Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts

More than a decade prior, Eddie Murphy was the star of “Dr. Dolittle,” the story of a doctor who has the talent to speak with animals. It made nearly $300 million worldwide and, not a surprise, had a sequel that made over $175 million more. As Murphy’s family-friendly comedies are, both films were really entertaining. After “Dr. Dolittle 2” in 2001, the franchise went direct-to-video. Kyla Pratt, who played the youngest daughter in the first two films, became the protagonist. Her character, Maya Dolittle, having the ability to understand animals passed down, continued talking to animals all throughout the three direct-to-video sequels. The last of them, “Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts,” came out in 2009.

The story is about Maya’s decision on whether to go to veterinary school or host a television show about animals. Her mother, reprised by Kristen Wilson, obviously wants her to go to school, but Maya has second thoughts after seeing how many years she will have to attend veterinary school. When a teenage heiress, Tiffany, played by Tegan Moss, asks for Maya’s animal talking ability to help her with her dog problems, she goes to Hollywood. In a funny part, she sees that the diva failed to see that her dog was male and ended up giving the pet an identity crisis by dressing him as a girl. After solving that problem, Maya and Tiffany become friends and are giving a joint hosting job by a producer looking to show Maya’s talent.

Clocking in at 87 minutes, this is a harmless movie that has got to keep younger children entertained. There isn’t much for the older demographic, unless they are Norm MacDonald fans. He comes back to voice the dog Lucky, just like he has throughout the entire franchise (only credited in the first). The Other Chad said in his review, “As Maya, Kyla Pratt has become a little too grown up for the role. Pratt, now in her early twenties, plays a character who has just graduated from high school. Looking quite womanly in a series of rather low cut dresses, it is questionable how many kids will relate to her anymore.”

This is what The Other Chad had said about the Blu-Ray disc: “A movie like this doesn't exactly need to exhibit a quality audio/video presentation, but this Blu-ray release this looks and sounds perfectly acceptable. The sharp picture benefits from bold, bright colors. The Blu-ray version is actually a two-disc set, with the second disc being a standard DVD of the movie. Comparing a few scenes, the Blu-ray has a crisper, more finely detailed picture. Audio is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD, but the soundscape is limited. The mix isn't overly complex and surround effects are not frequent. The dialogue remains clear and easy to understand throughout.”

Neither really good nor painfully bad, “Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts” should work just fine for kids who want to waste a day watching a movie. This installment was the last in the family franchise, which is nowhere near being unwatchable, but it looked like they realized that maybe this was a good place to stop at.

As already stated, I don’t think that this was a bad movie. I think that people will find enjoyment in it, and I think people should give it a chance. If people don’t really like the sequels, especially the direct-to-video ones, I can understand why. However, I think you should see all of the movies and judge it based on your own opinion. They are harmless and there isn’t anything really bad in them.

Thank you everyone for joining in on “Dr. Dolittle Month.” I hope everyone enjoyed it and stay tuned next month to see what I will review next.