Dr. Dolittle 2 (also known as Doctor Dolittle 2) is is a 2001 American comedy film and a sequel to the 1998 film Dr. Dolittle. The film again stars Eddie Murphy in the title role of a doctor who can talk to animals, as well as Raven-Symoné as his daughter. It was written by Larry Levin, one of the co-writers of Dr. Dolittle (Hugh Lofting, the author of the original Doctor Dolittle novels, is also credited as a writer), and directed by Steve Carr.
In the film, Dr. Dolittle tries to help the animals protect their forest from unscrupulous human developers. He decides to populate the forest with a species of animal that the law protects, and enlists the help of Ava (voiced by Lisa Kudrow), a lone Pacific western bear living in the condemned forest. To provide her with a mate, Dolittle turns to Archie (voiced by Steve Zahn), a wise-cracking circus-performing bear.
This is the last Dr. Dolittle film to feature Eddie Murphy in the lead role, before Kyla Pratt became the lead role in future films, starting with Dr. Dolittle 3 in 2006. It is also the last Dr. Dolittle film to feature Raven-Symoné as Charisse Dolitte.
Plot
A few years after the events of the first film, Dr. John Dolittle's (Eddie Murphy) work as a veterinarian who can talk to animals has made him famous, and he often takes trips around the world to perform his skills. One night, John comes home from France and gives his wife a present from Paris. He also gives his daughter, Maya (Kyla Pratt), a chameleon named Pepito (voice of Jacob Vargas). Also, Charisse's (Raven-Symoné) sixteenth birthday is coming today, but she is also not doing well in her classes. As a punishment, John takes her phone away. Later on, Charisse's boyfriend, Eric (Lil Zane), comes over and decides to join the family at the birthday party. During all this, a possum (voice of Isaac Hayes) and a raccoon, Joey (voice of Michael Rapaport), approach John and tell him that their boss, the God beaver, wants to see him. The next day, John meets the God beaver (voice of Richard C. Sarafian), who shows him that the forest is being cut down. John plans to save the forest by getting an endangered female Pacific western bear together with a male to save their species.
At a circus, John attempts to get Archie (voice of Steve Zahn), the surviving male member in his species, to go out into the forest to teach him to become a real bear. Reluctantly, he agrees but John knows that Archie doesn't know what kind of bear he is and never acts as a real animal. Then, after taking his family on a vacation to the forest for the rest of the month, John makes a deal with a female bear named Ava (voice of Lisa Kudrow) to not make any decisions for the month and promises to turn Archie into someone she will love, despite the fact that she is involved with another male bear named Sonny (voice of Mike Epps).
While he unsuccessfully trains Archie, John hires the local forest creatures to make an attempt to stop Charisse and Eric from making out. But during the training, he ignores his wife, Lisa (Kristen Wilson) for the next few days. Then, John tells Archie that he will find a way to win Ava's heart. John attempts to win Lisa over by dancing in their cabin, with every animal in the forest watching as John dances with Lisa, and as the two attempt to embrace, Lucky the dog (voice of Norm Macdonald) accidentally blows it. Archie attempts to get Ava's attention by singing her a song while imitating John in a smooth voice and on a tree branch, but blows his attempt when he is too heavy for the branch to hold and he falls down.
Archie refuses to come out of his new-found cave because of humiliating himself in front of Ava. Archie proclaims that it was hard but John knows how hard it is when his wife grows mad at him. Frustrated with John's insults, Archie hits John, making him fall on a muddy hole, and he begins to listen to his "inner bear". Later on, Archie spends the rest of the day with Ava, whose relationship with Sonny isn't doing very well. Meanwhile, Lucky attempts to win the affection of an attractive female wolf (throughout the film, Lucky attempts to get her attention two times but both are unsuccessful). This attempt was successful as Lucky urinates around her territory and she is about to go out with him but one of her packmates came and finds Lucky urinating part of the pack's territory and they leave, much to Lucky's dismay. At the same time, Ava is forced to leave Archie by Sonny.
Afterwards, Mr. Potter (Jeffrey Jones), the owner of two logging companies, attempts to make a deal with John, and when Archie arrives, he tells John he has his "big finish", knowing that he will win Ava about John telling him to listen to his "inner bear". Back at the cabin, Charisse is beginning to hate living in the forest and is annoyed with her family talking to the animals, though John doesn't know what is bothering her. Meanwhile, Archie goes after a bee hive on a fallen tree at the edge of a tall hill, and despite commands from John and attacking bees to stop what he is doing before he falls off the hill, Archie manages to get the hive, finally winning Ava's heart and the respect of all the other forest animals.
