Combining the charm of the first movie with the recent Hollywood obsession with animal-antics, this sequel is a film that kids, with their inherent interest in digestive details, will find most appealing.

The film's focus is a forest, which is about to be flattened by the movie's sneering baddy (Jones), and the inhabitant endangered bear (voiced by Friends' star Kudrow).

The animals, led by a beaver that thinks he's The Godfather, persuade Dolittle to help, and he hatches a plan that just might save the protected species.

He recruits a male bear from a circus to mate with the female in the wild before the baddies arrive with their bulldozers and chainsaws.

The story takes an unexpected twist when the animals of the world unite, go on strike and shut down Sea World.

Dr Dolittle is not the kind of movie that requires deep study but it is genuinely funny, especially in scenes involving the surprisingly domesticated bear.

And the interaction between Kudrow and Murphy is bound to leave you in stitches.

Dominic Bloch