Dr. Doolittle 2

A rather sedate Eddie Murphy as the titular good doctor once again talks to the animals in this crude, lightweight mix of social commentary and juvenile entertainment. Dolittle is asked by a Godfather-like beaver to help save their forest from being strip-harvested by an evil lumber mogul (Jeffery Jones) and his scheming attorney (Kevin Pollack). His challenge is to get a wild Pacific West bear to mate with a circus bear and give birth to cubs, which in turn will require the forest to be placed under federal protection. A dog (the voice of Norm Macdonald) narrates the story as a boring subplot involving the doctor’s self-focused teen daughter gets in the way of the expected urinating-animal jokes. Directed by rap video veteran Steve Carr (Next Friday).