Walt Disney's first live-action comedy movie, suggested by 'Bambi' author Felix Salten's novel 'The Hound of Florence'.
Wilby Daniels (Tommy Kirk) discovers an ancient Borgian ring which magically transforms him into a shaggy Bratislavian sheepdog. Unfortunately for Wilby he has no control over when or where he will change. Also unfortunate is Wilby's father (Fred MacMurray) is a dog hating postman! As if this wasn't problem enough, Wilby is soon mixed up with Russian spies in what is undoubtedly one of the oddest concepts for a movie of all time!
Two years before the release of The Shaggy Dog, the Disney Studios scored a massive hit with Old Yeller (Robert Stevenson, 1957). This set the standard for a series of boy and dog movies such as Big Red (Norman Tokar, 1962) and The Biscuit Eater (Vincent McEveety, 1972). On the surface The Shaggy Dog might appear to be another boy and dog movie but the twist here is that the boy IS the dog. This weird set up was a welcome riposte to horror movie I Was a Teenage Werewolf (Gene Fowler Jr, 1957) and set the template for the seemingly endless steam of kooky comedies released by Disney for the next two decades.
Originally intended for television, The Shaggy Dog has the feel of a homely 1950's sitcom. Star Fred MacMurray would soon be seen in long running TV comedy My Three Sons (1960-72) and much of the cast were familiar to TV audiences from Disney's Mickey Mouse Club (1955-59). Notably, it was the first feature film of Mousketeer and teen phenomenon Annette Funicello.
Fresh from Old Yeller, Tommy Kirk was one of Disney's most appealing juvenile stars and here shows a knack for quirky comedy. MacMurray too, though a highly capable dramatic actor, had a flair for light comedy. Although at times he doesn't elicit much audience sympathy, chasing the dog with a shotgun, for example! Rasp voiced Kevin 'Moochie' Corcoran makes one of his many appearances as Kirk's younger brother. His turn as a youngster who desperately wants a dog stays just the right side of cute.
The plot is ludicrous, certainly, but it is very funny. Much of the humour comes from sight gags such as the dog putting on pyjamas and cleaning his teeth. Honestly, there is little I find funnier that a sheepdog driving a hot rod! The pre CGI effects that allow Wilby to turn canine are neat, low tech but effective.
Turned down for TV by the ABC Network, The Shaggy Dog would eventually make over $12 million at the US box office, a massive return on an investment of around $1 million. It would prove to be a durable brand for Disney; two sequels followed The Shaggy DA (Robert Stevenson, 1976) and the TV movie The Return of the Shaggy Dog (Stuart Gillard, 1987). It was further twice remade, for TV (Dennis Dugan, 1995) and again for cinemas (Brian Robbins, 2006). As is often the case, the original is the best.
60 years after its original release, The Shaggy Dog has lost little of its peculiar charm. Disney comedies were notorious for their reliance on formula. Here the formula still feels fresh. It may not be high art but it is highly entertaining.
On a side note, the movie was computer colorized in 1986. While I highly recommend this enjoyable shaggy dog story I would implore you to watch it in its original beautiful black and white.
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