Dolittle reviews call 'horrible' Robert Downey Jr film ‘disastrous mess' and first dud of 2020: ‘Please make it stop'

'If they could speak, no realm of the animal kingdom would have anything good to say about this film'

Fresh off its Cats flop, Universal was hoping for a good start to the new year – but sadly, going by the first reviews of Dolittle, things do not look too promising.

The new film stars Robert Downey Jr in his first post-Avengers role as the fictional veterinarian with the ability to speak to animals.

Despite its all-star cast – Emma Thompson, Marion Cotillard, Rami Malek, Tom Holland and Octavia Spencer all provide voice work – the film is getting absolutely panned by critics.

In fact, its score on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes currently sits at a meagre 12 per cent, that’s eight per cent less than Cats, which was actually given zero stars last month.

Some people are saying that Dolittle is worse. Vox critic Alissa Wilkinson wrote: “Dolittle is unconscionably bad, and not in a way that’s fun or interesting. If you want that, go see Cats. This is extremely horrible.”

Associated Press‘s review stated: “If they could speak, no realm of the animal kingdom would have anything good to say about Stephen Gaghan’s Dolittle, a big-budget train wreck in which things go so awry that it can’t even be said to be strictly for the dogs.”

IGN called the film a “disastrous mess”, while another viewer tweeted: “Between Cats and Dolittle, someone at Universal is definitely getting fired.”

Meanwhile, Chicago Sun-Times‘ review stated simply: “Please make it stop.”

Find a collection of the best responses to the film below.

Dolittle is released in the UK on 7 February.