KennieJD Reveals Why Dolittle (2020) Was An Expensive DISASTER | In Defense Of Ep 19

Even Iron Man couldn’t save this one. In this episode of In Defense Of, KennieJD dives into the drawbacks of the 2020 Dolittle remake. One of 2020’s biggest box office disasters is also one of the year’s biggest global earners. Will Kennie cut Robert Downey Jr. some slack and rule Dolittle innocent OR find him guilty? Watch the full episode NOW to find out!
This is In Defense Of! Step into the courtroom of the Honorable Judge KennieJD, where she presents the cases of poorly-rated flicks and box-office bombs to determine whether or not they are truly guilty of the sentencing they received! Episodes release Thursdays at 2PM EST.
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[@MoreButter]

Was Kennie too critical on this one? Let us know your thoughts! If you aren't following us on TikTok what are you waiting for? You can find us @MoreButterTV for the best moments and clips from your favorite episodes!

[@BunnyM3]

Kennie has brought up that these films gotta be money laundering so much I’m convinced she’s right 😂😂

[@yaya804]

Profits from Epstein type shit most likely. They own production companies so it makes sense to hide money with films that cost less to make than they claim

[@ImmortalBroken]

Dolittle came right after Cats. People were wary of big budget movies with talking animals.

[@nailinthefashion]

And yet we were still flabbergasted. Imagine being that powerful

[@afterly]

Glad RDJ is going back to his roots and starring in flops 😌✨

[@nataliegoodfellow3185]

January is notoriously the month where they movies go to die. If it has a January release date they didn’t want people to see the film. The reason is that after the holidays people usually don’t have as much free money and free time, or something like that. So January is when there is less people going to the theaters. Probably because of all the problems with the film and them seeing it as the dumpster fire it was they probably hoped it would quietly die in theaters. But that’s just what I think and what I remember another film reviewer saying when talking about film release dates.

[@kweenleo2265]

it may have been amandathejedi, i remember her talking about this before and her in other vids (on her channel) talking abt bad january releases like it’s a curse 😅

[@yaritzamiranda921]

September and January are basically a no no for movie releases. As a movie lover whose birthday is in September is a damm shame. I would love to go to the movies on my birthday but there's rarely anything good

[@larrackell]

lmao "really hot gecko" is the PERFECT way to describe rami malek omg

[@wtfbilly143]

This is not the only court room this movie should be in cuz this crew was fighting for their lives to make this movie

[@aurora5481]

This film was RDJ saying "look, I'm a big MCU star! I just finished my big screen big emotional acting moment that broke ticket sale records! I'm famous, people want to watch me!" and immediately got punched in the face with the realisation that he's... actually not a seat-puller without Marvel Studios money.

[@londy3127]

That's basically every MCU actor.

[@nailinthefashion]

@@londy3127 the Chrises looking like dual shocked pikachus. Precious!

[@londy3127]

@@nailinthefashion Chris Pine dodged a bullet tbh The newer MCU actors are all very popular even without Marvel, but the more original actors gained popularity due to Marvel. Frankly, I don't think Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, or Tom Holland has a successful movie outside of the MCU

[@nailinthefashion]

@@londy3127 Tom is doing just fine. He'll have some duds like Cherry and Uncharted but he's hot and young so there's nothing stopping him. The others are kinda niche and getting nicher but they certainly won't be starving either

[@londy3127]

@@nailinthefashion Tom's young but really he has zero hits outside of Spiderman. I wish him the best but for now he's not really let's say, Timothee Chalamet level. Zendaya's the one shining, not him. The others will be fine ofc, they're rich hollywood actors lol but you can see them struggling to leave the Marvel/Disney bubble

[@quellebeaute1]

I don’t understand why they remade it when the 90’s versions were so good and well loved by audiences smh

[@JadeReloaded]

Money. They thought they can cash in on an old story again and again. Like, why do you need a live (or computer animated) version for every disney animation? Lion King was fine. Aladdin was fine. Cinderella was... there. Mulan was fine. They just want to be sure we'll watch because they know we like the story already.

[@danhumphrey8357]

I said the same thing, and cinderella was the only live action that was decent, in my opinion.

