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By the Numbers: Dolittle

January 20, 2020
By Dana Najjar

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Have you ever wished you could talk to animals? Doctor Dolittle can! The classic children’s book character who can communicate with creatures is coming to the big screen this month. The movie stars Robert Downey Jr., fresh from his role as Iron Man, as the doctor. In the movie, he sets sail on a quest to find a mythical island. He’s accompanied by a star-studded voice cast of chatty critters, which includes Tom Holland as Jip the dog and Selena Gomez as Betsy the giraffe.

Read on to learn more about Doctor Dolittle. Then plug in the numbers to solve the equation below and reveal a final fact.

32

Imperial War Museums

Years it took author Hugh Lofting to write all 14 books in the series. He first imagined the characters in letters to his children from the battlefields during World War I.

3

Jason Merritt/TERM/Getty Images (Downey Jr.); Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images (Murphy); CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images (Harrison)

Robert Downey Jr. (left), Eddie Murphy (middle), Rex Harrison (right)

Actors who have played Doctor John Dolittle in movies.

180

Number of pages in the first book, which was published 100 years ago.

230

Courtesy of Universal Pictures (ostrich); Shutterstock.com (scale)

Average weight in pounds of a male ostrich. Dolittle rides Plimpton the ostrich in the film!

10

Courtesy of Universal Pictures (polar bear); Shutterstock.com (ruler)

Height in feet of a male polar bear standing on its hind legs, like Yoshi, who is voiced by wrestler John Cena.

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Inequalities

Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images (medal)

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