In a game of hide and seek with Ava (who dumps Sonny), Archie is shot by a tranquilizer dart fired by Mr. Potter's apprentice. John later learns that Archie had somewhat destroyed the back of a restaurant in the woods. After getting information from a weasel (voice of Andy Dick) of what happened, John visits Archie in a jail and tells the bear that he may be too dangerous to be set free and is going to be sold to a Mexican circus, thus costing John his chances of saving the forest. Then, John realizes that Charisse has developed her father's gift of talking to animals, though it has been in her for two weeks now, which reignites John's determination to save the forest. Later, John holds a meeting for every animal in the forest to not give up without a fight, and everyone agrees to do it in order to free Archie. The animals, led by Charisse, Eric, and Maya, rebel against the loggers. When word of Archie wanting to be free is spread, every animal around the world goes on strikes.
Mr. Potter and his apprentice are then attacked by some of the animals at the company, such as a swarm of rats, a fleet of pigeons, a pack of wolves, and Mr. Potter's apprentice is then attacked by the swarm of bees outside the building, while Mr. Potter is cornered by Ava and Joey, thus forcing Mr. Potter to start more negotiations with John and the animals. When the animals refuse Mr. Potter's new deal to have twelve acres in their home, the strike keeps growing with racing horses not running and Shamu not performing. Finally, a deal is made, which the Dolittles and the animals accept, thus freeing Archie from jail and saving the entire forest outside of San Francisco.
At the end, John and Charisse become closer, both talking with and helping animals together, while Archie and Ava mate and have two cubs (voices of Frankie Muniz and Mandy Moore) (a boy and a girl).
Cast
- Eddie Murphy as Dr. John Dolittle
- Kristen Wilson as Lisa Dolittle
- Raven-Symoné as Charisse Dolittle
- Kyla Pratt as Maya Dolittle
- Lil Zane as Eric (Charisse's Boyfriend)
- Jeffrey Jones as Joe Potter
- James Avery as Eldon
- Elayn J. Taylor as Eldon's Wife
- Andy Richter as Eugene Wilson
- Kevin Pollak as Riley
- Mark Griffin as Logger/Nature Show Narrator
- Ken Hudson Campbell as Animal Control Officer
- Victor Raider-Wexler as Judge B. Duff
- Lawrence Pressman as Governor of California (uncredited)
- Lisa Marie Hugueley as Shamu Trainer
- Steve Irwin as The Crocodile Hunter
- Anne Stedman as Woman
- Googy Gress as Bear Announcer
- Denise Dowse as Secretary
Voice cast
- Steve Zahn as Archie
- Norm Macdonald as Lucky (uncredited)
- Lisa Kudrow as Ava
- Jacob Vargas as Pepito
- Michael Rapaport as Joey
- Isaac Hayes as Possum
- Andy Dick as Lennie
- Kevin Pollak as Alligator
- Joey Lauren Adams as Squirrel
- Maria Arcé as Fish
- Melique Berger as Fish
- Ken Hudson Campbell as Dog, Animal Groupie #3 and Forest Animal
- David Cross as Dog and Animal Groupie #2
- David DeLuise as School Fish #2
- Trevor Denman as Horse Race Announcer
- John DiMaggio as Seeing Eye Dog, Wassup Fish and Mouse
- Georgia Engel as Giraffe
- Mike Epps as Sonny
- Jamie Kennedy as Bandit, Forest Animal and Animal Groupie #1
- Tom Kenny as Male Tortoise
- Clyde Kusatsu as Bee
- Cedric the Entertainer as Zoo Bear #1
- David L. Lander as Bird
- Michael McKean as Bird
- Tara Mercurio as Deer
- Mandy Moore as Girl Bear Cub
- Frankie Muniz as Boy Bear Cub
- Bob Odenkirk as Animal Groupie #4, Forest Animal and Dog
- Phil Proctor as Drunk Monkey
- Reni Santoni as Rat #1
- John Leguizamo as Rat #2 (uncredited)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger as White Wolf (uncredited)
- Richard C. Sarafian as God Beaver
- Hal Sparks as School Fish #1
- Renée Taylor as Female Tortoise
- John Witherspoon as Zoo Bear #2
- Keone Young as Bee
Reception
Like the original film, Dr Dolittle 2 received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a critic score of 43%.[3]
Release
Home media
Dr. Dolittle 2 was released on VHS and DVD on October 23, 2001 and generated 7.32 million dollars in its first week in stores.