[@jupitermelichios392]

if they'd done an adaptation of the books, i'd understand, because the 90s movies basically only have the name in common with the source material, there's no plot or characterisation in those movies lifted from the books, but this is just as different from the books as the eddie murphy movies were

[@erintoney7137]

@@danhumphrey8357 I thought The Jungle Book was good too.

[@XxMaddieCat]

Unlocked memory of my mom reading me a children's book with a pig, a dog named Jib and a man in a white coat sailing across the ocean on a wooden ship. That must be what this movie is based on

[@inkwelldried]

literally had no idea what movie you were talking about until you said 'rdj'... then i remembered seeing the trailer and not caring even a little bit about it. nice to hear my instinct was right

[@tia7737]

Someone was expecting to make Disney/Marvel/Star Wars level money from this which 😭 how?? The original movies are classics for a lot of ppl, they made good money (esp since their budget was way more reasonable), but why would you ever expect anything in the Dolittle franchise to rake in OVER half a billion dollars.... and more than ten years after the last film was even released to boot. So so strange.

[@ashv9565]

So Dr. Doolittle was the last movie some people went to see before COVID. I would've been pissed.

[@Tareltonlives]

The 60s version is very, VERY long. It's got a lot of human side characters (like 4 people come with him), and the main plot is that Doolittle wants to go find a mythical Sea Snail and Lunar Moth off in some island. It's colonialist, but it's straightforward. He wants to find new animals. That's pretty much it. It looks like it was a mess to make, but it turns out pretty decent.

[@scr6279]

I'm a 90s kid but saw it as a kid and I thought the Sea Snail was the coolest thing ever. But yeah, that movie straight up had a 15min intermission on the vhs.

[@cmjrwalker]

I watched it in theaters and I had actually forgotten I saw it in theaters. My opinion- It's a movie. It's the kind of movie you can play for background noise, while doing housework.

[@Em-jf5cl]

This was the last movie that my friends and I saw in theaters before the lockdown, and it sparked an extended, heated argument about the dragon fart scene. I don't care enough to look it up now, but we couldn't decide if RDJ was doing some kind of abdominal surgery on the dragon to release the gas (unlikely since he didn't have any surgical implements, but I digress) or if he just stuck his entire arm up its ass, pulling out various wacky non-food items the dragon ate (maybe a little weird for a kids movie). We were literally trying to recreate the blocking of the scene in our living room to try to figure it out whether RDJ would be near the dragons ass or stomach. Either way, I think we might be the only people who didn't immediately forget everything about this movie after leaving the theater.

[@abigailricker7122]

I remember riding the school bus as a upper class men told me and some others the whole plot of this movie cause they had just gone and seen it in theaters. They made sure to tell us that even if it sounds interesting how they describe it, it is boring as hell.

[@sm_t8262]

Can we PLEASE do The Golden Compass next? Never been more disappointed in a book adaptation smdh. heart you Kennie, get that squashmallow money!

[@fiig5196]

I saw this in theaters for some reason. I was in perfect health January 2020. But this movie felt like I took too many Benadryl trying to fight off hay fever and Victorian era Doolittle is on in the background

[@palomzdnss]

As my grandma would say all the time, about anything and literally for no reason (but still she had a point): yeah this has to be money laundering

[@mohawkcub]

Still sounds like a less cursed production than the 1967 version.

[@mikchik00]

I think they were really banking on that RDJ love from young marvel fans. Yeah no we ain’t that that that loyal.

[@nailinthefashion]

I am to Brie Larson in like a hate watch way. Her old stuff is ssssoooooo cringe, it's incredible. It gives amazing context to why she pours everything into "being" Carol now

[@MovableNu]

I remember wondering why RDJ was in another highly stylized wink-wink, nod-nod adaptation of old literature. With the similar floppy haircut! I just never understood why this movie needed to exist. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@cal291]

I wish Kennie had seen the original movie with Rex Harrison! This all makes way more sense if you have the context of the Giant Pink Sea Snail or whatever

[@elisyasinea1727]

I’ve never seen the original film, but when making a movie for kids in 2020 it’s a bold move to assume they would be familiar with the original film from the 60s.

[@cal291]

@@elisyasinea1727 I mean, it's actually originally a book series but it's even less likely people would be be familiar with that. Wasn't expecting or talking about kids' ability to recognize source material, just noting that this being a whimsical adventure/fantasy is only confusing if you expect it to be like the Eddie Murphy movies and none of the other adaptations or source material. Not especially bold.

