Felpudo, o Cachorro Promotor

The Shaggy D.A. came at the end of an era of Disney films that were family friendly, funny and somewhat zany. The opening credits are very memorable as they are animated, along with a title song being sung by Dean Jones. This is the third and last pairing of Jones and Suzanne Pleshette.

Also starring are comedy legends Tim Conway (who has some of the best one liners) and Keenan Wynn, whose personalities make the film extra fun. This sequel to 1959s The Shaggy Dog continues the story of Wilby Daniels, now, Wilby an attorney running for office. What could possibly go wrong? The Shaggy D.A. is full of antics the whole family will enjoy.

A very funny comedy, and one of the last of the 1970s filled with Disney style quirks.

I saw this back in 1976 and thought it was the funniest movie ever. Of course, I was only 7 at the time. I saw it again recently and of course noticed several things I didn't see the first time. The story is about a young lawyer/family man (Dean Jones) who runs for DA against the corrupt DA currently in office (Keenan Wynn) but the latter gets ahold of a ring which has an inscription that when read, can turn Jones into a sheepdog. The same gag (of Jones becoming a sheepdog at the worst possible time) is repeated a bit too much and most of the gags are obvious and dependant upon banana peel-like slapstick/humor. Dean Jones is a fine actor but he kept playing the same character over and over in the Disney comedies of the 70s. (He never seemed to know what was going on and was constantly the butt of the joke). Not surprisingly, the Disney slapstick films soon wore out their welcome. The Shaggy DA though is one of Disney's better offerings. It features a pretty good cast. Tim Conway as an ice cream man is especially in good form and Vic Tayback adds some life as a mobster who is in cahoots with Wynn. The humor is dated and certainly not aimed at intelligent kids but for the most part, it does deliver with the laughs.

Dean Jones and Tim Conway make this the most thrilling and hilarious Shaggy Dog movie of all time. Some of it is a bit wacky, but not ridiculous and that just adds to the fun and humor. It's not exactly a direct sequel to the original 1959 Shaggy Dog, but that doesn't hurt it at all. Personally I find the original one to be rather boring, frustrating, and confusing, but this movie is all out fun. Some parts are so funny that I couldn't stop laughing. I haven't seen any of the latter Shaggy Dog movies except for the new one with Tim Allen, which is OK, but not as good as this one, I can't see any Shaggy Dog movie being better than this.

Wiliby Daniels (Dean Jones) grows up to be an attorney and runs for D.A. of a city plagued with petty crime and grand theft auto. In this sequel, the Magical Borgia Ring is stolen by 2 small-time crooks from the museum where is was safely protected in a glass showcase. Soon almost everyone seems to know about the doggy-tranmuto power of the ring, as the Ice Cream Man (Tim Conway) has his sheepdog change several times. It's a mild "werewolf" transformation here and it's very well done and not scary at all. Movie "magic" with a trained dog, Dean Jones in make-up and a talented stuntman in a dog suit. Hans Conried is the eccentric museum curator this time. Suzanne Pleshette is the loyal wife. There's a cute kid, but he doesn't measure up to "Moochie". Co-staring Jo Anne Worley, Dick Van Patten, Vic Tayback, and Keenan Wynn (as the crooked D.A). Pat McCormick plays the bartender. It finishes with a wild car chase and the dog driving the ice cream wagon; somewhat similar to the first film. All the stray dogs are rescued from the dog pound and Wiliby becomes D.A. The dog pound scene might be a bit intense for very small children. George Carlin does some of the doggy voices. Also, there is a surprise "doggy" ending!

This is not a true sequel to the 1959 original starring Tommy Kirk as a teen-aged Wilby Daniels. By that I mean it doesn't continue the same story line. This time, Dean Jones is the adult Wilby Daneils. When his house is robbed-not once-but twice-he decides enough is enough and decides to run for DA.

From the outset Wilby is faced with two problems-first, is to try to defeat the incumbent DA-Honest John Slade(Keenan Wynn). John Slade is anything but honest-he is allowing crooks off the hook by not prosecuting them or letting them off easy. One of these crooks is Eddie Roschak(Vic Tayback-in a much more realistic portrayal of a bad guy than in "No deposit, no Return").

Wilby's Second and much more serious problem-is that the "Borger" ring has been stolen from the museum-and whenever someone reads the inscription on the ring-Wilby is transformed in to a shaggy dog-that belongs to "Tim-the ice cream man"(Tim Conway). THe dog's name is "Elwood" Wilby's Wife is Betty(Suzanne Pleshette)and they have a son, whom I call the wisecracking "Brian"(Shane Sinutko). His wife becomes his campaign manager.

John Slade gets hold of the ring and tries to blackmail Daneils out of the race by threatening to keep reading the inscription on the ring over & over again to keep Daniels as a dog. Of course he ignores the warning the museum curator gives-if you read the inscription too many times-you may turn into a dog your self.

Wilby, Brian & Tim are on a mission to get the ring back from Slade and his gang of crooks. Do they succeed? You will need to see the film to find out.

The pie fight is so funny. There are plenty of funny moments and gags in this movie. This is one of the better comedies offered by Disney in the 70's.

So, why do I vote 8 instead of 10? Well-the movie doesn't answer the questions I have: 1. Why is it that Wilby Daneils is turned into a dog himself? Why not someone else? 2. Does Daneils descend from the Borger Family, and is he a victim of a family curse? I know that in the 1959 original-Daneils finds the ring and he reads the inscription and turns into a dog. That maybe the answer-but the fact remains-not everyone who reads the inscription turns into a dog. I think there must be something else-a family trait or curse or something that only happens to Daniels and no one else.

Overall, this is a real good movie with a fine cast and directed by Disney's Ledgendary director Robert Stevenson.