Doctor Dolittle
When a devoted physician discovers he can suddenly talk to animals, he must juggle his family and career while taming the chaotic demands of every creature that seeks his counsel before his orderly life unravels completely.
“He doesn't just talk to the animals!”
Synopsis
John Dolittle is a successful physician and devoted family man who appears to have everything under control. However, his life takes an unexpected turn when a long-suppressed childhood talent—the ability to communicate with animals—is suddenly reawakened. As a result, every creature in the vicinity begins seeking his advice, setting off a series of outrageous events that upend his orderly world.
Credits
Related titles
No curated related titles yet. Use the edit affordance to add "More from this director", "Same franchise", or "Adaptation source material" entries — every change goes through the wiki review queue.
How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 607+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Peter TeschnerShot by Russell BoydScored by Richard GibbsDesigned by William A ElliottSound by Gary Alexander Nm0018428Costumes by Sharen Davis Nm0205446Stunts by Ernie F OrsattiVFX by Mark Brown
Box Office
1998 · Box office
💰 Box-office hit — grossed 4.1× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$294.5M
US & Canada: $144.2M — 49% of worldwide · International: $150.3M (51%)
Opening weekend: $29.0M — 20% of its US run.
Opening week (7-day): $45.1M — 31% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 2,777 theaters
Also known as
- Dr. Dolittlede
- (English)Doctor Dolittle
- Dr. Dolittleen
- Docteur Dolittlefr
- Il dottor Dolittleit
- (Bulgarian)Доктор Дулитъл
Release dates around the world5 countries · showhide
- PortugalJun 13, 1998
- United StatesJun 23, 1998
- ArgentinaJun 25, 1998
- BrazilJun 26, 1998
- CanadaJun 26, 1998
Production & Distribution
Community tags
Be the first to tag this page — tags appear right away. Try a theme, capability, or subject (e.g. WWII, heist, slow burn, time travel, A24).
Cast & Crew
607 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Eddie Murphy
as Dr. John Dolittle
Peter Boyle
as Calloway
Ossie Davis
as Archer Dolittle
Oliver Platt
as Dr. Mark Weller
Richard Schiff
as Dr. Gene 'Geno' Reiss
Kristen Wilson
as Lisa Dolittle
Jeffrey Tambor
as Dr. Fish
Kyla Pratt
as Maya Dolittle
Raven Symone
as Charisse Dolittle
Steven Gilborn
as Dr. Sam Litvack
Erik Dellums
as Jeremy
June Christopher
as Diane
Supporting cast
52Cherie Franklin
as Mrs. Parkus
Mark Adair Rios
as Intern
Don Calfa
as Patient at Hammersmith
Arnold F Turner
as Animal Control Officer
Kay Yamamoto
as Receptionist
Kellye Nakahara
as Beagle Woman
Beth Grant
as Woman
Yule Caise
as Vet's Assistant
Brian Kwan
as Busboy
L Peter Callender
as Policeman
Charles Branklyn
as Security Guard
Cliff Mclaughlin
as Mounted Policeman
Richard Penn
as Mr. Galvin (the Principal)
John Lafayette
as Reverend
Raymond Matthew Mason
as 3-Year-Old John Dolittle
Dari Gerard Smith
as 5-Year-Old John Dolittle
Karl T Wright
as Reporter
Stan Sellers
as Cop #1
Ming Lo
as Cop #2
Norm Macdonald
as Lucky
Albert Brooks
as Jacob the Tiger
Chris Rock
as Rodney
Reni Santoni
as Rat #1
John Leguizamo
as Rat #2
Julie Kavner
as Female Pigeon
Garry Shandling
as Male Pigeon
Ellen Degeneres
as Prologue Dog
Brian Doyle Murray
as Old Beagle
Phil Proctor
as Drunk Monkey
Jenna Elfman
as Owl
Gilbert Gottfried
as Compulsive Dog
Phyllis Katz
as Goat
Douglas Shamburger
as Pound Dog
Jeff Doucette
as Possum
Archie Hahn
as Heavy Woman's Dog
Tom Towles
as German Shepherd
Eddie Frierson
as Skunk
Paul Reubens
as Raccoon
Royce D Applegate
as I Love You' Dog
James F Dean
as Orangutan
Chad Einbinder
as Bettleheim the Cat
Jonathan Lipnicki
as Baby Tiger
Hamilton Camp
as Pig
Kerrigan Mahan
as Penguin
Benny Buettner
as Circus Clown
Bebe Conrad
as Circus Clown
