DISNEY - THE SHAGGY DOG/THE SHAGGY DA SET MOVIE PAGE
DISNEY - THE SHAGGY DOG/THE SHAGGY DA SET
THE SHAGGY DOG(1959):
One of Disney's best live action movies ever produced!
With great actors(Fred McMurray, Annette Funicello,
Tommy Kirk, Tim Considine, and Kevin Corcoran), a
wonderful, funny story line, and lots of humor, this is
a great movie, even today! A
From a reviewer at IMDb.com
Cranky mailman Wilson Daniels (a delightfully charming
portrayal by Fred MacMurray) has a vehement disdain
for dogs. Things get hairy (both literally and figuratively)
when his likable misfit son Wilby (a wonderfully amiable
performance by Tommy Kirk) gets stricken by a magical
ring that causes him to transform into a big shaggy sheepdog.
Wilby has to perform an act of heroism by thwarting an
international spy ring so he can break the spell. Director
Charles Bartun, working from a witty and good-natured
script by Bill Walsh and Lillie Haward, relates the zany plot
at a constant zippy pace, maintains a pleasant and frothy
tone throughout, and stages the slapstick gags with praiseworthy
brio (amusing comic highlights include the dog disrupting a
swanky dance party, a hapless patrolman's sidesplitting
constant run-ins with the talking pooch, and a marvelously
wacky last reel car chase). Moreover, the characters are
well-developed, sympathetic, and above all even pretty
believable as everyday folks who find themselves caught
up in a fantastic situation. Extra kudos are in order for the
uniformly sound acting from a tip-top cast: MacMurray and
Kirk shine in the lead roles, with fine support from Jean
Hagen as Wilson's doting wife Freeda, Kevin Corcoran as
Wilby's mischievous little squirt kid brother Moochie, Tim
Considine as Wilby's hip pal Buzz Miller, Roberta Shore
as fetching French hottie Franceska Andrassy, Annette
Funicello as the sweet and adorable Allison D'Allessio, Cecil
Kellaway as the jolly Professor Plumcutt, and Strother Martin
as no-count criminal Thurm. Sam the dog is simply amazing
as the titular canine. Legendary voice actor Paul Frees provides
the narration and even has an uncredited minor part as disbelieving
psychiatrist Dr. J.W. Galvin. The theme song is an absolute
groovy gas. Edward Colman's crisp black and white cinematography
makes neat occasional use of fades and dissolves. Endearing
family fare. - Woodyanders
Cast Of The Shaggy Dog:
Fred MacMurray ... Wilson Daniels
Jean Hagen ... Freeda Daniels
Tommy Kirk ... Wilby Daniels
Annette Funicello ... Allison D'Allessio
Tim Considine ... Buzz Miller
Kevin Corcoran ... Moochie (Montgomery) Daniels
Cecil Kellaway ... Professor Plumcutt
Alexander Scourby ... Dr. Mikhail Andrassy
Roberta Shore ... Franceska Andrassy
James Westerfield ... Officer Hanson
Strother Martin ... Thurm
Forrest Lewis ... Officer Kelly
Ned Wever ... FBI Chief E.P. Hackett
Gordon Jones ... Captain Scanlon, Police Chief
Jacques Aubuchon ... Stefano
THE SHAGGY DA(1976):
Obviously not going to be as good as the original,
and missing the main actors from the original really
hurts! On the plus side, this has several pretty
good actors here(Dean Jones[The Love Bug, Jailhouse
Rock, That Darn Cat, Blackbeards Ghost], Tim Conway
[McHale's Navy, The Carol Bunette Show], Suzanne
Pleshette[Blackbeard's Ghost, The Bob Newhart Show,
Support Your Local Gunfighter, The Birds], Keenan
Wynn[Herbie Rides Again, The Aabsent Minded Professor,
Son Of Flubber], Dick Van Patton[Eight Is Enough,
Westworld, Robin Hood - Men In Tights], Jo Anne
Worley[Laugh-In], Vic Tayback[Alice, Bullitt],
Ronnie Schell[That Darn Cat, The Strongest Man
In The World, Gomer Pyle] & John Fielder[Star
Trek: TOS episode "Wolf In The Fold", several
Winnie The Pooh movies!]!
The story is about Wilbie Daniels and his running
for, what else, District Attourney! His main opponant,
the incumbant, is a shady character and in cahoots
with the local gangster. He finds out about Wilbie's
past and turning into a dog because of a ring! B+
From a reviewer at IMDb.com
Attorney Wilby Daniels (played by Dean Jones) and
his wife Betty (played by Suzanne Pleshette) return
to their home and find out that it has just been robbed.
After the robbers return a second time to take everything
else that they had left, Wilby decides to run for District
Attorney so he can clean up the town and lock up the
criminals for good.
Meanwhile, the same robbers who broke into his house
have also stolen the famous Borgia ring from the local
museum. Unfortunately for Wilby, every time someone
reads the inscription, he turns into a sheepdog again.
This of course, happens at the most inconvenient times,
and the result is a silly, family-friendly comedy.
The Shaggy D.A. is a sequel to the 1959 Disney film, the
Shaggy Dog. Though it's not quite as funny as the original,
there still is a lot to like about this version of the story. The
acting is pretty much on par with what we've come to expect
from these Disney films, and the characters are pretty
interesting, even if they are one-dimensional. The transformation
from human to dog doesn't seem to work as well here as it
did in the 1959 film, for some reason, but it's fine. If I had
a complaint about this movie, it's that it goes a bit long and
the same gags are used a few times too many. Other than
that, it's nice to find a film that doesn't resort to 7th grade
humor that seems to be in every "family" film these days.
The bottom line is this is a decent movie if you'd like to have
a good time with the kids, but adults will be a bit bored from
it fairly soon. It's not as good as some of the other Disney
comedies from the 1960s and 1970s. - MovieKen
Cast Of The Shaggy D.A.:
Dean Jones ... Wilby Daniels
Tim Conway ... Tim
Suzanne Pleshette ... Betty Daniels
Keenan Wynn ... John Slade
Jo Anne Worley ... Katrinka Muggelberg
Dick Van Patten ... Raymond
Shane Sinutko ... Brian Daniels
Vic Tayback ... Eddie Roschak
John Myhers ... Adm. Brenner
Richard Bakalyan ... Freddie (as Dick Bakalyan)
Warren Berlinger ... Dip
Ronnie Schell ... T.V. Director
Jonathan Daly ... T.V. Interviewer
John Fiedler ... Howie Clemmings
Hans Conried ... Prof. Whatley