Children will revel in this infamous musical comedy based on Hugh Lofting's stories, but it was a costly disaster in its day, which almost killed off 20th Century-Fox. Its longevity belies a thumpingly leaden affair, in which Rex Harrison is squeakily embarrassing as the dotty doc. There are some good tunes, including the Oscar-winning Talk to the Animals, and the special effects also won an Academy Award, but overall it is rather a bore - to adults, that is. Another curious example of a film that bombed at the box office in its day, but refuses to lie in its celluloid grave.

A veterinarian who can communicate with animals travels abroad to search for a giant sea snail.