Doctor Dolittle (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The series has not been shown in syndication in recent years due to politically incorrect stereotypes of the pirate crew and strong drug implications during George and the Grasshoppers' musical numbers.
• It first appeared on British TV on BBC1 on Thursday, 25 November 1971.
• It was dubbed in Sinhala in Sri Lanka as 'Dosthara Hoda hitha'.

Synopsis

Doctor Dolittle travels the world on his ship, the Flounder, to aid sick animals, assisted by his first mate, young sailor Tommy Stubbins, and the ship's animal crew. A disguised submarine called Sub-Mar Island, the stronghold of Sam Scurvy and his pirate crew, follows wherever the Flounder goes. The pirates, who dress in a mix of old-fashioned pirate and gangster attire, belong to the Democratic Organisation of Pirates International (DOPI). Sam Scurvy seeks world domination by obtaining the secret of talking to animals to raise an army of creatures. Using his eavesdropping device, the Sneaky Snorkel, he learns of Dolittle's missions and tries to hinder or kidnap him, but the pirates' ineptitude and Dolittle's skills always thwart them.

Characters

In this animated series, Doctor Dolittle, voiced by Bob Holt with an English accent mimicking Rex Harrison, is a veterinarian who can communicate with animals. His first mate, Tommy Stubbins, voiced by Hal Smith also in an English accent, is a sailor who shares this ability. The crew includes Chee-Chee, a cabin monkey voiced by Don Messick; Dab-Dab, a duck who works as the ship’s cook; and Polynesia, the Doctor’s pet parrot who originally taught him to talk to animals.

The Pushmi-Pullyu, voiced by Don Messick, is a two-headed llama that serves as the ship’s lookout, often warning of pirates. One of its heads wears a blue collar, the other an orange collar and glasses. Too-Too is the wise owl, and Jip, voiced by Don Messick, is the Doctor’s dog. George and the Grasshoppers, a rock group of grasshoppers led by George (voiced by Lennie Weinrib), live inside the Doctor’s medicine case.

During each episode, they pop open the case and perform a rock or pop song, with the bottles glowing and flashing psychedelic colors behind them. Their singing voices are provided by Robbie Faldoon, Annadell, Colin Johnson, Mike Sherwood, and Glyn Nelson. The main antagonist is Sam Scurvy, voiced by Lennie Weinrib in a Brooklyn accent, who leads a pirate faction called D.O.P.I. and wears a fedora and business suit. His crew includes Cyclops, a dimwit pirate with an eyepatch over his good eye; Zig-Zag, an uptight French pirate voiced by Lennie Weinrib; Nico, an Italian pirate voiced by Don Messick; and Miko, a Chinese pirate.