Trama

A physician who can talk to animals embarks on an adventure to find a legendary island with a young apprentice and a crew of strange pets.

After his wife's death, Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey, Jr.) decided to hide from the world with his beloved animals. But he has to take a journey to a mysterious island to find a healing tree, which is the only medicine that can help the dying Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) in Buckingham Palace.

After his wife's death, the eccentric, famed doctor and veterinarian of Victorian England, John Dolittle (Robert Downey, Jr.) isolates himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with his animals for company. When Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) falls ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to go on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and encounters wondrous creatures.—Santhosh

In Victorian era Britain, Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.) is a Welsh veterinarian. He has the ability to communicate with animals, and he would travel the world with his beloved wife Lily (Kasia Smutniak), finding other scared or hurt animals and bringing them to their sanctuary. One day, Lily went sailing on a voyage with Poly (Emma Thompson) the Parrot, but she was caught in a terrible storm where she perished. Poly brought Dolittle her ring back, and he became so distraught that he closed up the sanctuary, shutting himself away from contact with other people.

Years later, a boy named Tommy Stubbins (Harry Collett) accidentally shoots and wounds a squirrel named Kevin (Craig Robinson), while out with his hunter father. Stubbins' uncle gives him a knife to put the squirrel out of his misery, but Stubbins instead takes it with him. Poly spots the boy and tells him to follow her, where she leads him to Dolittle's sanctuary. Poly/Polynesia hopes his arrival will help Dolittle reconnect with humans. After a lot of persuasion from the animals DoLittle decides to help Stubbins and to save the squirrel's life by pulling the bullet out of it.

At the same time, Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) dispatches her maid of honor, Lady Rose, to seek Dolittle's help when she falls seriously ill.

DoLittle has many animals in the house that he cares for. Polynesia (Emma Thompson) is a wise and headstrong macaw and Dolittle's most trusted advisor. Yoshi (John Cena) is an upbeat polar bear who wears a Bashlyk. Plimpton (Kumail Nanjiani) is a cynical and fussy but well-meaning ostrich who wears stockings and quarrels with Yoshi. Dab-Dab (Octavia Spencer) is an enthusiastic and crazy duck with a wooden leg. Jip (Tom Holland) is a loyal dog who wears glasses. Kevin (Craig Robinson) is a crazy squirrel with attitude. Betsy (Selena Gomez) is a friendly giraffe. Tutu (Marion Cotillard) is a French fox who is friends with Betsy.

On the same day, DoLittle receives the message from Lady Rose, ordering Dolittle to come in order to try to cure her of a deadly sickness. If the Queen dies the deed of the property where Dolittle and the animals stay, will pass on to the treasury and they will be thrown out of the mansion. Stubbins brings Kevin to Dolittle for help, while Lady Rose tells Dolittle that Queen Victoria has summoned him to Buckingham Palace. Dolittle helps Kevin recover but has no desire to leave his home. After much goading from Poly, Dolittle relents, tidies himself up, and heads out.

Dolittle rides to Buckingham Palace using Plimpton (Kumail Nanjiani), a neurotic ostrich, while Poly, Yoshi, Kevin, Jip, and Dab-Dab join. At her palace, Dolittle finds Victoria being tended to by his lifelong rival, Dr. Blair Mudfly. Dolittle talks to her pet squid finds that the Queen has eaten a poisonous type of nightshade. She can only be cured with the magical fruit from the Eden Tree before an eclipse occurs, at which point she will perish.

Dolittle mounts an expedition to handle this, leaving his dog Jip and his stick insect Styx to keep an eye on the Queen while he is away. Although he takes along several animals for the journey, including Chee-Chee the gorilla, Yoshi the polar bear, and Poly, he refuses to take Tommy. Poly, refusing to let Tommy be left behind, sends Betsy the giraffe and Tutu the fox to collect him. Tommy manages to board the ship and helps out after beginning to learn how to talk to animals, especially when Mudfly begins pursuing Dolittle to impede his efforts.

