Shaggy Dog - Papà che abbaia... non morde

In this 21st century update of the 1959 Disney classic (and its 1976 sequel, "The Shaggy D.A."), Tim Allen is cast as Dave Douglas, a deputy district attorney who ends up being bitten by a mystical Tibetan canine who is supposedly hundreds of years old. Of course, he will then start transforming into a dog himself - at the worst possible times, naturally. He'll have to do some serious adjusting to these developments as he discovers some truths about the case he is currently trying, and deals with a nefarious geneticist (Robert Downey, Jr.).

Usually derided by adult viewers, who understandably are miffed by some mis-use of acting talent, "The Shaggy Dog" '06 is really not that bad. This viewer would be lying if he said that he didn't burst out laughing at some of the expected gags where Allen is committing to canine behaviour while still in human form. The transformations are almost entirely done off screen, with cuts made between Allen and his canine version.

Since this IS a Disney feature we're talking about, it should come as no surprise that it does get sentimental, and ultimately workaholic / absentee dad Dave will become a better man, and become closer to his children, through his off the wall experience.

Allen is definitely fun, and the supporting cast serves him well: Danny Glover, Philip Baker Hall, Kristin Davis, Spencer Breslin and Zena Grey as the kids. Jane Curtin is admittedly under utilized in a very straight role as the judge presiding over the trial. But this viewer will be honest, the main reason that "The Shaggy Dog" '06 hits him in a soft spot is because the dog in the movie is a bearded collie (or beardie). This may offend some purists, since the dog in the original movies was an Olde English Sheepdog, but I love beardies; our family had one for fourteen years and she was a wonderful pet. And Cole, the beardie utilized here, is adorable and obviously extremely well trained. Young viewers may take to some of the other endearing animal characters, as well.

While inevitably formulaic and predictable, this movie generates enough decent laughs to make it okay entertainment.

Six out of 10.

(Synopsis) Dr. Kozak (Robert Downey Jr.) kidnaps a 300-year old Tibetan sheepdog in an attempt to discover the dog's secret of longevity and produce a fountain of youth drug. Unfortunately, all he has produced are animal mutations such as a king cobra-canine with a tail, a dog-frog that barks, and other mutations that are part dog. The sheepdog escapes the lab and is rescued by Carly Douglas (Zena Grey), who takes him home. Deputy District Attorney Dave Douglas (Tim Allen) is prosecuting Carly's teacher for the firebombing of Dr. Kozak's lab. Dave hates dogs, and after he is bitten by the sheepdog, the dog is sent to the pound. The dog has injected Dave with some of his DNA cells, and Dave begins to have canine urges and eventually, becomes a sheepdog. Dave learns the truth about his family and the drug company as a dog.

(My Comment) This is a cute movie that you can take your children to. There are several funny scenes like the bathroom and park scenes that are just hilarious. I think they wasted their money on the CG effects on the cat chasing scene. If you look at the Shaggy Dog poster, you will see Tim Allen's eerie eyes. I enjoyed this movie, and you must remember that this is only a movie, and don't take the plot too seriously. (Note: The dog is actually a bearded collie.) (Walt Disney, Run time 1:38, Rated PG) (5/10)

I took my daughter to see this movie, and we both enjoyed it very much. We can't wait until it comes out on DVD to add to our personal collection. I really was happy with the fact that there wasn't any profanity throughout the entire movie. It reminded me of the good old days when rated PG movies could be watched by the entire family. We laughed throughout the entire movie, and it managed to hold my 8 year old daughter's attention, which is commendable within itself. So, I really wanted to say Thank You to all of the individuals who were apart of the decision making process of making sure that this movie was completely decent for our children to watch.

So it's a dumb movie with a dumb plot - what do you expect? Agatha Christie? Robert Ludlum? This is a Disney film for children!

As a kids' movie, it's a lot of fun with plenty of slapstick and lots of laughs. The plot is goofy, but the basic premise is hardly meant to be realistic. This is not cinema verité. People give "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson a much higher rating, but that's just as daft.

There are plenty of set-piece chases, as you would expect with a storyline about dogs.

If you want clever, go see the Usual Suspects, just don't take your under-eights.

When I ask, "where's the magic?" I'm not talking about the magic that turns Tim Allen into a sheep dog. I'm talking about the "Disney Magic." I realize that a bunch of you have already commented on this, but now I'd like to add my two cents.

The original "Shaggy Dog" movie was released in 1959 (my parents were about three years old). I constantly watched it on video when I was a kid. It was cheesy, sappy, corny, etc. Even though the story was silly, the acting bad, and the special effects tacky, it had a certain charm and squishy Disney cuteness that made it appealing. I watched it recently, and I still liked it even though I'm a 26-year-old man now.

The fact that the new movie sucks has nothing to do with the fact that I'm old and jaded. It doesn't have to do with the bad acting (except for Tim Allen, who, as always, did well with what he was given) or lame special effects. Disney has lost its magic. You can only do so many remakes and sequels of a movie before it turns into a cliché and loses all the creativity and charisma of the original. This is about the fourth or fifth remake and/or sequel of the original, and it's not cute any more. It's the Xerox effect. If you keep making copies of something, you lose the all the sharpness and clarity that you began with.

Disney has perfected this over the last ten years. They've ruined just about every classic they ever made by coming out with a cheap remake or thrown-together sequel. The Shaggy Dog has gone from being a silly story about an awkward teenager trying to deal with life as all these crazy things start happening to him (totally relatable story, by the way), into a goofy special effects showcase about a lawyer who's prosecuting a tree-hugging hippie teacher, only to find out that the teacher isn't a criminal but was framed by these evil scientists who are doing genetic testing on animals (I could go off on how Disney always tries to put some liberal message into all of its new movies, but this isn't a political website).

If the good people at Disney would put more time and effort into making new and original films, they could once again become a great company. Instead they make mediocre original stuff and lackluster rehashes, and they're wasting their money. If all their resources would go into new ventures, we would probably see fewer movies from them each year, but we would once again be astounded and mesmerized by that Disney magic.