classicsoncall
Here's another flick from the past that I actually saw in the theater during it's initial run back in 1959. My Mom and Dad would take me to the movies as a kid and it was usually a Disney picture like this one. Watching them today is a little weird because they don't have that same magical quality unless you're with someone of the same age I was back then. That's why I bring my granddaughter over for company when tuning in to these old time films.The story's a blast for youngsters. Watching young Tommy Kirk turn into a Brataslavian Sheep Dog is a highlight of the picture and he gets to do it a number of times. The tale borrows from ancient fables of shape-shifting creatures and black magic, with a little bit of Lucretia Borgia thrown in for good measure. But you know, there might have been something to all that magical stuff - right after Franceska (Roberta Shore) cleans the cut above Buzz Miller's (Tim Considine) eye, all trace of the cut disappears!What's kind of interesting are those scenes of the Shaggy Dog driving Buzz's roadster and later on the police car. The Disney folks figured out a way to make it look like a dog was really driving the car, wagging tongue and all. Not too much of a problem today of course, but this was over fifty years ago and the special effects department did a pretty good job.For Annette Funicello, this was her first feature film, and even though she's not a principal, she still has a fair amount of screen time. Not to belabor the point, but it was cool way back when to see one of the Mousketeers make it to the big screen. This was also about the time I started becoming familiar with the names of the actors and actresses in the movies I saw. I happen to recall both Bob Hope and Bing Crosby being asked in separate interviews who they thought the richest person in Hollywood was. Without batting an eye or needing time to think about it, they both answered with the same name - Fred MacMurray.
fillweb
I remember being taken to this movie when I was 8 or 9 years old. I was accompanied by my mother and my aunt. I remember being appalled at their reaction. They were nearly rolling in the aisles. I was unimpressed knowing that a child could not be turned into a dog and found the whole thing silly. I have not seen the movie since then. But I guess I might enjoy it these days for it's silliness. My mother and I did not see a movie again until I took her to see "2001" in 1968. She was impressed and correctly predicted, beforehand, there would be Howard Johnson's at the space station. Sorry for the unrelated memories that have nothing to do with this movie. But I cannot help but relate that 7 years later I took her to see "Blazing Saddles", fearful that she might be offended by some of the off color jokes. She laughed wholeheartedly at all the dirty jokes.
jarrodmcdonald-1
The Shaggy Dog is an inventive family farce from the folks at Disney's live action unit. It plays more like a radio or television sitcom than as classic Hollywood cinema. The lead actors are appealing: Fred MacMurray is charming, even in one of his least sympathetic father roles; Jean Hagen is the sensible wife who maintains order; Disney teen idol Tommy Kirk is the troubled son; there are a bevy of other child actors and of course, one mustn't forget the sheepdog that causes most of the pandemonium.Not to spoil the plot and tell you how the animal comes to cause so much chaos, but the poster advertising the film does indicate there is a scene where the dog drives a sports car while chasing after Russian spies. This is heightened for laughs, and I must say that the premise allows for great sight gags, like the kind that might be found in a Harold Lloyd or Marx Brothers film. It is obvious the writers have used their imaginations and have brought a very visual comedy to the screen.
MCL1150
I caught this film on Turner Classic Movies one Sundy morning. I almost NEVER watch Disney movies but for some reason ended up sitting through the whole flick. More enjoyable than most Disney movies I must say. I saw plenty as a youth and and there's one thing I'll always remember. As much as I wanted to see the films, I was always disappointed because all of the best/funny parts were already in the promotional TV ads which made the theater viewings redundant. Anyway, throughout the entire movie, after his exposure to a magic ring, Wilby turns into the Shaggy Dog and back without warning several more times. Every time this happens, the real shaggy dog disappears from wherever he is as the Dilby transformation takes palace. By the end of the movie though, Dilby seems to have been cured of this Jeckll & Hyde routine, What did I miss? What cured him? It went right over my head!
AD
