''Dr. Dolittle 3'' is a 2006 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

and the third film in the ''Dr. Dolittle'' series. It stars Kyla Pratt, the original daughter in the

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

series, as Maya. Starring alongside Pratt are

Kristen Wilson Kristen Wilson (born September 4, 1969) is a former American actress, best known as Miranda DuBaer in '' Twitches'' and '' Twitches Too'' and as Lisa Dolittle in the films ''Dr. Dolittle'', '' Dr. Dolittle 2'', and '' Dr. Dolittle 3''. Early li ...

as Lisa Dolittle and Norm Macdonald as the voice of Lucky the Dog. This is the first film not to feature

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

as Doctor Dolittle, or Raven-Symoné as Charisse Dolittle, although they are mentioned in the film. It was revealed in a 2023 interview that the reason they did not return was because of Murphy's discomfort playing the father of a grown adult daughter.

Plot

Maya ( Kyla Pratt) has evolved considerably from the first film. Though she was formerly an antisocial individual who was more interested in her science projects, Maya has transformed into the typical teenager. Like her sister Charisse, she inherits their father John's capacity for communicating with animals (she is a part-time veterinary assistant), her life has changed drastically on all fronts. She often ends up in trouble with her parents, while her friends think she has gone insane. With John away on business, Maya's mother Lisa (

) sends her and her dog Lucky (voice of Norm MacDonald) to a

dude ranch A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism. History Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...

named "Durango", so she can find herself. The ranch is owned by Jud (

John Amos John Allen Amos Jr. (born December 27, 1939) is an American actor known for his role as James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series ''Good Times''. Amos's other television work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', a recurring role as Admir ...

), and his son Bo (Walker Howard). While at the ranch, Maya, who desperately tried to keep it under wraps so as not to arouse suspicion, uses her talent to "talk to the animals" in order to save Durango from being taken over by a neighboring dude ranch. Maya is at first reluctant to reveal her ability to others, fearing rejection from her friends, but eventually does so. With her help, the Durango ranch enters a rodeo competition with a $50,000 award, and wins it. Also, she shares her first kiss with Bo and finally wins his heart.

Cast

* Kyla Pratt as Maya Dolittle *

as Lisa Dolittle * Walker Howard as Bo Jones *

as Jud Jones * Luciana Carro as Brooklyn Webster * Tommy Snider as Clayton Taylor * Calum Worthy as Tyler * John Novak as Walter * Chelan Simmons as Vivica *

Ecstasia Sanders Ecstasia Lenore Sanders (born July 15, 1985) is an United States, American-Canadian actress. She's known for her supporting roles in ''Final Destination 3'' (2006) and ''Dr. Dolittle 3'' (2006). Early life The daughter of performers, Ecstasia ...

as Tammy * James Kirk as Peter * Gary Jones as Principal *

Carly McKillip Carly Maria McKillip (born February 13, 1989) is a Canadian actress and musician known for her title role in the television series '' Alice, I Think''. She also performs together with her sister Britt in the country group One More Girl. She was ...

as Tammy's Friend *

Emily Tennant Emily Tennant (born August 9, 1990) is a Canadian actress. She played Ivy Young on the Canadian comedy television series '' Mr. Young''. Life and career Tennant was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2000, she played her first role in the ...

as Party Kid * Alistair Abell as Honkey Tonk Announcer * Peter Kelamis as Rodeo Announcer *

Louis Chirillo Louis Chirillo is an American-Canadian former actor. He is of Colombian descent. He is famous for voicing Keefe in '' Zoids: Fuzors''. He has also voiced Shaman in '' ''Pucca' and Dukey on the first through the fourth seasons of ''Johnny Test' ...

as Bus Driver

Voice cast

* Norm Macdonald as Lucky *

Danny Bonaduce Dante Daniel Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959) is an American radio personality, actor, television personality, and professional wrestler. Bonaduce is the son of veteran TV writer and producer Joseph Bonaduce (''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' One Da ...

as Ranch Steer * Gary Busey as Butch * Ryan McDonell as Skip * Tara Wilson as Kiki * Chenier Hundal as Chip * Paulo Costanzo as Cogburn the Rooster * Chris Edgerly as Diamond the Horse, LP the Horse, Pig, Rattlesnake *

Eli Gabay Eli Gabay (also credited as Eli Gabe born 1 June 1959) is a Canadian actor. He is known for voicing Quetzal, the teacher at School in the Sky, as well as voicing Max and Emmy's father, in ''Dragon Tales'' and a gangster named Abrego in the anim ...

as Rodeo Bull, Rodeo Steer *

Vanessa Marshall Vanessa Marshall (born October 19, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an American voice and television actress who is most active in films, cartoons and video games. She is the daughter of actress Joan Van Ark and reporter John Marshall. ...

as Tan Hen, White Hen *

Mark Moseley Mark DeWayne Moseley (born March 12, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played for Philadelphia Eagles (1970), the Houston Oilers (1971–72), ...

as Harry the Hawk, Patches the Horse, Ranch Steer, Rodeo Longhorns, Silver the Horse *

Jenna von Oÿ Jennifer Jean "Jenna" von Oÿ (born May 2, 1977) is an American actress, singer and author. She played the role of Dorothy "Six" LeMeure in the NBC sitcom '' Blossom'' and Stevie Van Lowe in the UPN sitcom ''The Parkers'', the spin-off series ...

as Gracie

Releases

This film was released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

in 2006; on April 25 for Region 1 and May 1 for Region 2. ''Dr. Dolittle 3'' was released on Disney Plus on January 15, 2021.

Reception

Critical response

Although a relative success in DVD sales, the film was not well received by critics. Of the three reviews given at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, two were very negative: one critic, Scott Weinberg, said: "Cheap-looking, atrociously written, and delivered with all the energy of a breach-birth bovine, ''Dr. Dolittle 3'' is all kinds of terrible". David Cornelius of ''eFilmCritic.com'' described the film as "not so much poorly made as it is lazy and cheap". Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media was positive to the film.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Dolittle 3 2006 films 2000s fantasy comedy films American fantasy comedy films Direct-to-video sequel films 2010s English-language films Doctor Dolittle films Film spin-offs 20th Century Fox direct-to-video films Davis Entertainment films Films scored by Christopher Lennertz Films produced by John Davis 2006 directorial debut films American children's fantasy films American children's comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films