Dolittle, Stubbins, and a crew of animals put to sail, hoping to find the cure while trying to avoid Dolittle's rival Dr. Blair (Michael Sheen). It is implied that Dr Blair is conniving with the members of the House of Lords, specifically Lord Thomas (Jim Broadbent) to slowly poison the Queen. He is unable to stop Dolittle from carrying out his investigation, but has every intention to fail DoLittle in acquiring the fruit that will create the antidote for the Queen. Lord Thomas sends Blair after DoLittle on a Govt ship to ensure that DoLittle never returns with the antidote.

Soon, Mudfly and his cronies sail nearby in their own ship and begin to catch up. Dolittle and Yoshi go underwater to get a whale to help pull them faster to the island. Dolittle's rope starts to break, so Stubbins tries to pull it back with Yoshi's help, but Chee-Chee freezes up when he has a chance to help pull. Dolittle does manage to get himself back onto the ship, but Chee-Chee is ashamed at himself for failing to help.

To track down the fruit, Dolittle brings his expedition to Monteverde, ruled over by Lily's father King Rassouli, to recover her journal. He believes that it will help lead the way to the site where the fruit is found. However, Dolittle is captured by Rassouli (Antonio Banderas) the king of pirates, and his ex-father-in-law, and is locked in a cage with Barry (Ralph Fiennes), a tiger only looking for his mothers approval.

Dolittle was forced to break into Rassouli's home as Lily was the only person who mapped the route to the island which had the fruit which would cure the queen. That path was etched in a journal now in Rassouli's possession. Rassouli is pretty angry with Dolittle since he cannot understand why Lily chose to marry him in the first place.

The other animals show up to help after Stubbins has James send them a message, with Yoshi blowing up the bandits' hideout, while Chee-Chee breaks into the cage and musters up the nerve to fight Barry. They help Dolittle get out as Stubbins has gotten the journal. Dolittle and Stubbins escape only to be captured by Dr. Blair (Michael Sheen), and have their ship destroyed. The villain admits to having the Queen poisoned so that he can go find the cure and bask in all the rewards. After seeing a discouraged Dolittle, Rassouli loans him a boat as he can see that Dolittle truly loved Lily.

Dolittle tracks Balir with the help of whales and finds the location of the hidden island that has the fruit.

The crew reaches the island but spot Mudfly's men already making their way inside. They climb up another way to get past the villains and eventually come across the tree and the fruit, but Mudfly and his men get there as well. Soon, they are confronted by a large dragon (Frances De La Tour), who begins to attack the soldiers. Dolittle saves Mudfly from getting killed, which leads to him having an epiphany about being a better person, only to push another soldier in the dragon's path before falling down a hole. After scaring away the other soldiers, the dragon sets her sights on Dolittle and his friends, but he then spots another dragon skeleton, which makes him realize she has lost her beloved, and so he sympathizes with her. He also notes that she is backed up internally, so he proceeds to give her an enema so that she may expel all the armor and weaponry that she has devoured over the years. She thanks Dolittle and allows him to take the fruit.

With the Queen mere minutes from death, Dolittle and the animals manage to make it in time. However, Lord Badgley attempts to send the guards after them. The animals hold them off and get the fruit to Stubbins, who uses it to heal the Queen. Dolittle then learns from his stick bug that he left behind that Badgley is the mastermind behind the Queen's poisoning, as he has the vial of nightshade in his pocket. Badgley attempts to escape but is quickly subdued and imprisoned. The Queen thanks Dolittle and Stubbins for saving her.

Dolittle returns to his sanctuary where he has officially taken Stubbins on as an apprentice, and he has decided to reopen the sanctuary to the public, as Lily would have wanted. Mudfly is still in the cave. He attempts to communicate with bats, only for them to swarm around him menacingly.