They say that actors shouldn’t work with animals or kids, but Robert Downey Jr. didn’t get where he is today by adhering to conventions. The star of Iron Man and Tropic Thunder is going to talk to beasts of every shape and size in the latest adaptation of Hugh Lofting’s beloved children’s books about Doctor Dolittle, a veterinarian who claimed he could literally talk to animals.
The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle will be written and directed by Steven Gaghan, whose previous credits include thematically darker dramas like Syriana and Abandon. Hollywood Reporter reports that Universal Pictures will produce the film, which would make it the fourth live-action Doctor Dolittle to arrive in theaters, including a 1967 musical starring Rex Harrison and two broad comedies starring Eddie Murphy which, in turn, spawned three more straight-to-video sequels starring Kyla Pratt, with subtitles like Tail to the Chief and Million Dollar Mutts.
Also: Alan Menken and the Art of Disney Villain Songs (Interview)
Jokes will no doubt about about The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle being some sort of “grim and gritty” adaptation of a kids story, and that might just be possible, but Robert Downey Jr. has masterful comic timing and watching him snarkily interact with all sorts of critters is probably going to be enough of a box office draw on its own.
In the meantime, the actor is hard at work on the ambitious product of Avengers: Infinity War, which is expected to unite Iron Man with all of the other superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Presumably after such an epic ordeal he’ll be eager to just kick back and talk snide to a mongoose or something.
The Top 25 Best Disney Villain Songs:
Top Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for People’s Choice Awards
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
The Top 25 Best Disney Villain Songs
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25. The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind
The villainous Rattigan, a mouse version of Sherlock Holmes' arch-nemesis Moriarty, has some bragging to do. The villain of The Great Mouse Detective has a somewhat forgettable musical number but Vincent Price seems to be cherishing every note of it.
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24. I'm Mean
The off-kilter, slightly off-key songs of the underrated Popeye include a funny but understated villain number for Brutus (better known as "Bluto" in the cartoons), who wants you to know that he's mean. You know what he means...
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23. The Siamese Cat Song
Catchy but guilty of distasteful racial stereotyping, the villain song from Lady and the Tramp may be historically noteworthy but nowadays it's pretty darned difficult to enjoy.
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22. The Marvelous Mad Madam Mim
A zesty villain number from the energetic Mad Madam Mim, the witch who torments a young Arthur in The Sword in the Stone. It's a very fun tune but it just doesn't have much of an impact compared to most of these other villain songs.
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21. Every Little Piece
The underrated original version of Pete's Dragon features two unforgettably nasty villain songs. The first on our list is a disturbing little number from two snake oil salesman who fantasize about cutting pieces off of the title character. Yikes.
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20. Heffalumps and Woozles
"Heffalumps" and "woozles" probably don't exist but that doesn't stop Winnie the Pooh from having a vivid, trippy nightmare about them stealing his honey in this freaky-deaky song from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
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19. I'm Number One
Muppets Most Wanted was a mostly forgettable movie, but the villain had a couple solid songs in him. In "I'm Number One" he reminds his henchman Ricky Gervais who's on top by literally dancing on the actor's head.
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18. Les Poissons
It should be a comic relief number but in a world where most of our heroes are at least part fish, a ditty about a chef who lives for cooking the supporting cast comes across as impressively ghoulish.
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17. The Happiest Home in These Hills
The hero of the original Pete's Dragon has been purchased by a despicable family who, in their big number, try to convince him to come home but can't resist yelling about how they're going to saw him in half and eat him for dessert. It's a weird movie but these villain songs stick out in the best possible way.
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16. Shiny
Jemaine Clement plays a crab obsessed with sparkly baubles in Moana, and he has a show-stopping number explaining the importance of all that flare. "Shiny" is a great song but it doesn't fit very well with the rest of the film, digressing from both the plot and overall musical style.
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15. Let's Talk About Me
Villain songs don't exist in a vacuum. If you were to listen to "Let's Talk About Me" without seeing the rest of The Muppets it might just seem like a lark. But the way this song plops into the film with almost no provocation whatsoever, combined with its brazen self-congratulatory weirdness, and the fact that Oscar-winner Chris Cooper is the one rapping its lyrics, make it a classic gag song.
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14. Friends on the Other Side
The toe-tapping villain song from The Princess and the Frog might come across like a simple knockoff of Ursuala's number from The Little Mermaid, but this particular offer to make a deal with the devil gets bonus points for its glorious animation, styled after blacklight paintings and voodoo symbolism.
