Doctor Dolittle (movie)
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Doctor Dolittle is a 1967 musical film which tells the story of a veterinarian who can talk to animals. It stars Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley and Richard Attenborough. It was also the last film appearance of chimpanzee actor Cheeta.
The movie was adapted by Leslie Bricusse from the novels by Hugh Lofting. It was directed by Richard Fleischer.
It won Academy Awards for Best Effects, Special Effects and Best Music, Song (Leslie Bricusse for "Talk to the Animals"). It was nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Original Music Score, Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment, Best Picture and Best Sound.
Alan Jay Lerner was originally chosen to write the script, but due to creative differences, he left and was replaced by Bricusse. This gave Rex Harrison the chance to sit out his contract, and he was to be replaced by Christopher Plummer, but when Harrison agreed to stay, the producers paid Plummer his total agreed-upon salary to leave the production. The film was originally budgeted at $6 million, but the budget eventually tripled. The film's eventual $9 million box office gross was woefully inadequate to cover the budget.
In 1998, the film was adapted into a stage musical, starring Phillip Schofield as Doctor Dolittle, a pre-recorded Julie Andrews as the voice of Dolittle's parrot, and the animatronic wizardry of Jim Henson's Creature Shop -- not necessarily in that order.
Other versions
A 1970 animated television series called Doctor Dolittle was produced. In 1998, a non-musical version called Dr. Dolittle starred Eddie Murphy. A sequel, Dr. Dolittle 2, was produced in 2001.