Dolittle hits UK cinema screens this week, starring Robert Downey Jr as the famous doctor who can converse with animals, with a slightly odd Welsh accent. Doctor Dolittle was the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting, starting with The Story of Doctor Dolittle in 1920. Lofting actually created Dolittle in illustrated letters to his children from the trenches of World War I when actual news was either too dull or too horrible. There have been a number of screen adaptions over the years but the first was in 1928 in Germany. Early animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger made Doktor Dolittle und seine Tiere ( Doctor Dolittle and his Animals ) as her second feature film. This trailer for a DVD version gives you some idea what it looked like: The doctor didn't return to screens until 1967 when he was portrayed by Rex Harrison in a musical version. It may seem odd that it took so long for a live-action film to be made but when you consider the books ar...
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