The Shaggy D.A. (1976)

A Dog's Tale

This movie was a sequel to the clever 1959 movie "The Shaggy Dog." That movie was charming and clever, packing a lot of humor and numerous subplots into a relatively short film. Unfortunately, this film is a pale shadow of the earlier film. The jokes are often forced and a viewer can easily see that the special effects used to make the dogs talk are film loops of dogs chewing. I recommend this film only for people who are loyal Disney fans or fans of the numerous well-known actors in this film.

Wilby Daniels (Tommy Kirk) encountered a Borgia ring in the 1959 movie "The Shaggy Dog." His transmutation into a sheep dog stopped at the end of the movie and the ring was put into safe keeping. Seventeen years later Wilby Daniels, now played by Disney regular Dean Jones, is an attorney living in a town full of corruption, lead by district attorney "Honest" John Slade, played by another Disney regular, Keenan Wynn. After being a victim of the rampant crime in Medfield, Wilby decides it is time to challenge Slade for the position of district attorney.

Unfortunately for Daniels, the Borgia ring has resurfaced and has already worked wonders for his hair; and his nose; and his tail! In a reprise of the original movie, we see Wilby turn into a sheepdog at the worst possible times. Wilby also manages to vex Tim Conway, who keeps trying to win a bet that his sheepdog Elwood can talk.

The rest of the movie is routinely scripted with slapstick jokes and scenes that are variations of similar jokes and themes from 1970's-era Disney movies, which is really the problem with this movie. The movie is okay, but uninspired. The movie struggles to be funny. The minimal tension in the movie is forced and generally unbelievable. The movie comes across as being tired.

In spite of the rehashed plot, the tired jokes and the slapstick, there are things to like about this movie. Somehow Suzanne Pleshette rises above the script in her role as wife Betty Daniels. Though the character of "Honest" John Slade is a stereotype of similar characters in other Disney films, Keenan Wynn is always fun to watch. The movie had other shining moments. The cherry pie fight scene was funny. Though the talking dog bit was over-used, the dog pound breakout had humorous moments.

Other well-known stars from that era include Vic Tayback (a regular in the television show "Alice") as crook Eddie Roschak, Dick Van Patten ("Eight Is Enough") as Slade's assistant, and Jo Ann Worley (whose first role was in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" in 1960, but became famous on Rowan and Martin's "Laugh-In"; Worley also appeared in the 1962 Disney space comedy "Moon Pilot") as Tim Conway's roller derby girl friend Katrinka Muggelberg.

In the 1950's and the 1960's Disney excelled at light comedy. The movie "The Shaggy Dog" is one of those light comedies. Unfortunately, Disney struggled in the late 1960's and in the 1970's with weak plots and weak scripts. This sequel to "The Shaggy Dog" was one of those that suffered from a weak script. Fortunately, there are just enough moments in this movie to make the movie worth having if you are a Dean Jones fan, a big Disney fan, or a fan of any of the other actors in this movie. I am usually comfortable with my rating for a movie, but if I could I would have rated this one three and a half stars.

Good luck!
February 25, 2007

Entertaining

I thought the movie was interesting. I did not like the number of time the director had Tim Allen seemingly nude, Wew! I thought the themes were interesting: father accepts son's interest in theatre, father learns to spend more time with his family, and father discovers the courage of his daughter.

Shaggy represents the quest for the fountain of youth and the magic serum. Shaggy, instead of aging in dog years has an inverse equation allowing him to live seven times as long, for a total of 300 years.

The Shaggy DA story is about discovery by switching places between father and son and daughter and seeing the world from the other person's eyes. The music was good, the surban life environment was "every day", and the character cast was entertaining.

Shaggy DA character steals from older themes like the "American Werewolf", when Daniels heart beat increases he transforms into a dog. The humour reminds me of "American Werewolf" with Micheal J Fox. Fox was more charmastic and appealing. Daniel, after mediating or sleeping would revert back to human form usually under a full moon.

Special effects were entertaining: The Cobra acts like "Buttercup" in "Master of Disguise" and the rats bark, a bulldog frog flops around, and the monkeys lead the escape for the research lab. May 29, 2006

TIM CONWAY SAVES "THE SHAGGY D.A."

Disney's "The Shaggy D.A." is an inferior follow-up to the original classic, "The Shaggy Dog." The film stars Disney regular, Dean Jones, as Wilby Daniels (the part originally played by Tommy Kirk), who is now married to beautiful Suzanne Pleshette and is running for district attorney. Some crooks steal the cursed ring that was responsible for turning Wilby into a sheep dog when he was a teenager. The crooks thought the ring might be worth a fortune but discover no one will buy it, so they sell it to Tim Conway, whose an ice cream salesman and owns a big shaggy sheep dog named Elwood. Of course, he reads the encryption on the ring and Dean Jones turns into the sheep dog! Tim Conway saves "The Shaggy D.A." with his comic genius and has several funny moments throughout the film. Dean Jones is one of my favorite Disney actors, but this isn't his finest film. His best performances are in "Blackbeard's Ghost," "The Snowball Express," and the classic "The Love Bug." The dvd receives a very good transfer and is in the widescreen format. Extras include a making-of documentary with interviews with Tim Conway and Dick Van Patten, which give some insights on the film's set during production. I recommend "The Shaggy D.A." to Disney dvd collector's and fans of Dean Jones, and especially Tim Conway. "The Shaggy D.A." is a fair companion to "The Shaggy Dog" and a nice addition to the Disney dvd library. March 16, 2006

The Truth About What Is On The Shaggy D.A.

On March 7 get ready to see the sequel to the The Shaggy Dog staring Dean Jones, Jo Anne Worley, Dick Van Patten and Tim Conway. The Shaggy D.A. is about Wilby Daniels as an adult with a wife and son. He runs for District Attorney. Wilby turns to a sheepdog again until he finds the ring. The bonus features are Putting on The Dog feature, The Good, The Bad and The Funny feature and and audio commentary with Jo Anne Worley, Dick Van Patten and Tim Conway. The rating is G. The run time is one hour and thirty-one minutes. The aspect ratio 1.85:1 enhanced for 16x9 TV screens. The sound is mono. The Shaggy D.A. may also be played in Spanish or French. Enjoy! December 18, 2005

The Shaggy D.A. Should Be On DVD!

I have good memories of watching The Shaggy D.A. with my friends and I think this is a very cute Disney movie and I want to see it put on DVD and I would like it to be in widescreen and not an edited pan and scan DVD! October 15, 2005

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