DOOLITTLE

DOOLITTLE:  Robert Downey Jr. stars in this re-imagined tale of the Doctor who could talk to animals.   And the animals?   A splendid array of stars do the voices of these CGI wonders.  They include Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez and Marion Cotillard.  Other stars giving "real life" performances are Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen and Jim Broadbent.  In a nutshell, Doolittle has become a recluse following the death of his wife (All told in an animated sequence at the beginning of the film).  The plot concerned Doolittle being dispatched to find a cure for the ailing, young Queen Victoria.  And so begins a voyage to find a magic tree whose fruit will save her.  And he his accompanied by his animal friends, a parrot, a polar bear, a gorilla, and ostrich and so on and so on.  We also get some whales and even a dragon thrown in for good measure.  But sadly, it feels like too much was simply "thrown in."   The movie, I would guess was intended for the Christmas holidays but too many hands spoiled the broth and so it is basically a film without the heart is so desperately needs.  The CGI animals are quite well done and some of it is, indeed, breathtaking but it eventually sags under it's own weight.   And when an added scene is tacked on after the closing credits just to let you know what happened to the villain, well you know you're in trouble.   The younger set will most likely forgive all the errors that the filmmakers indulged it, but it is still not what it should have been.