History Main / DoctorDolittle

* ''Dolittle'', 2020 film starring Creator/RobertDowneyJr

* ''Film/DrDolittle'', 1998 film starring EddieMurphy, with four sequels

[[quoteright:337:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/510W82Z3W5L__bL160__4527.jpg]]

''Doctor Dolittle'' was originally a book series written by Creator/HughLofting with a total of 12 books; the first, ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle'', was published 1920. ''The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle'' won the second NewberyMedal.

Doctor Dolittle has learned how to talk to all animals, and, although he is able to treat humans, doesn't like to, so basically he's a vet.

The character has repeatedly appeared in radio and TV and a box office bomb musical, ''Film/DoctorDolittle'' starring Rex Harrison, in 1967. The books also inspired the ''Film/DrDolittle'' series starring EddieMurphy, about a modern-day doctor with an innate gift for talking to animals.

Doctor Dolittle even has his own song, "If I Could Talk to the Animals", which originated in the 1967 film starring Rex Harrison.

!!! The books of this series in publishing order are:
* ''[[Literature/TheStoryOfDoctorDolittle The Story of Doctor Dolittle]]''
* ''[[Literature/TheVoyagesOfDoctorDolittle The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittlesPostOffice Doctor Dolittle's Post Office]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittlesCircus Doctor Dolittle's Circus]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittlesZoo Doctor Dolittle's Zoo]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittlesCaravan Doctor Dolittle's Caravan]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittlesGarden Doctor Dolittle's Garden]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittleInTheMoon Doctor Dolittle in the Moon]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittlesReturn Doctor Dolittle's Return]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittleAndTheSecretLake Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittleAndTheGreenCanary Doctor Dolittle and the Green Canary]]''
* ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittlesPuddlebyAdventures Doctor Dolittle's Puddleby Adventures]]''

For characters that can talk to animals, see SpeaksFluentAnimal.
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!!Tropes appearing in the books:

* AHeadAtEachEnd: The Pushmi-Pullyu
* AbsentMindedProfessor: the Doctor to a certain extent, mainly in terms of money.
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: [[invoked]] According to Mudface, Noah and his sons were not nice people - nor, in fact, the progenitors of humanity.
* AnimalTalk: averted so hard that learning new animal languages often drives the plot
* BeastlyBloodsports: ''The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle''. While in the Capa Blanca Islands, Doctor Dolittle makes a wager with a powerful nobleman that the noble will end bullfighting in the islands if the Doctor can perform more tricks with a bull than any of the local matadors. He then talks to the bulls and convinces them to help him put on a show so that they won't have to die in the bullring any more.
* BlackSheep: the good Doctor is this, from the point of view of his respectable sister Sarah
* {{Bowdlerization}}: Pretty severe case in both the illustrations and the text, due to UnfortunateImplications. The books have been out of print in their original forms since the 1970s
* CantGetInTroubleForNuthin: In ''Doctor Dolittle's Return'', Dr. Dolittle tries in vain to get himself thrown into jail, so that he can write his book in peace and quiet. When he finally succeeds, the animals break him out and he has to start over again.
* CarnivoreConfusion: it's a little strange to read about the doctor eating sausages and such when Gub Gub the pig is a main character.
* CatsAreMean: the moon cats hold themselves apart from Otho Bludge's ideal society. This is also why a cat had never been part of the Dolittle household until Itty accompanied them back from the moon.
* CoolBoat: (after a fashion) The Great Glass Sea Snail
* CunningLinguist
* DecisionDarts: "Stab a globe/atlas randomly with a pencil" is the good doctor's #1 technique for deciding where to go. It's even how he ended up on the moon.
* FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator: Tommy Stubbins. An unusual example in that he is first introduced in ''The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle'', so the earlier set books are all 3rd person omniscient.
* GiantFlyer: Jamara Bumblelily, the moth large enough to double as an interplanetary spaceship
* TheGreatFlood: remembered fondly by Mudface the turtle
* HeroicDog: Jip was once awarded a solid gold dog collar for saving a man's life
* KindlyVet: Naturally. Being able to talk with his patients helps even more.
* NiceHat: The good Doctor's iconic top hat, and his most prized possession
* NobleSavage: Long Arrow, the world's greatest naturalist
* {{Omniglot}}: He spends a lot of time learning animal languages.
* PerpetualPoverty: although the Doctor prefers it this way
* RousseauWasRight
* SignificantName: The good Doctor's name is interpreted as such by the people of Spider Monkey Island, who promptly reappelle him "Jong Thinkalot"
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Former TropeNamer.
* WorthlessYellowRocks: to an unfortunate badger who happens to chew through a lot of it, gold is just something that gets unpleasantly stuck in your teeth

