All
right Goldilocks. Come out. We know you're in there.
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|
Just
when you thought it was safe to go and see a sequel, Dr
Dolittle 2 arrives with the wrong medication.
Nigel
Bell
The battle
for the kids is well and truly underway. While Shrek
has stolen a march, this week sees the release of the second
Dr Dolittle and cartoon series Recess.
Next week it's the turn of, possibly, the biggest of them
all - Cats and Dogs.
If one
film is in danger of picking up the wooden spoon it's Murphy's
latest outing.
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| "Where
have all the animals gone?" "They've read the
script and gone home" |
After
his supreme performance in Shrek,
this is just back to basics. Worse, it's back to giving sequels
a bad name.
As recently
as last week, Jurassic
Park III showed there could be new life after an original.
Dolittle 2, however, is a tame retread. Same formula,
virtually the same ending.
John Dolittle
(Murphy) is successfully juggling a practice which deals with
humans and animals. Urged to meet "the beaver" he
hears about plans to destroy a forest and so make thousands
of animals homeless.
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| Come
on, laugh. It's a bear in the tub |
The only
way to stop the lumber developers is to mate a circus bear
(Archie) with a native female (Ava - voiced by Friends
Lisa Kudrow).
The majority
of the film deals with Dolittle's attempts to return Archie
to nature, including living in a cave and catching its own
food.
It's also
the cue for a series of toilet humour jokes (just like the
first film) including one scene where Murphy becomes trapped
in a lavatory with the big bear. Ho ho.
By the
end the animals unite to battle the developers. Again this
is similar to the first, when the beasts got together to help
the good doctor operate on an ailing tiger.
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| Get
this bear out of the way, he's cramping my style |
What's
most disappointing is that many of the humorous elements from
that first outing are repeated here, so you have birds depositing
their waste on the bad guys. Similarly, relationships within
the Dolittle family are explored again.
Dr
Dolittle 2 will appeal to older children. My seven year
old fidgeted throughout whereas my 10-year-old couldn't stop
chortling.
Indeed,
there are humorous moments - there's Eric, the boyfriend from
hell, a scene involving bears singing Copacabana and a training
regime set to the music from Rocky.
But it's
not enough to bring life to a disappointing sequel.
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