Hold on to your (talking) horses because the new Dr. Dolittle movie is not for the faint of heart. The official trailer for Dolittle, starring Robert Downey Jr. in his first post-Marvel role, dropped on Sunday and revealed that this film is going in a decidedly different direction than the Dr. Dolittle franchise from the 1990s starring Eddie Murphy. Instead of a laugh riot, this Dr. Dolittle film seems much more adventurous, much more intense, and much more Irish. The trailer depicts an epic tropical universe chockfull of exotic talking animals from polar bears to parrots. Downey stars as the titular Dolittle, the doctor from Hugh Lofting’s beloved children’s book who can talk to animals, and his mission is … well, unclear. Some of the animals, like the polar bear and parrot, seem to be his friends, yet others, like a menacing tiger who threatens to eat Dolittle for lunch, appear to be his foes. Is Dolittle trying to protect the animals or destroy the animals? What is this “perilous journey†he speaks of? Why is he Irish? All of these answers will be revealed and more when Dolittle hits theaters on January 17th, 2020.
