Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting. He is a doctor who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in their own languages. He later becomes a naturalist, using his abilities to speak with animals to better understand nature and the history of the world. Hugh John Lofting (Maidenhead, Berkshire, England January 14, 1886 - Topanga, California September 26, 1947) was a British author, trained as a civil engineer, who created the character of Doctor Dolittle - one of the classics of childrens literature. ...

Doctor Dolittle first saw light in the author's illustrated letters to children, written from the trenches during World War I when actual news, he later said, was either too horrible or too dull. The stories are set in early Victorian England, where Doctor John Dolittle lives in the fictional village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh in the West Country. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... The West Country is an informal term for the area of south-western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. ...

Doctor Dolittle has a few close human friends, including Matthew Mugg, the Cat's-Meat Man. The animal team includes Polynesia (a parrot), Gub-Gub (a pig), Jip (a dog), Dab-Dab (a duck), Chee-Chee (a monkey), Too-Too (an owl), and the Pushmi-pullyu. Systematics (but see below) Family Cacatuidae (cockatoos) Subfamily Microglossinae (Palm Cockatoo) Subfamily Calyptorhynchinae (dark cockatoos) Subfamily Cacatuinae (white cockatoos) Family Psittacidae (true parrots) Subfamily Loriinae (lories and lorikeets) Subfamily Psittacinae (typical parrots and allies) Tribe Arini (American psittacines) Tribe Cyclopsitticini (fig parrots) Tribe Micropsittini (pygmy parrots) Tribe Nestorini (kakas and... For other uses, see Pig (disambiguation). ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. ... Subfamilies Dendrocygninae Oxyurinae Anatinae Aythyinae Merginae Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. ... Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys. ... For other uses, see Owl (disambiguation). ...

The books

The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts Never Before Printed (1920) began the series. The sequel The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922) won the prestigious Newbery Medal. The next three, Doctor Dolittle's Post Office, (1923), Doctor Dolittle's Circus (1924) and Doctor Dolittle's Caravan (1926) are all actually prequels (or "midquels", as they take place during the events of The Story of Doctor Dolittle). Five more followed, and after Lofting's death two more volumes, composed of short unpublished pieces, appeared. The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children of the American Library Association (ALA) to the author of the outstanding American book for children. ... A prequel is a work that portrays events which include the structure, conventions, and/or characters of a previously completed narrative, but occur at an earlier time. ...

The books, in order of publication, are:

1. The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920)
2. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922)
3. Doctor Dolittle's Post Office (1923)
4. Doctor Dolittle's Circus (1924)
5. Doctor Dolittle's Zoo (1925)
6. Doctor Dolittle's Caravan (1926)
7. Doctor Dolittle's Garden (1927)
8. Doctor Dolittle in the Moon (1928)
9. Doctor Dolittle's Return (1933)
10. Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake (1948)
11. Doctor Dolittle and the Green Canary (1950)
12. Doctor Dolittle's Puddleby Adventures (1952)

Gub-Gub's Book, An Encyclopaedia of Food (1932) was an associated book, purportedly written by the eponymous pig. In The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920), the first of Hugh Loftings Doctor Dolittle books, we are introduced to the good doctor who gives up treating people after Polynesia, his parrot, teaches him animal languages. ... The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle was the second of Hugh Loftings Doctor Dolittle books to be published, coming out in 1922. ... Doctor Dolittles Post Office is the third of Hugh Loftings Doctor Dolittle books. ... In Hugh Loftings 1925 book Doctor Dolittles Zoo, Doctor Dolittle returns from his voyages and sets his house in order. ... Doctore Dolittles Garden (1927) is structurally the most disorganised of Hugh Loftings Doctor Dolittle books. ... Doctor Dolittle in the Moon (1928) was intended to be the last of Hugh Loftings Doctor Dolittle books, and differs considerably in tone from its predecessors; the stripped down narrative does not have room for any of the sub-plots and tales previously present. ... Published in 1933, Doctor Dolittles Rturn was the first Doctor Dolittle book in five years. ... Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake was a Doctor Dolittle book written by Hugh Lofting. ... Gub-Gubs Book, An Encyclopaedia of Food is a 1932 childrens book in the Doctor Dolittle series by Hugh Lofting. ...

Doctor Dolittle's Birthday Book (1936) was a piece of merchandise produced during the gap between Doctor Dolittle's Return and Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake.

Bowdlerisation

The books have been accused of racism, due to the usage of derogatory terms for and depiction of certain ethnic groups therein, both written and illustrated. Editions in the United States sometimes had alterations made from the 1960s, but the books went out-of-print in the 1970s. In the United Kingdom, the unexpurgated books went out of print in 1981. An out-of-print item (Music, Movies, but mostly Books) that is no longer being published. ...

In 1986, to mark the centenary of Lofting's birth, new editions were published which had such passages rewritten or removed (sometimes called bowdlerisation). Offending illustrations were either removed (and replaced with unpublished Lofting originals) or altered. Look up bowdlerise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

It is fair to note that the black characters in the book are not depicted speaking in Pidgin English, and any derogatory references are slight and passing.^[1] Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. ...

