This Friday, January 17th, Robert Downey Jr. looks to shed his iconic image as Tony Stark/Iron Man and embark on a new adventure via Dolittle, a fresh retelling of the classic children’s story, Doctor Dolittle. How many of you have already gotten tickets?
The PG-rated family film boasts the high-concept of what it would be like if a doctor discovered he can communicate with animals, which seems a perfect vehicle for Downey Jr. to showcase his trademark sense of humor. To get you all ready for the movie’s release this weekend, here are 10 things we know so far about Dolittle!
No More 20th Century Fox
For the first time in the history of the property, Dolittle will not be brought to the masses by 20th Century Fox. Times they are a-changing, hey?
The original 1967 Dr. Dolittle film was distributed by Fox, as were the Eddie Murphy movies in the late 90s and early 2000s. But when the rights lapsed and went up for auction, Fox was just one of several studios to bid for the property. Sony also put in a bid, but in the end, the title went to Universal.
Universal’s Fourth CG/Live-Action Film
Speaking of Universal, we now know that Dolittle will be the fourth feature film from the studio to blend live-action with CGI. Can you guess what the others are?
Okay, let’s end the suspense. Dolittle joins Casper, The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Hop as the only live-action/CGI crossbreeds produced by Universal. If you do the math, Universal averages about one of these hybrids every six-year or so, which should indicate how expensive and time-consuming they are to produce.
Budget
While we’re on the subject of expenses, we know that Dolittle costs a whopping $175 million to complete. That’s a whole lot of chicken to recoup!
In relation to said budget, we also know that the film has already accumulated roughly $8.3 million globally. That’s a good start for a movie yet to be released in North America, but still, there’s a long way to go to earn back its initial investment and prove the movie is enough of a commercially viable hit to warrant a sequel. The film is expected to earn $20-22 million in North America.
Fifth Collaboration Between Downey Jr. & Tom Holland
While you can probably guess the mega-blockbusters they’ve shared the screen in, we now know Dolittle will mark the fifth time Robert Downey Jr. has starred alongside Tom Holland. This just in, Stark and Parker strike again!
Indeed, the four prior collaborations between Downey Jr. and Holland come via the MCU. Can you name them off the top of your head? Yup, they appeared together in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: End Game. How many more do you think they’ll costar in moving forward?
Original Title
While the brevity of Dolittle benefits cinema marquees, it’s by far the shortest title of the franchise to date. But did you know what the original title of the movie was?
Up until August of 2019, the movie was titled The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle. While no specific reason was given for the abbreviation, we suspect the title change had much to do with the extensive reshoots done a few months prior to the altered title.
Randy Newman Involvement
While the great Danny Elfman is credited as the composer on Dolittle, have you any guess who was originally sought to score the film? Here’s a hint: “You’ve got a friend in me!”
Correct! Randy Newman was the first choice to score Dolittle. The reason being is that Newman’s uncle, Lionel Newman, worked as a conductor and uncredited music adapter on the original 1967 Doctor Dolittle. It’s a cool connection that would have added an extra layer to the remake. However, Newman was busy scoring Toy Story 4 and Marriage Story.
Synopsis
While IMDb boasts a vague logline describing Dolittle as a man who suddenly learns he can talk to animals, we’ve gathered a bit more intel on the plot of the film two days before its release.
The film will pick up seven years after Dolittle’s wife has died. He has since become a reclusive shut-in, interfacing only with his stable of animals. However, when Queen Victoria becomes sick, Dolittle sets sail to the island of Sumatra to procure Eden fruit, which may hold the cure for the Queen’s illness.
Director Stephen Gaghan
Another thing we know about Dolittle is that its director, Stephen Gaghan, has never made a PG family film before. On the contrary, Gaghan is known for such gritty R-rated dramas as Syriana and Gold. That said, Gaghan actually opted to make Dolittle instead of doing what he’s known for.
Indeed, Gaghan turned down the chance to direct the gritty sci-fi/horror/action film The Division, which has since been helmed by David Leitch. This would seem like a good idea, except…
Original Release Date
Dolittle was originally slated to be released theatrically on May 24, 2019. However, Universal was terrified of competing with Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, so they moved the release up to April 12, 2019. For reasons that we’ll delve into next, the movie was ultimately pushed back to a January 17, 2020 release.
We know this does not bode well for the quality of Dolittle. January is often referred to as “dumping month,” a designation for when studios release their most inferior products at a time of low theater turnout.
Reshoots
We now know the decision by Universal to delay Dolittle’s release was due to lengthy reshoots necessitated by a poor audience preview screening. Never a good sign!
In April of 2019, it was reported that 21 days of reshoots were needed on Dolittle following bad test screenings. This obviously shook the confidence of Universal, which was unhappy with the way the final product was shaping up. Several scenes were written on the spot, likely making for an uneven finished film. If it weren’t for the reshoots, the movie probably would have come out nine months ago!
