Tank, you will have realised, is pretty crucial to Doctor Dolittle 2. In fact Archie, the character he plays, is the key to the direction in which producer John Davis and writer Larry Levin (who co-wrote the first film) have chosen to take the movie. “We knew we had to top our first Dr Dolittle,” says the former, “so the new film has a larger canvas, a bigger array of animals, and even more special effects. We wanted a movie that was not only really funny, but also had a heart and was about something.” The ‘something’, they decided, should have to do with saving the environment.
Enter Archie, an animal with about as much knowledge of the great outdoors as Tony Soprano. Archie is a performer through and through: a fast-food-loving, wise-cracking circus bear who speaks with the voice of Steve Zahn. Archie’s only real beef is that he has never, really, really found his audience. If he could just find his true public, Archie reckons, he would be a star.
This is where Eddie Murphy’s Dr Dolittle comes in. Having accepted that he can talk to the animals, Dolittle now finds that the animals need his help in saving the forest. “We’ve already established the idea of talking animals, so I thought it would be interesting to explore the theme of the vanishing wilderness through the point of view of these animals,” says Levin. “And a circus bear is the least likely creature to be ‘rehabilitated.’”
Dolittle’s master plan to save the environment is to find an endangered species protected by the law, hence stopping the development plans dead in their tracks. The most obvious candidate is Ava, a Pacific Western Bear who speaks with the distinctive voice of Lisa Kudrow. But if Ava is going fit the plan, she needs a mate - and a litter of cubs. This is Archie’s big chance.
Except that Ava doesn’t think much of Archie, and Archie doesn’t think much of Mother Nature: having spent his entire life in the city, he’s never had to figure out what bears do in the woods. To make things even more complicated, the Doc’s dog, Lucky - the central animal character in the first movie - falls in love with a wolf. And the wolf doesn’t fall in love with Lucky. Who ever said environmentalism was going to be easy?
Plans for the new movie began not long after the first Murphy film - as opposed to the ‘original’, part-musical version of Hugh Lofting’s classic story starring Rex Harrison, which was made in 1967 - opened in the summer of 1998. That film wasn’t exactly a sleeper: Murphy was already at the height of his box-office powers, and a solid success was anticipated. But Dr D1 exceeded all expectations, grossing $290 million worldwide. Something about it captured the imagination, especially the imagination of kids.
“You’re always happiest when your children come up to you and say, ‘Dad, I loved that movie; it was totally cool,’” says producer Davis. “That’s what was most exciting for me about making that film.”
Murphy had much the same experience. “My kids loved the first Dolittle film so much,” he recalls. “It reminded them - and me - of the old Bugs Bunny cartoons, where people and animals all talk to each other. Of all the movies I’ve done, I get the most feedback on Dr Dolittle. No matter where I am - all over the world - kids and teens come up to me and say, ‘Hey, Dr D!’”