[@AngeltheAnswer]

This movie is so bad that the only part that got me interested was hearing RDJ goes into a dragon’s butthole, and even that was underwhelming. This is coming from the person who died laughing at the fart scene in BFG.

[@dramonmaster222]

I believe this movie was more in tune with the Classic book but clearly audiences weren't into it. I mean Half a billion? Damn! Also, this movie was based on the Second novel which seems odd since they are essentially retelling this story for new audiences.

[@shanicek5188]

I actually didn't mind this movie too much? It wasn't good but it was watchable at the very least lol

[@JayJay-17]

I swear there’s a Doolittle movie where it’s a girl and not a man. The character is supposed to be Eddie Murphy’s character’s daughter or something.

[@queencleopatra007]

Yeah thats Dr. Doolittle 3. It came out in the early 2000s

[@nailinthefashion]

I actually wholeheartedly love that movie despite its flaws. So earnest

[@hope-cat4894]

Played by the voice actress for Penny Proud too!

[@MxDae]

@@hope-cat4894 Kyla Pratt!

[@wtfaiwpodcast]

An episode about the Rex Harrison version of Doctor Dolittle might be fun.

[@cherijoseph7819]

That movie was a big critical and financial hit.

[@wtfaiwpodcast]

@@cherijoseph7819 That is absolutely not true.

[@cherijoseph7819]

I am loving twice a week Kennie.

[@zaakirasaib8070]

Did I watch it? Yes. Did I forget that I watched it until I saw this video? Also yes.

[@MoreButter]

Do we appreciate your support? ALSO YES!!

[@shhimreading906]

the problem for me (as someone who grew up with the doctor dolittle book--just the first one) was in this film 1. they destroyed my childhood, but 2. they ruined doctor dolittles character so they could make him into a snarky closed off genius (which we have absolutely never seen RDJ play before *cough* sherlock *cough* iron man *cough*). doctor dolittle isn't supposed to be a sherlock or an iron man. and the whole plot of his wife being dead and him being an ass bc of it is such an overused trope and so hollow. stories can exist without romance. doctor dolittle has literally stated in the first book that he doesn't want to get married. he isn't married and doesn't have a romance past or present in the books that im aware of (at the very least not the book this film was loosely based on, which is the second book in the series).

[@mikibaumgart9553]

The movie theatre right next to my school shut down because of COVID and this movie poster was never removed. It was literally about 30 metres tall and I have had to look at it almost every day since early 2020.

[@foreverdead1248]

I think people are just realizing RDJ isn't a good actor and people just liked the Iron Man movies. He can only play one character type, and it's smarmy jerk. At least with Dwayne Johnson, even though he's very one note, his character type is charming big and goofy.

[@Naahi95]

Yep

[@Tareltonlives]

Produced by the Producers of Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and Sherlock Holmes UH oh. I feel that the Rex Harrison version is the only good one.

[@phedisolatakgomo6964]

The budget went to Robert Downey Jr, they thought they could bank on his Ironman popularity from the office infinity saga

[@rachelm2657]

It's based on a book....as I understand it this was based on the book.

[@anime17love]

This isn’t really a remake of the 90s one, the Eddie Murphy ones were the outliers, with this one and the black and white one being based on the book. I know I watched Dolittle once and by the end of it I honest and truly couldn’t remember a single thing about it by the time the credits rolled. It was so so boring. When I was a kid I actually watched some of the original black and white one, also mind numbingly boring lmao so the fact they remade that one is wild to me (PS I’m pretty sure they were all human doctors before they got involved with animals)

[@arthur9456]

The most baffling thing about this is that RDJ did the worst welsh accent I’ve ever heard in my entire life the entire time WHEN MICHAEL SHEEN AN ACTUAL WELSH MAN WAS RIGHT THERE ALSO IN THE MOVIE DOING AN ENGLISH ACCENT. like it was still a terrible film but if they’d flipped the roles it would have at least been watchable

[@nailinthefashion]

I could have done a better remake and I've never written a screenplay like .... ??? All they had to do was make a whacky adventure film 😭

[@bryansl0587]

Much as I enjoy RDJ, I was like nah

[@asarishepard8171]

I'll take your review on this, sat this one out awhile:)

[@mayas3422]

the only thing i ever saw about this movie was posters for it at the newark airport. there were so many of them, all along one of those moving walkways for like 20 ft. glad to know all that money was a waste

[@Catlady_plays_the_sims]

I really would like to see your take on Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets it has the distinct honor of being both the most expensive European and independent film ever made.