Pushmi-pullyu

The pushmi-pullyu (pronounced "push-me-pull-you") is a fictional creature in the Doctor Dolittle stories. It is an antelope which has two heads at opposite ends of the body. When it tries to move, both heads try to go in opposite directions. This list contains fictional animals of species that do not have a separate list among the lists of fictional animals. ... This article is about the herbivorous mammals. ...

In the 1967 film, the pushmi-pullyu was instead portrayed as a double-headed llama. The more recent Eddie Murphy film has a brief scene where it is walking in the background while Dr. Dolittle talks to the tiger in the cage. This is in keeping with the fact that this movie version was only loosely based on the books. Doctor Dolittle is a 1967 musical film which tells the story of a doctor who learns from his pet parrot to talk to animals. ... For other uses, see Llama (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Eddie Murphy (disambiguation). ... Dr. Dolittle is an American comedy film, released in 1998 and starring Eddie Murphy as a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to (and understand) animals. ...

BBC News 09/19/07 "A children's story character - the Pushmi-pullyu - says hello to a donkey at an enclosure at Spitalfields City Farm in east London before it sets off on tour with a new musical production of Doctor Dolittle." ^[2]

Adaptations

There have been a number of adaptations of the Doctor Dolittle stories in other media:

• A 1928 silent animated short by Lotte Reiniger, Doktor Dolittle und seine Tiere (Doctor Dolittle and his Animals)
• A 1933 – 1934 NBC radio series.
• A 1967 film musical starring Rex Harrison. See Doctor Dolittle (film).
• A 1970 – 1972 cartoon series Doctor Dolittle, produced at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.
• A 1970s stage play by Olga Fricker, Hugh Lofting's sister-in-law.
• A 1973 stage adaptation by the Philadelphia Boys Choir which was used during their concert tour to Belgium and Kenya.
• A 1984 cartoon series The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle
• A series (1995 – 2001) of BBC audio books read by Alan Bennett.
• A 1998 – 1999 stage musical by Leslie Bricusse, based on the earlier film musical.
• A touring stage musical, Doctor Dolittle The Musical, which was built in Owensboro, Kentucky and opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in summer 2005.
• A 1998 film, Dr. Dolittle, its 2001 sequel, its 2006 sequel, and its 2008 sequel, two of the four starring Eddie Murphy, based on the stories of Doctor Dolittle. The other two star Kyla Pratt as Dolittle's daughter Maya, who shares her father's gift.
• Chief Wiggum disguises himself as Dolittle to rejoin the BeSharps in Homer's Barbershop Quartet in a episode of The Simpsons.

Charlotte Reiniger (June 2, 1899 - June 19, 1981) was a German and later British silhouette animator. ... NBC Universal Television (also known as NBC Universal Television Studio, NBC Universal Television Stations, NBC Universal Television Distribution, and NBC Universal International Television), is an American and global television production/distribution company and a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ... Lauren steiger, born in 1992 at Royal Womens hospital started acting and modelling at the age of 2 and is now currently 15 working in Milan on the catwalks. ... The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. ... Sir Reginald Rex Carey Harrison, KBE (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an Academy Award- and Tony Award-winning English theatre and film actor. ... Doctor Dolittle is a 1967 musical film which tells the story of a doctor who learns from his pet parrot to talk to animals. ... DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (sometimes abbreviated to DFE) was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. ... Published by Faber/Profile Books in 2005 Alan Bennett (born May 9, 1934) is an English author and actor noted for his work, his boyish appearance and his sonorous Yorkshire accent. ... Leslie Bricusse (born 29 January 1931) is a British lyricist. ... Owensboro is the third largest city in Kentucky and the county seat of Daviess County. ... Pittsburgh redirects here. ... The year 1998 in film involved some significant events. ... Dr. Dolittle is an American comedy film, released in 1998 and starring Eddie Murphy as a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to (and understand) animals. ... Dr. Dolittle 2 is an American comedy film, the theatrical sequel to Dr. Dolittle. ... Dr. Dolittle 3 is a 2006 American comedy film. ... For other uses, see Eddie Murphy (disambiguation). ... Kyla Alissa Pratt (born September 16, 1986), is an American actress and occasional singer. ... In the television series, The Simpsons, the Wiggum family consist of Clancy (father and police officer), Sarah (mother), and Ralph (child). ... Homers Barbershop Quartet is the first episode of The Simpsons fifth season. ...

Translations

A Russian children's novel Doctor Aybolit by K. Chukovsky was loosely based on the stories of Doctor Dolitle. Cover of the Soviet vinyl record of the fairytale, 1962 Doctor Aybolit (Aibolit) is a fictional character from the Aybolit (Doctor Aybolit) poem for children by Korney Chukovsky, which resembles Doctor Dolittle. ...

References

1. ^ Lofting, Christopher. Afterword to the Centenary Edition of The Story of Doctor Dolittle.
2. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_enl_1190200819/html/1.stm

External links

• A Doctor Dolittle fan website
• Website of Doctor Dolittle The Musical
• Dr. Dolittle und seine Tiere at the Internet Movie Database (1928 cartoon)
• Doctor Dolittle at the Internet Movie Database (1970-1972 cartoon)
• The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle at the Internet Movie Database (1984 cartoon)
• Discussion of changes between original and bowdlerized versions of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle