Dr. Dolittle 3

Rich Thorne started his review by saying, “While I did say that I wasn’t going to bother watching this after having seen the lacklustre Dr. Dolittle 2, I ended up watching it recently anyway. You know what? It was better than I expected. Which perhaps isn’t saying a lot.”

Maya Dolittle, reprised by Kyla Pratt, has her father’s gift of speaking with animals, but she just wants to be a normal teenager and not some outcast who can talk to animals. Her mother, reprised by Kristen Wilson, decides to send her to Durango, a summer camp on a farm, where she can fully accept her gift – and to also have a fresh start.

Maya says her name is Maya Dolores Haines and acts like she can’t talk to animals. Her dog Lucky, voiced by Norm MacDonald, comes with her.

Durango is a farm which is struggling, and owner Jud Jones, played by James Evans from the classic sitcom “Good Times,” John Amos, might have to sell it to a nearby farm that is much better. This would be sad because Durango isn’t as bad as Maya thinks at first. On top of that, Jud’s son Bo, played by Walker Howard, is the most handsome cowboy that Maya has ever seen.

The supporting cast includes Luciana Carro as Brooklyn, Tommy Snider as Clayton, and Calum Worthy as Tyler.

Thorne noted, “Okay, let’s be honest. Even though I said it was better than expected, that isn’t to say it’s an outstanding film in any way. It’s a cliché-ridden, bog-standard teen film that went straight to video. But because I didn’t expect anything of it, let alone quality, I still found it reasonably enjoyable to watch.”

Eddie Murphy is nowhere in this film, even though he was the main character in the last two films. Thorne said, “This is actually a good thing. I don’t really have an opinion of the guy either way, but shifting focus to his daughter means the film can shift target audience a bit as well. You don’t have to try including adults in it, and that’s an improvement. Besides, cute talking animals!”

Brooklyn is there to be the villain for Maya and obviously they immediately don’t get along. Thorne noted, “Clayton is there to be the Fat Slob who keeps eating all the time (yay for reinforcing negative stereotypes) and provide occasional comic relief, as is weedy ginger Tyler. It’s simple, but it’s not meant to be anything else.” Obviously Bo is handsome and there will be challenges to face so that it’s a happy ending, like you’d predict.

“Dr. Dolittle 3,” released in 2006, is the type of film that you would watch on there’s nothing else to do and you’re bored because it passes the time.

I didn’t mind this film at all, even though it was direct-to-video. If you liked the other films, you should see this one and give it a chance. I thought it was enjoyable for what it was and thought that nothing was wrong with it. However, if you end up not liking it, I completely understand.

Look out next week when I look at the next installment in “Dr. Dolittle Month.”