[@shanicemorton9497]

Dolittle is the kind of movie you start on a long flight, fall asleep in the middle, wake up towards the end and still correctly guess the ending

[@90sDRgirl]

I didn't know this movie happened...like what a new Dr. Doolittle???

[@michaeldavis2001]

This movie is closer to the original story than the Eddie Murphy version.

[@chimwemwemoyo9374]

feel better on your hand kennie

[@xxoldmagicxx]

I only remember watching the Rex Harrison version…

[@xxoldmagicxx]

Watch this one! It also feels like a fever dream….

[@xxoldmagicxx]

But like a better one, one you payed a drug dealer for.

[@strawberrylime33]

In Defense Of: 2012. Didn't that movie have a big, popular cast, and got terrible reviews and a low box office return

[@jongkittae]

ooh this is the earliest I've been 👁👄👁 hi everyone

[@MoreButter]

Thanks for being here!

[@direcircumstances]

I like the concept for this series but sometimes I wish you would spend more time breaking down the movie itself and why you think it's good or bad, why you think it failed, etc. I enjoy hearing the backstory about production issues and poor critic reviews, but I also want to know more about what YOU think about the film and its shortcomings, what you think they should have done differently, etc.

[@kaylenemccormick6932]

Home skillet biscuit! Same! I had to wear a brace on my left hand because of my job! I also type too much. And not only that, I broke my ankle in 2 places by just falling over nothing... I wish I was joking.

[@CrystalWilliamsBrownArt]

I had completely forgotten about this movie. I'm sure I saw trailer or something but I don't remember what it looked like or the plot. So this was like hearing about it for the first time lol

[@callum6123]

In the original they go to Africa and it’s what you would expect (the book was written in the 20s)

[@mirianaregis5237]

Does anyone know when the new episodes will be on Spotify or other podcast platforms?

[@clayrod85]

My wife is going through the same thing with her hands. Hope your hand gets better!

[@itsonevideoc1675]

Ooooh watched this one with two friends spontaneously... The German version uses a lot of the voice actors that do the German voices for the Brooklyn 99 cast, so I choose to believe that's it was just a Pen and Paper done by Jake and Co. Doesn't make it better but I like it better this way

[@Honeyin2013]

It sounds like working behind the scenes of this movie is better than the actual movie lol

[@LisaFrank39]

I noticed the bear and thought this was about the golden compass. Can you guys do the golden compass next?

[@audyshtpostshere4708]

15:52 Seth Rogan????? this was really a mess 💀

[@MoreButter]

You can say that again!

[@darkydoom]

This does make me want to watch it. Like I expect it to be bad but no I want to actually see if I enjoy any of it. Sounds OK, like a one time viewing

[@DisabledDragon]

I was actually kind of excited to see this when the previews came out (mostly because RDJ and Tom Holland, which I suspect they were banking on) but I didn't go when it was in the theater and it was a while before I found it somewhere streaming where I didn't have to pay. I'd heard it was really bad but thought I'd give it a try...and turned its off like 10 minutes in. Around when the animals started talking. Not because of the talking itself, of course, but because there was something about the scripting and even more the blend of voices and visuals that completely took me out.(RDJ's accent didn't help, but IDK if that's on him or if I just have a disconnect now bc of how strongly I associate him with Tony Stark/himself.) I feel like that's not necessarily giving the film a fair try, but time is finite and it didn't sound like I was missing much.

[@apnroxi000]

I really need the link to buy that hoodie

[@whatalsaid]

I still don’t understand why there’s a dragon in this. Like, it’s about a guy who talks to animals. Was a dragon really necessary?

[@C0C0N0T]

Kennies gag with names every week is literally never not funny it straight up makes me cackle lol

[@emilyborquez8386]

Lol I always think of Until Dawn when I see Rami

[@fa1ruz]

I feel like the marketing for this movie was insane considering everybody and their mom can see from the trailer how ass the movie was going to be

[@serenityq26]

how did you find a hoodie that says michigan in hangul???????????