Paul Giamatti
as Blaine
Spencer Kayden
as Circus Audience
Crystal The Monkey
as Drunk Monkey
Kellan Patrick
as Jumping Boy
Gerard Smith
as Veterinarian
Pruitt Taylor Vince
as Patient at Hammersmith
Directors
1Writers
8Producers
20Anne Putnam Kolbe
visual effects producer (as Anne Putman-Kolbe)
Ariana Lingenfelser
digital effects producer: Cinesite
Casey Cannon
visual effects producer: BFTRE
Darren Higman
executive producer: Atlantic Records
David T Friendly
Producer, Producers
Janet Yale
digital effects producer: CFC
Jeff Ross
executive producer: POP Film
Jenno Topping
executive producer
Joe Gareri
executive producer: Pacific Title / Mirage Digital
John Davis
Producer, Producers
Joseph Singer
Producer, Producers, producer (as Joseph M. Singer)
Kirsten Marshall
effects producer: C.O.R.E. Digital
Kristen Branan
visual effects producer (uncredited)
Mark Brown
visual effects producer: POP Film
Melissa Brockman
digital effects co-producer: POP Film
Richard J Cook
digital effects producer: VisonArt (uncredited)
Robert Crotty
digital effects producer: VisonArt (as Robert D. Crotty)
Steph Lady
associate producer
Sue Baden Powell
executive producer
Timbaland
song producer (as Tim Mosley)
Other crew
520Larry Potoker
24 frame video operator
Ted Fay
2d animation supervisor: VisonArt
Christina Drahos
2d artist: VisionArt
Jeremy Nelligan
2d artist: VisionArt
John Peel
2d artist: VisionArt
Shellaine Corwel
2d artist: VisionArt
Hillary Covey
2d paint artist: VisionArt
Stirling Duguid
3d animation supervisor: VisionArt (as R. Stirling Duguid)
Paul Hughen
additional camera operator: second unit
Shawn Finch
additional hair stylist (uncredited)
Philip Giffin
additional orchestrator
Jon Kull
additional orchestrator (as Jon A. Kull)
Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
I keep the family-safety picture honest — community advisories, AI-moderated, summarized without spin.
Ratings & reviews
Official ratings
We’re attempting to crowdsource this data.
Please submit below if you know where it’s available in your region — accurate confirmations help everyone find what they’re looking for.
Where to watch
Not currently streaming on any platform we track.
Gallery
Add imageNo community images for Doctor Dolittle yet
Add a still, a storyboard, or concept art — every image gets its own page where members can discuss it.
Trailers
No trailers logged for Doctor Dolittle yet — add the first one below.
Spot a trailer we’re missing?
Add a trailer from any film, show, or game.
Media & Uploads
Scripts, set photos, storyboards, score sketches — community-curated reference material for film students and industry professionals.
Did you or a loved one work on Doctor Dolittle?
Every stage matters — pitch decks and treatments from development, location scouts and table-reads from pre-production, set photos and crew anecdotes from production, edit-bay notes from post, and press kits, festival memories, or marketing ephemera from distribution. Any moment that didn't make the press tour, any document or photograph that's been sitting in a box — please share it so it's not lost to time.
We particularly welcome contributions from writers, producers, cast, crew, festival programmers, distributors, marketing teams, their families, and anyone who was there at any stage.
Sign in to contribute scripts, stills, photos, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Be the first to share something on Doctor Dolittle.
Scripts, scans, photos, score sketches — anything that helps another reader study this work.
Memorable quotes
Browse all →No quotes logged for Doctor Dolittle yet — add the first memorable line below.
Got a quote we’re missing?
Submit a line from any film, show, or game.
The conversation
Loading the conversation…
Comments (0)
on Doctor DolittleNo comments yet. Be the first to share what you think.
Edit history
Loading edit history…