Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American family
comedy film starring
Eddie Murphy as a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to (and understand) animals. The film was inspired by the series of
children's stories of the same name, but used no material from any of the novels; the main connection is the name and a doctor who can speak to animals, although the
pushmi-pullyu, a much-loved feature of the books, notably makes a very brief appearance in a couple of scenes. The first novel had originally been filmed in 1967 as a
musical under the
same title, a closer (albeit still very loose) adaptation of the book. The earlier film was a
box office bomb, but still remains a
cult classic and a two-time
Academy Award-winner. Although the 1998 film was rated
PG-13 by the
MPAA, it was marketed as a family film.