Box office
On its opening weekend, the film grossed $25,037,039 from 3,049 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #2 at the box office, behind The Fast and the Furious. Like the first film, it was the best debut for a Fox film that week. By the end of its run, Dr. Dolittle 2 had grossed $112,952,899 domestically and $63,151,445 internationally, totaling $176,104,344 worldwide.[1]
Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on June 5, 2001 by J Records. It peaked at 76 on the Billboard 200, 26 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and 10 on the Top Soundtracks. Five singles were spawned from the album, "Do U Wanna Roll (Dolittle Theme)", "Cluck Cluck", "Absolutely Not", "We Fit Together" and "Life Is Good". Allmusic rated this soundtrack four stars out of five.[4]
Information taken from Dr. Dolittle 2: Original Soundtrack liner notes:[5
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cluck Cluck" (Product G&B withWyclef Jean) | Wyclef Jean, Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis, David McRae, Marvin L. Moore-Hough | Wyclef Jean and Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis | 3:59 |
| 2. | Do U Wanna Roll (Dolittle Theme)" (R.L., Snoop Dogg and Lil' Kim) | Kevin Gilliam, R.L. Huggar, Calvin Broadus, Kimberly Jones, R. Troutman, L. Troutman | Battlecat for B.C. Pow-Da, Inc./Future Sound Entertainment | 4:33 |
| 3. | "Tameeka" (Fabolous with Mario) | Steve Estiverne, Jarret Washington, Carlos McKinney | Steve Estiverne | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Absolutely Not" (Deborah Cox) | Eric Johnson, D. Christopher Jennings, Deborah Cox, Ahmad Russel, Tiffany Palmer, Eric Jones, James Glasco | Eric "Donovan East" Johnson and D. Christopher "Dip Q" Jennings for Eristopher Entertainment/Furnace Music | 3:35 |
| 5. | "We Fit Together" (O-Town & Owl City) | Remee, Mich Hansen, Joe Belmaati | Cutfather and Joe | 3:58 |
| 6. | "Two Steps" (Jimmy Cozier) | Carsten Shack, Kenneth Karlin, N. Butler, Harold Lilly, Jimmy Cozier | Soulshock and Karlin for Soulpower Productions | 4:17 |
| 7. | "What It Is (Part II)" (Flipmode Squad featuring Busta Rhymes with Kelis) | T. Smith, P. Williams, C. Hugo, R. Fisher, R. McNair, W. Lewis, L. Jones, R. Meyers, R. Walters | The Neptunes | 4:20 |
| 8. | "Rear View Mirror" (Alicia Keys) | Alicia Keys, LeSean Daniels, Kerry Brothers, Fred Jerkins, Rodney Jerkins, Paul L. Green | Alicia Keys and K. Brothers for MBK Entertainment/KrucialKey Productions | 4:05 |
| 9. | "If I Was the One" (Luther Vandross) | Diane Warren | The Underdogs - Damon Thomas and Harvey Mason, Jr. | 4:21 |
| 10. | "Makin' Me Feel" (Angie Stone) | Raphael Saadiq, Angie Stone, Kelvon Wooten, Gleen Standridge, Robert C. Ozuna | Raphael Saadiq | 4:07 |
| 11. | "Life Is Good" (LFO with M.O.P.) | Rich Cronin, Sheppard, Kenny Gioia | Sheppard and Kenny Gioia for Sheppard Music, Inc. | 4:05 |
| 12. | "Lookin' for Love" (Next with Lil' Zane) | R.L. Huggar, Walter Millsap, Zane Copeland, Jr. | Walter "Little Walt" Millsap III for Conjunction Productions Inc., and R.L. for Uh Oh Productions, Inc. | 3:35 |
| 13. | "If I Knew" (Glenn Medeiros) | Gen Rubin, Giuliano Franco | Gen Rubin and Giuliano Franco | 4:27 |
- Sample credits
- "Do U Wanna Roll (Dolittle Theme)" contains an interpolation of "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)" (R. Troutman, L. Troutman), performed by Zapp
- "What It Is (Part II)" contains replayed elements from "Children's Story" (R. Walters), performed by Slick Rick
- Notes
The song "Life Is Good" did not appear in the film.