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13. I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)
The second villain song from Muppets Most Wanted is an infectious ditty, in which the evil Constantine - who has been unconvincingly impersonating Kermit the Frog - appeals to Miss Piggy's vanity by offering her literally everything she wants. Catchy and insidious and, when the "thingy-thing" shows up, wonderfully absurd.
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12. Mother Knows Best
One of Disney's most subtly despicable villain songs finds a kidnapper, Gothel, manipulating her "daughter" using subtle psychological abuse. The music makes it sound loving, but that only makes the cruelty of the lyrics all the more disturbing.
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11. Sarah's Theme (Come Little Childen)
Disney's cult favorite Hocus Pocus may not be a musical (and Bette Midler's cover of "I Put a Spell On You" doesn't count), but this creepy lullaby sung by Sarah Jessica Parker - designed to lure children to their demise - has rightly become iconic to a generation. It's a silly film, but it's an eerie song.
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10. Trust in Me (The Python's Song)
Another seductive lullaby, this time from the villainous snake Kaa, who has hypnotized the man-cub Mowgli into following his every malicious word. The clever use of Kaa's malleable body and the calming, friendly delivery by the great Sterling Halloway help make it a classic.
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9. The Mob Song
Most villain songs are sung by or about individual villains, but the disturbingly rousing "Mob Song" from Beauty and the Beast casts all of society - manipulated by a fear-monger via great publicity - as the real monsters. It's a suspenseful number that perfectly captures the message of one of Disney's best films.
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8. Oogie Boogie's Song
Lots of villains in musicals get show-stopping numbers about their own personal greatness, but few seem to relish their moment in the spotlight more Than the Oogie-Boogie Man in The Nightmare Before Christmas. He's not just singing, he's practically headlining in Vegas. He gets points for presentation.
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7. Poor Unfortunate Souls
Of all the Disney songs by villains who want to lure a hero to the dark side, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is easily the most convincing. Ursula has a devil's bargain to strike with The Little Mermaid, and she we'd make that deal too, thanks to a song that feigns pity for the hero's plight and a spectacular animated and vocal performance.
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6. The Headless Horseman
None other than the great Bing Crosby sings this spectacular campfire song from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, in which Brom Bones warns a timid schoolteacher about the supernatural villain that haunts the woods. "The Headless Horseman" is an iconic example of Disney showmanship.
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5. Kidnap the Sandy Claws
Few other Disney songs can claim to be as mean-spirited and nightmarish as "Kidnap the Sandy Claws," a song by the Nightmare Before Christmas villain's henchmen, all about their evil plans to abduct a beloved childhood hero and torture and murder and eat him. Jeepers.
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4. Cruella De Vil
One of Disney's most iconic villains is such a detestable character that the heroes of 101 Dalmations have written a song about how much they hate her. They even don't break into spontaneous song. Roger is a songwriter who actively uses his skills to compose a ditty about how much she sucks. The damnedest thing is he was underselling his point. Cruella De Vil is so wicked she actually seems to deserve this treatment. Maybe she should be honored... after all, "Cruella De Vil" is one of the catchiest villain songs ever written.
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3. Gaston
By the time the villagers sing a rousing barroom chanty to the greatness of town hero Gaston, nobody has any idea he's a villain yet... including Gaston. That's what makes this Beauty and the Beast centerpiece so unnerving. It demonstrates just how seductive shallowness can be, and how inspired the masses sometimes are by charismatic blowhards. Brilliant and - not for nothing - endlessly hummable.
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2. Be Prepared
Few Disney villains have the same breadth of vision as Scar, the usurper of the throne in The Lion King, who murders his own brother and - in the behind-the-scenes scheming song "Be Prepared" - organizes an army of hyenas to usher in a new era of outright fascism. The music is great, Jeremy Irons sells the cocksure villainy, and the imagery is particularly haunting, inspired by Leni Riefenstahl's horrifying pro-Nazi propaganda film The Triumph of the Will.
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1. Hellfire
Judge Frollo is on a completely different level of Disney villainy, a hypocritical religious leader who oppresses the disfigured and - in a musical number so incredibly subversive it's hard to believe Disney even tried selling to audiences (let alone succeeded) - decides that if he can't have sex with the woman who fills his heart with lust, he will murder her. "Hellfire" is operatic in the extreme, as big a statement as Disney has ever made, as powerful a descent into the concept of Hell as an animated family movie has ever dared. And when placed in contrast with the song that immediately precedes it, the earnest and heavenly "Heaven's Light", this number comes across as especially perverse. Villain songs don't get much more desperate and villainous.
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