The 2020 film Dolittle has received its fair share of negative reviews and box office losses. For me, the film was disappointing but still enjoyable.

The movie follows Dr. Dolittle as he tries to find a magical fruit to save the dying queen’s life. He’s accompanied by a group of animals he can talk to and a boy named Tommy who wants to become his apprentice.

The disappointment started with Dr. Dolittle. After watching Robert Downey Jr. play Tony Stark for years, this role seemed almost beneath him. He feels almost goofy and I couldn’t take him or his accent seriously for the majority of the movie.

It’s important to keep in mind that this is a kids movie. I’m sure if I was younger I would have been thrilled by the character, but being a teen some of his more childish jokes didn’t land and parts of his adventure felt boring.

That being said, there were some moments I really enjoyed. One was a scene where, to speed up his ship, Doctor Dolittle uses a harness to have a whale to pull it forward. It was a really unique visual and an idea that fit well with the story.

That theme of helping those around you comes up throughout the movie. The film emphasizes the importance of understanding and helping others instead of fighting them, of trying to make peace and reach out instead of resorting to violence. 

This theme is most explicit in Tommy’s character. Raised in a family of hunters, he doesn’t want to hurt any animals and chooses to follow Dr. Dolittle. He was one of my favorite characters with his connection to the animals and mission to learn from Dolittle.

Most of the animals fell short for me. Many only have one gimik that gets old after the first laugh. One’s scared, one always fights with the other, they feel like only put there to show off CGI effects instead of push the story forward.

Once again though, this menagerie of animals must have been exciting for kids. There’s an insect Dolittle leaves to “bug” a room, a suspicious octopus and even a dragon.  Once I stopped searching for something more complex and just relaxed, I found some of these characters interesting and funny.

I’d say whether or not you like this movie really depends on your expectations. If you’re expecting a Tony Stark level lead and a complex plot, you’re simply not going to find it here. What you will find is a movie for kids with the plot and characters to match that does have a good message.