[@imaginethat_neathuh1993]

Please, one day, do Pan (2015). I beg you.

[@mzgreenjeansapproves]

I'm gonna see it, it looks like a💩show and I'm bout that life

[@KiraBKADestroyerOfWorlds]

Wait, so...Kendall, did you not see Bohemian Rhapsody???

[@ShanaJahsintaWalters]

I will come back to watch this later.

[@MoreButter]

Let us know what how you liked it after you watch!

[@Bionic_Webb]

RDJ should play villains now

[@stephanieverbeek3989]

lol i watched this with my niece (shes a toddler) and even she found it boring she was talking to me the entire time lmao

[@sorbet_salamanderd2014]

ay nice hoodie 😏

[@MxDae]

Damn, let that man have his goose!

[@maljc]

I don't know if anyone pointed out, but that Susan Downey is RDJ's wife, so they produced it together. Which tickles me, to work on garbage with your spouse.

[@pixiemeg]

The reddit guy really DID steal the show huh 😂😂😂 what a mess we love to see it (from a safe distance, perhaps through opera glasses)

[@janellehoskins1290]

Literally forgot this movie existed

[@robtheoutsider]

Remember, this was around the same time as A Fall From Grace.

[@TheLeloM]

I don't really remember much about it but I do remember I enjoyed it 😅😅I must have bad taste or something but I was having a bad day and it cheered me up a bit.

[@hamdialihassan1586]

Can u do ”Lion King” (2019) or ”Fantastic beasts: the crimes of Grindelwald” (2018)?

[@gimmebackmyarm]

You probably low-key gave yourself carpel tunnel or just overused the muscle. It happens to people of all ages that type a lot Plus, you're getting old 🤭🤭🤭

[@emmaforde3745]

I genuinely thought this movie was made in like 2009???? It’s new??? My perspective on life is completely lost

[@lataejohnson1403]

It would’ve been cooler if the queen had been secretly cursed to be an animal or something and Dolittle had to save her from that.

[@theo9562]

Kennie, the cgi in the movie cgi had to be at least 80 to a 100 million. Then with all those actors that's got to be at least 30 to 40 million. That's the cost for a big budget movie with lots of cgi.

[@bandilenzimande5253]

Please trust and believe Rami Malek is not just still getting work😂

[@amberreed7704]

Britney Spears loved this movie so I gotta think there’s something redeeming in it somewhere.

[@thebd798]

Did Kennie think Rami hasn't worked since "Until Dawn"...?

[@CubYall]

The money launder continues!!!!

[@sandii240]

i never even heard of this lmaoo omg its def money laundering

[@TheNewblade1]

I think part of it is the originals werent that's good, but when u can see a movie for 5$ its w.e, but when tickets are like $15 you gotta be endgame or infinity war Kekw.

[@Mina1396]

Speaking of bad CGI movies...The Lion King (2019)?

[@shanicek5188]

I watched this movie on amazon prime for free lmao. It wasn't horrible, but it was so long oh my lord. Its an okay movie, it didn't look bad to me 💀. The best part of the movie was the baby sugar glider 😭 it was so adorable

[@mzgreenjeansapproves]

I'm gonna see it looks like a 💩show and I'm bout that life

[@ievolcisum]

Wow, they really did a reverse Ariel. Get well soon girl!! This is off topic but I think you should research Korean Feminism because I think that was a huge interest of yours in the past. Personally realizing feminism is a global struggle has really educated me on how the world works and I wish I was fluent in another language so as to read more direct content from people in those countries. Not trying to be pushy, just mentioning it because you're likely losing familiarity with time and this could jump start something good. ✨💕✨🌺

[@bunnywar]

Read the books.

[@ievolcisum]

@@bunnywar oh snap, everything is based on a book. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@yourdadisizzy]

Wait.... He was supposed to be Welsh? What the fuck was that accent then!

[@imjustdandy9799]

This sort of globe-trotting whimsy seems better suited to being fully animated, you know?

[@gabriela548800]

A really hot gecko ✨😌 @ 5:00

[@millybrat]

Rami Malek is much more successful and talented to only be known for his brief role in a fucking twilight movie and video game