The character has repeatedly appeared in radio and TV and a box office bomb musical starring Rex Harrison in 1967. The books also inspired the ''Film/DrDolittle'' series starring EddieMurphy, about a modern-day doctor with an innate gift for talking to animals.

* AnimalStereotypes: Subverted in the Rex Harrison film in "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-V7oua1EVs Like Animals]]".

* CoolBoat: (after a fashion) The Great Pink Sea Snail

''Doctor Dolittle'' was originally a book series written by Creator/HughLofting with a total of 12 books; the first, ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle'', was published 1920. ''The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle'' won the second NewberyMedal. Since then the character has repeatedly appeared in radio and TV and a box office bomb musical starring Rex Harrison in 1967 but is now probably best known for the two movies (very loosely based on the original) where EddieMurphy plays the good doctor.

Doctor Dolittle has the ability to talk to all animals (something he has to learn in most versions, but innate in the Eddie Murphy films) and, although he is able to treat humans, doesn't like to, so basically he's a vet.

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!!Tropes appearing in the Eddie Murphy films:

* AllAnimalsAreDomesticated
* AnAesop: "It's okay to be wierd", for the first film anyway.
* AnimalStereotypes
* AnimalTalk
* CorruptCorporateExecutive
* EggMcGuffin
* EvenTheDogIsAshamed
* FriendToAllLivingThings
* GratuitousSpanish: The orangutan
* IAmNotWeasel
-->'''Dr. Dolittle''': I think we should get rid of Maya's little rat thing.\\
'''Mrs. Dolittle''': He's a guinea pig. I don't know why you let him get to you.
* InsultMisfire
* {{Jerkass}}: Mark Weller and Blaine Hammersmith
* LoveMakesYouDumb
* LoveTriangle
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Archer realized his mistake thinking his son's AnimalTalk is a disability. Now he sees it as a gift.
* YouCanTalk: Dolittle and Rodney's reaction when they discover that the each of them can understand what the other is speaking.

* MultipleHeadCase: The aptly named Pushme Pullyu, a two-headed antelope

* TheIshmael: Tommy Stubbins. An unusual example in that he is first introduced in ''The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle'', so the earlier set books are all 3rd person omniscient

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/510W82Z3W5L__bL160__4527.jpg

Doctor Dolittle was originally a book series written by HughLofting with a total of 12 books; the first, ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle'', was published 1920. ''The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle'' won the second NewberyMedal. Since then the character has repeatedly appeared in radio and TV and a box office bomb musical starring Rex Harrison in 1967 but is now probably best known for the two movies (very loosely based on the original) where EddieMurphy plays the good doctor.

For other characters that can talk to animals see SpeaksFluentAnimal.

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<<|{{Film}}|>>
<<|{{Literature}}|>>

For other characters that can talk to animals see {{The Doctor Dolittle}}.

* TheDoctorDolittle: TropeNamer

-->'''Mrs. Dolittle''': He's a guinea pig. I don't know why you let him get to you.

-->'''Mrs. Dolittle''': He's a guinea pig. I don't know why you let him get to you.\\

->'''Dr. Dolittle''': I think we should get rid of Maya's little rat thing.
->'''Mrs. Dolittle''': He's a guinea pig. I don't know why you let him get to you.

* DartboardDecision: "Stab a globe/atlas randomly with a pencil" is the good doctor's #1 technique for deciding where to go. It's even how he ended up on the moon.