If I could talk to the animals, just imagine it" said the Oscar winning song articulated just so by Rex Harrison in the 1967 musical version of "Dr. Dolittle." Based on the stories by Hugh Lofting, the 60's version of the film was heavy on fantasy, featuring pink snails and other whimsical creatures.

The new movie, Doctor Dolittle ditches the fantasy and opts for banal humor with a moral overtone. The new Doctor is an inner city physician in danger of being swallowed by corporate HMO indifference. After chatting with a committee of beasts, however, the good Dr. realizes that old fashion family values are what really matter.

Unfortunately, this noble sentiment is mostly lost in the bathroom zestiness of the film, strikingly different from the Rex Harrison execution. Yet both are remarkably average. The musical Dolittle was an outright flop, while this new rendition is faithful to the film's title--it does little.

There's a ubiquitous joke, one all pet owners probably ponder at some time or another. What does an animal really think when the vet wields that thermometer near it's tail. And with Norm McDonald's sardonic tones adding just the right lilting inflection to the voice of a street-wise mutt, we soon find out.

Then there's a plethora of animals who traipse across the screen bringing their woes to the good Doctor, and while it's all moderately entertaining, there's little to inspire. A rat with gas and an attitude proves his personality is as abhorrent as his appearance, a pigeon has a jealous lover, and a tiger has dizzy spells.

Amid this crazy jungle of mutterings, complaints, and jeers, Eddie Murphy is the straightman Dr. Dolittle. Now Murphy is probably best known for his smart mouth, so it's quite a turn around to see him resolutely languid while everyone else volleys wisecracks hither and yon. And the animal quips are often not only funny, but they are also voiced by a variety of interesting people. Chris Rock is wonderful as the guinea pig, as is Ellen Degeneres as the young Dolittle's dog that tries to fill him in on the popular animal greeting of butt sniffing.

I found Dr. Dolittle to be an uneven movie. For the most part it's most enjoyable, if basic in it's humor, and the nose up to HMO's is timely. Yet my overall impression is that this movie might have a ticket to the ballgame, but it's certainly not a player.