Doctor Dolittle - videos, teasers and stills from filming

All videos, teasers and footage from the filming of the film "Doctor Dolittle"

Doctor Dolittle (1998)

Timing: 1:25 (85 min)

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All about film

Video 2

Photo 27

Actors and characters

Doctor Dolittle Trailer HD

English

2:15

Dr. Dolittle (1998) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailer

English

2:21

What's left behind the scenes

Eddie Murphy is terrified of animals, so he always insisted on using composite shots or digitally adding images of animals to scenes featuring him. When it was impossible to avoid being in the same room with an animal, the filming of such scenes often ended with his desperate screams.
At one point, Eddie Murphy's character watches Richard Fleischer's (1916-2006) film 'Doctor Dolittle' (1967) on television.
The film features a large number of different animals, which required several months of preparation, careful planning, and training. Trainers studied the behavioral characteristics of animal species and the unique features and temperament of individual animals. They were taught to obey commands given by voice, sounds, and gestures, and received their favorite treats as a reward.
To create the illusion that the animals were actually speaking, computer-generated digital images were used from two-dimensional models. First, the natural movement of the animals' muzzles was filmed, and then, during post-production, the images were altered frame by frame so that the teeth, lips, and tongue formed words. The 1995 film "Babe" by Chris Noonan took a different approach, where the muzzles of all the animals were rendered in three dimensions. There, an image of the entire supposedly speaking muzzle was superimposed onto the animals’ images. This method was innovative and quite advanced for its time, but the use of the technique applied in "Doctor Dolittle" (1998) represented a new step in depicting animals on screen.
Creating some illusions required unique equipment, such as harnesses and bridles specifically invented and constructed for the film. One such collar was created specifically for the dog being forcibly dragged to the veterinarian. The dog is pulled in a sitting position, so the collar was designed to distribute the dog’s weight evenly between its neck and hindquarters. The dog was trained beforehand to accept this behavior and become accustomed to the collar. Another similar collar was designed for safe riding in the passenger seat of a car.
Some scenes required the simultaneous participation of a large number of animals and, consequently, their simultaneous presence on the set. The animals were pre-trained (this took several weeks) to work together. Up to 45 trainers were present on set during the filming of some scenes.
Animal doubles were used in many scenes; for example, when Rodney rides in a cage on the roof of a car, or when he nearly gets flushed down the toilet in the ladies' room, an animatronic guinea pig was used. Rodney was well-trained and could perform many stunts himself – biting the bars of the cage, going to the designated spot, and sitting on command; however, he also had doubles trained to perform a specific trick. Animatronic doubles were also used for other animals – for example, Lucky, the two rats, the owl, Jacob, the pigeons, all of whom also had live doubles, allowing for shift-based filming so that the animals could rest.
In situations where a potential predator and prey are together, or in scenes where an animal is in a potentially dangerous position, such as a tiger on the edge, a blue screen technique was used. The animals were filmed individually against a blue backdrop, and their images were combined with the necessary background during editing. This method can also be used to film animals or an animal and its animatronic double(s). During post-production, the two halves are combined so that the result appears as if the animals were filmed together.
The collision on the highway during the chase was not planned. The script called for the car to use the bus as cover and turn left. However, a collision occurred, and as a result, the trunk opened revealing blue bags inside (they were placed there to facilitate some stunts). The footage with the bags had to be cut. Subsequent scenes had already been filmed by that point and showed a much less damaged car.

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