After his wife's death, Dr John Dolittle (Robert Downey, Jr) hermits himself away behind the high wall of his manor, but is forced to set sail on an epic adventure when the queen falls gravely ill. Helping Dolittle in search of a rare cure, are his rambunctious animal friends-- including Chee-Chee (Rami Malek), an anxious, self-conscious gorilla Dab-Dab (Octavia Spencer), an enthusiastic but birdbrained duck; the bickering duo of cynical, neurotic ostrich Plimpton (Kumail Nanjiani) and chilly-but-chill polar bear Yoshi (John Cena); as well as a headstrong parrot named Polynesia (Emma Thompson).