"The truth is that you prefer animals to people," Polynesia pronounces in an authoritative voice. As Polynesia is a parrot and speaks, courtesy of modern electronics, in the ringing tones of Dame Julie Andrews (no less), you'd better believe her, writes Giles Woodforde.

John Dolittle began his career as a country GP, but by the time the curtain goes up on Doctor Dolittle, the animals have taken over:" "I've got 600 mouths to feed," wails the good doctor. The trouble is that once the patients arrive, they never leave again. Is that because they end up on the doctor's dinner table? Oh dear me no, in a show that constantly bangs home its impeccable animal rights message, nothing like that goes on. Actually, the issue is sometimes fudged: for instance, a vixen and her cubs take up residence, but most conveniently there isn't a single tempting chicken in sight. But never mind the chickens, there are plenty of other creatures to see,

including Jip the woolly dog and Chee-Chee the chimpanzee, who are major characters. Their body language is so realistic that you completely forget that they are humans in costume. Amazingly, the actors involved, Matthew Lyons and Clare Goodman, are not listed as principal performers. They should be.

There's enormous input too, from Jim Henson's Creature Shop, which has given birth to many of the other animals. Doctor Dolittle shows that animatronics have developed spectacularly since Jim Henson first created his wonderful Muppets: to say more would spoil the fun. Judging by their facial expressions, however, several of Dr Dolittle's patients had ancestors in The Muppet Show.

Meanwhile Dr Dolittle himself has been learning to talk to the animals in their own languages. In a hilarious moment, he addresses a bear, currently employed by a travelling circus. The bear looks nonplussed. Eventually the bear lifts his headgear, revealing a human face: of course there are no animal acts here. Russ Abbot is totally natural as the doctor, in a performance that is both first-class and self-effacing. All this is complemented by quite stupendous scenery (Mark Thompson) and lighting (Hugh Vanstone), and by Leslie Bricusse's perfectly pleasant music. The only weak link once again, is an inadequate sound amplification system.

It's quite impossible not to enjoy this extremely colourful show, which continues at the Milton Keynes Theatre until October 14. The production is this year's Christmas show at the Oxford Apollo, and judging by the reaction of the multi-aged Milton Keynes audience, it will provide strong competition for the traditional pantos. But if you want to see Russ Abbot, go to Milton Keynes he's replaced in Oxford by Phillip Schofield.