The Shaggy Dog

'The Shaggy Dog' is mostly amusing.

It hasn't aged beautifully, the switching from real dog to costume looks fairly ridiculous now - though it kinda does add to the humour in parts, albeit unintentionally. The cast aren't anything spectacular but do the jobs that are needed.

'Old Yeller' duo Tommy Kirk (Wilby) and Kevin Corcoran (Moochie) are back together, both improving on their performances from that aforementioned 1957 production; especially Corcoran. Fred MacMurray is solid as Daniel, while James Westerfield and Forrest Lewis play the humorous roles of Officers Hanson and Kelly.

It's a simple film, one that probably does last about 10-15 minutes too long. However, a chucklesome story keeps things chugging along calmly.

This is a classic Disney film. Fred MacMurray and others make this a joy to watch. I have seen it several times and always enjoy it...my children even agree with me on this. Contrary to another comment, I believe it has held up very well over the years, though it is dated by virtue of the fact that it reflects the comedy of the period in which it was filmed. I've seen several of the remakes/sequels and none have equalled the original.

After years of strictly animated features, this is the first live action feature from Disney and it is still a delight even 44 years after it was first released. Fred MacMurray shows what a great comedic talent he was after years of playing primarily dramatic roles. He shows in this film a preview of what was to be expected when he started the show that became his trademark, "My Three Sons". Also, Tommy Kirk, Tim Considine and Kevin Corcoran all were great in this film. This is still a great film.

The "Wild & Woolly" DVD edition of 1959's THE SHAGGY DOG (and some product reviews and posts found here) claim this film is the "first live action movie ever produced by Walt Disney!" I guess all those other live action features Walt produced PRIOR to THE SHAGGY DOG (such as 1957's OLD YELLER or 1954's Academy Award-winning 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, among others) didn't count? (One comment posted here stated that 20,000 LEAGUES, like TREASURE ISLAND, was one of the films done for Disney in England because of studio funds tied up there. Not true; when not filming on location, 20,000 LEAGUES was shot on the sound stages at the Disney Studio in California...information supplied to me by the studio while I was researching & writing a magazine article on the making of the film.) I can see how some reviewers might make such a mistake, but for the claim to appear on the packaging that was approved by the Disney staff takes some serious explaining. (As does the differences in running time for the two versions of the film, with the B&W version being the full cut of the movie, while the colorized version is missing about 10 minutes of material.) Don't get me wrong,this is a great comedy and well worth having...it just deserved a bit better treatment for its fans.

You know, sometimes we write these commentaries about films as if they were somehow works of art to be dismantled and put together again through analysis. Sometimes a movie like this is just a hoot. It's the age old story of a couple guys lusting after the same girl/girls. Here Annette Funicello is the first and then Roberta Shore (whom I had all but forgotten). Tommy Kirk's nerd doesn't have much of a chance with these foxes against the handsome Tim Considine (who was on My Three Sons and then tossed aside as if he never existed), so he finds a way, through a magic ring, to get inside the body of her dog. Of course, then it's sight gag after sight gag, boy/dog stuff. It is done with a delicate touch because these kids could act. Don't take this stuff too seriously. Just sit and enjoy.