FILM REVIEW ; DOLITTLE (2020)

Today I happen to not work. I just stayed at home while watching television. I thought maybe if I reviewed a film, it would be fun than I just watched television without doing activities. And today I will try to review a film titled: DOLITTLE.

Dolittle film has just been released in Indonesian Cinema on Wednesday (1/15/2020). This film tells a veterinarian who has the ability to understand animal language and is able to communicate with animals. And this film is a reboot of Dr. Dolittle (1998).

Dolittle is a character that has been known for a long time. The story idea in this film is taken from a book called The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting. And this film is the work of director Stephen Gaghan.

In the storyline of this film, the film opens with a touch of animation that tells the background of a doctor who can talk to animals, namely Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.).
Since losing his wife, Lily (Kasia Smutniak), John was devastated to the point of frustration because he chose to isolate himself behind the high wall of his residence called Dolittle Manor. It was only accompanied by pets, which he had cared for. Until a teenager named Stubbins (Harry Collett) arrives, carrying a squirrel he accidentally shoots for treatment. At the same time, Lady Rose (Carmel Laniado) is looking for Dolittle to announce that the queen (Jessie Buckley) is seriously ill. in an exciting epic adventure to the mythical island. Reportedly, only on this island is the antidote to the queen's disease. Not alone, Dolittle departs accompanied by his new student, Stubbins (Harry Collett) and loyal "friends". Various kinds of challenges faced by Dolitte and his troops to get the antidote, passed through cooperation and cohesiveness. These animals are not only friends, but often their advisors.

When talking about Character, In this film the animals have different characters, for example gorilla (Chee-Chee) who is always anxious, ducks (Dab-Dab) who are always excited, ostrich (Plimpton) is cynical, polar bears (Yoshi ) who are optimistic, and a stubborn and assertive parrot (Polynesia).

As an antagonistic character, there is Dr. Blair Müdfly (Michael Sheen) who is Dolittle's mortal enemy at the university and Queen Victoria's palace physician, Lord Badgley (Jim Broadbent) who is one of the royal nobles, and the leader of the hijackers Rassouli (Antonio banderas)
Some antagonistic characters are also told to have pets like Barry the fierce tiger of Rassouli.
Some other animal characters who also enlivened the film include Marion Cotillard as Tutu, a cunning and brave fox; Tom Holland as Jeep, a smart and loyal long haired dog, Selena Gomez as Betsy the giraffe, Craig Robinson (Dolemite Is My Name) as Kevin, a wounded squirrel, Frances De La Tour (Alice in Wonderland) as an ancient dragon, and Jason Mantzoukas (Big Mouth Netflix) as James the dragonfly.
this film requires many skilled hands of visual effects experts. Transforming accent from speech to facial expressions taken from artists, transformed into visuals of an animal.

Difficulties instead come from Downey, who is seen once having a dialogue on relying on lip-sync. Yes, it seems like Dr. Dolittle is very british, making the director finally decided to double work presenting the dialogue scene for Downey.

Fortunately, humor between animal behavior managed to distract the audience's attention to observe Downey's lip movements. Although humor is thrown, it feels more for millennial audiences.

In addition to character building, background visualization from the mainland landscape to the magnificent castles to the ocean along with the property of the Dolittle sailing ship also deserves two thumbs up.

Scoring the film is indeed not the most special compared to some colossal Sci-Fi films. But it seems that it was deliberate so that the film is more relaxed and can be enjoyed by all ages.
This film visualizes the figure and life of Dr. Dolittle is far more detailed than the two (2) previous films played by Rex Harrison and Eddie Murphy.

There is always cuteness that can make the audience laugh out loud. Even several times the audience was stunned by the actions of the tense but presented with the ridiculous behavior of the animals.

Yes, even though the ending is easy to guess, - the story line presented is suitable to be the target of pleasure with the family, especially children who love the animal kingdom.

Beyond some shortcomings including lip-sync mr. Downey, this film is a family film that I highly recommend.

Critic: AAA