear named Archie (Tank the Bear, voiced by Steve Zahn) into the wild, to mate with a wild female Pacific Western bear. So Archie is taken to the forest and it is clear quite quickly that he isn't used to the environment he hasn't been in since birth, so the Doctor has to teach him a few things first. Then they spot female bear Ava (Lisa Kudrow), who he is smitten with but is failing to gain her interest or attention in having a relationship. With a little help from the other animals in the forest they teach Archie to have confidence and be romantic, and ultimately become the brown bear he should be. Meanwhile in his own life, John tries to make peace and eldest daughter without the talking to animals thing getting in the way, while also trying to stop mean Joe Potter (Jeffrey Jones) taking down the forest. Archie does manage to sway Ava by retrieving a seemingly impossible to get bees nest full of honey, but John might be too late to convince the authorities they are actually going to mate. So to stop the forest destruction once and for all, thousands of animals around the world are seen going on strike, so dogs won't go walking, race horses don't run, killer whales won't perform, birds poop all over Potter and his colleague, and much more besides. In the end, John and the animals do save the forest outside of San Francisco from destruction, and Archie and Aav did indeed mate to have three cubs together. Also starring Kevin Pollak as Jack Riley and the Alligator, Norm MacDonald as Lucky the Dog, Jacob Vargas as Pepito the Chameleon, South Park's Isaac Hayes as Possum, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's James Avery as Eldon, Steve Irwin - The Crocodile Hunter, Andy Dick as Lennie the Weasel, David Cross as Dog, Futurama's John Di Maggio as Seeing Eye Dog, Wassup Fish and Mouse, Resident Evil: Apocalypse's Mike Epps as Sonny the Bear, Jamie Kennedy as Bandit, Cedric the Entertainer as Zoo Bear #1, A Walk to Remember's Mandy Moore as Girl Bear Cub, Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz as Boy Bear Cub and Arnold Schwarzenegger archive as White Wolf. Murphy is still reasonable as the agitated, Zahn and the help of the special effects make Archie the Bear a lovable character, and some of the other animals are cute to look at and listen to also, some of the story is I guess could have been bettered, but it's such a bad family fantasy comedy. Okay!

I thoroughly enjoy this installment, but because of the bears and their dialog, and not at all because of Murphy.

[FiendishDramaturgy · 6/10 · 22 February 2009]

This is at least AS good as the original, but I have to say I like it more. The bear (Bart) is a delight, and upstages Murphy to a totally unintentional and therefore hilarious latitude. Actually, this installment is a tad smarter than the original flick, in that it gives the girls a little more screen time, and that's a good thing, but they spend the majority of that screen time on the WRONG sister, in my opinion, since Kyla Pratt is the sister who will carry on the series.

I enjoyed this story far better and could therefore more easily ignore Murphy by virtue of the children actors and the trained animals. I thoroughly enjoy this installment, but mainly because of the bears and their dialog, and not at all because of Murphy.

It rates a 7.8/10 on the Family Movie Scale.

It rates a 6.2/10 on the Movie Scale from...

the Fiend :.

not funny...completely not funny

[alexpeychev · 3/10 · 17 February 2023]

When one considers Hollywood stars whose careers have gone down the tubes, Eddie Murphy is one of the first names that pops to mind. Dr Dolittle 2 is a sequel to Dr Dolittle which is a film very loosely based on the Rex Harrison musical (only in the whole "talking to animals" aspect, there is nothing else that is in any way even remotely similar). Recently, Murphy made another "unfunny sequel to an unfunny remake" with Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps. Eddie Murphy simply isn't funny any more. It's a shame since I loved Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places, and Coming to America. But since the 80s, Murphy has offered only bad B movie comedies that will go down with such stinkers as Police Academy 4.

About as basic as a movie can get.

[thehardyboyz2043 · 11 July 2001]

'98's film "Doctor Dolittle" was no great feat but it did manage to create some pretty entertaining moments. So with that in mind I had mild hopes that the sequel would be just as funny. Well it wasn't, it did have a few funny jokes but for the most part this film just plods along, without even trying to be like an actual film. In fact, if it wasn't for the massive use of special effects, this movie could have passed for being direct to video or even a made for cable film.

Eddie Murphy does an okay job as the doctor who can talk to animals and Norm MacDonald is passable as Lucky, the family dog. There are a few other side characters, including an entertaining beaver whose seems very much like a mob boss, but not a violent one. It just isn't a very good movie. The bottom line is it's as basic as a family film can get. * out of 4 stars.

Very hilarious and fresh movie

[Catherine_Grace_Zeh · 9/10 · 17 November 2005]

The day I first saw this, I was with a friend of mine, and in my opinion, DR. DOLITTLE 2 is a very hilarious and fresh movie. One of the quotes that made me laugh the most was, "Bring me a bone!" Another was, "And flies! Supersize!" Oh, man! Those quotes were really funny! Another funny part was when Lucky (Norm Macdonald) made John (Eddie Murphy) beg when he came back to the house to get his keys when he forgot them. There were lots of other parts that made me laugh, too. In conclusion, if you liked DOCTOR DOLITTLE or are a fan of Eddie Murphy, I highly recommend this film! You're in for a lot of laughs, or your money back.

Doctor....wow, this movie is ALL about mating.....

[Kamurai25 · 6/10 · 26 June 2020]

Good watch, if weird, might watch again, and can recommend, if you like movies with animals.

It is really weird to have a Disney movie be all about sexing. I'm very sex positive, and I think we should have more open discussions about it in mixed-age crowds....but this makes a lot of jokes at its expense and sends that mixed message about sometimes sex is a good thing, but not when it comes to our daughters, so its really weird to start this review like this.

If we get over that hill, this sequel takes a rather natural angle of nature versus industrial development with a really positive message about preserving what we can of nature, and what some of the real hurdles are on both the preservation side and the development side.

While he has his moments, Steve Zahn's voice is not a moment I would pick and extend over the length of a movie, nor would I have picked Lisa Kudrow, but she actually performed very well, her portrayal fit Eva very well. I'm honestly not sure I can pick out any new animal voices I actually liked in this one, but the writing definitely got more complex.

While there is a lot of symbolism of what a man (/bear) is, there is actually a lot balancing between Dolittle's relationships amongst the animals, Archie, his wife, his daughter(s), and his business. The writing while not as entertaining, personally, as the first movie definitely had growth and an intricate structure, but I think the subject matter hampered it a bit.

Unfortunately, the story closes up a bit, and the only natural evolution of the story is what they ended up doing for the 3rd movie. I won't spoil anything here though.

Eddie, Eddie, what were you thinking?

[steveleavitt · 3/10 · 21 July 2001]

Well, the first one did work pretty good, didn't it? This outing of base instinct "cuteness" just did not seem to get rolling. Kids and animals are always pleasant, but there has to be a reason to root/hate for at least someone. I did not find myself in love or angry at any of the characters, or even the situations in DR2. Even EM did not seem to have his heart in this one. At least it is not an offensive movie and does provide a few laughs. But Pleeeease....no more! SteveL99