Customer Reviews

The Shaggy Dog

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this as a dvd for home use. I won't repeat the story as others have done so already. I loved the story. The plot was well put together and solid. The acting was wonderful. I have watched it a couple of times now and enjoy it more each time I see it. I really am enjoying the fun of this film. I'd suggest to folks to just relax and watch a terrific and humorous film. It is made to be light with family values of what counts in life. Tim did an outstanding job as he always does. The chasing scenes with Tim on all fours becoming a dog; the dog behaviors as a human had me rolling. It is one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. As an adult I loved it and would buy it again. I'm thrilled to see Disney making such terrific and wonderful films. It was tastefully done. The caged scenes were carefully done. No bad language just a wonderful film that can be enjoyed as another eventual classic among the Disney films. And no I didn't perceive this as a film geared toward small children. Perhaps pre-teens and up would be my guess. To demean the film based on the expectation that tiny children would appreciate the story is not realistic nor does it do justice for what the film is. It is a wonderful film with a great storyline!!

"He's a DOG and he's somebody's DAD!" That's how my 5 year old enthusiastically described THE SHAGGY DOG after seeing a TV spot. Before seeing the film itself, she had succinctly and accurately summed-up the movie's simplistic plot.

This latest Disney remake, using, the SHAGGY DOG franchise, sort of combining elements of the first film and it's sequel, an average Joe starts becoming a shaggy dog. This will rope in three generations of Disney audiences:

1.)Those who FONDLY remember Fred MacMurray's allergic-dog-hatin' mailman, whose son Wilby trades places w/ the neighbor's sheepdog in the 1959 classic The Shaggy Dog.

2.)Those who FONDLY remember Dean Jones as Wilby grown up and still trading places with a local shaggy dog in the 1976 classic The Shaggy D.A.

3.)Those who FONDLY remember the CGI laden commercials for the 2006 remake of the Shaggy Dog w/ Buzz Lightyear himself, Tim Allen.

This generation (3.) has come to know Tim Allen as the face of multiple Disney fam. fare ( the Santa Clauses, the Toy Stories), in the same way that past generations came to know Fred MacMurry (the Flubber originals) and Dean Jones (the Herbie originals)...in a word: FONDLY. Allen is the likable, out of his depth, DAD-figure that stuff happens to (like Robin Williams in his live-action Disney outings). Here he is an (you-guessed-it) Assistant D.A.,who is more involved with his "big case" than his family, while the "shaggy transformation" he undergoes actually helps reconnect him. He sells the ludicrous scenario and makes it funny for the same reason his predecessors did: because we like them. THIS IS THE MODERN-EQUIVALENT of the ones we saw AND LOVED AS KIDS, with the addition of butt jokes and random acts of chaos (e.g. the inadvertent waylaying of resident old lady). OH YEAH! My daughters (5 and 8) were so ready to see this one!
Definitely a good goofy one for the fam.

You're not gonna see this one on next year's Oscars, but you might see it on your DVD shelf. DOG-GONE...DOG BACK AGAIN...DOG-GONE DISNEY

First I want to say that this is the first review I have ever written online. Before going to the movie, I read a not so favorable review. But, I loved the originals as a kid and wanted to share this with my 6 1/2 year old. After truly enjoying ourselves, I just had to tell others that this is a really funny and entertaining movie. Tim Allen was familiar to my son from Toy Story and The Santa Clause so he was excited to see it. His favorite line is when 'Shaggy' says "To infinity and beyond!" The animals were great and the story is simple but sweet. Dog lovers will enjoy looking for canine traits their best friend share. Go, take your family and have a great fun time!

I ordered this on demand for my niece and I didn't expect to like it and I did. Although I admit Tim Allen deserves better. I thought he'd go on to more good movies since Galaxy Quest. But sadly that was probably his last good movie that actually gave him a good role. Although I admit I thought Big Trouble was decent. The Santa Clause 1 and 2 were decent too but I rather see him as Tim Taylor again than in...Santa Clause 3 which is coming out soon. Anyway he isn't bad here even if he's just talking for a dog most the movie.

It's basically...Look Who's Talking with a dog. Still it's mildly funny and entertaining and not a bad movie for the whole family. That is if won't be distrubed by a dog with a frog's body or a snake with a dog tail, or monkey that barks. The villian played by Robert Downey jr. fools around with genetics since the shaggy dog that bit Allen lived for years and years. So he's trying to discover the fountain of youth through the dog. Downey jr. is an under-rated actor that always adds some fun to no matter what movie he is in. I disagree with Ebert & Roeper who basically said he was the best thing about the movie though. I think Allen is kinda better here. He deserves better but I don't think anyone else could've been as good for the role. At this point though he's probably gonna be stuck in remake after remake like Steve Martin is.

Although three-and-a-half stars is a better rating in my opinion, I decided to round Disney's update of "The Shaggy D.A." and "The Shaggy Dog" due to the fact that it's a family film. While more and more family fare seems to be making its way to the big screen lately (which isn't a bad thing), so much of it isn't worth viewing. "The Shaggy Dog" is worth a couple of views if not more. I originally planned to write a review of this movie when it first came out on DVD, but due to a number of circumstances, I wasn't able to. I'm glad I waited. Having had the opportunity to watch this film a couple of more times, it has grown on me considerably and I've found that it gets better with multiple viewings.

The story revolves around deputy D.A. Dave Douglas, who's prosecuting a school teacher for a local genetics lab whenever the teacher is accused of trying to burn the lab down. The lab's second-in-command (a very funny Robert Downey, Jr.) is determined to get the teacher put away so that he can continue his "ethical" experiments. Dave's daughter, Carly (Zena Gray), supports the teacher and tries to prove that the lab is doing cruel tests on animals. While all of this is going on, Dave is trying to keep his family together. His daughter dislikes him for his work for the lab. His son, Josh (Spenser Breslin) tries to impress him by playing football, despite the fact that he'd rather try out for the school's performance of "Grease." His wife, the lovely Kristin Davis, feels ignored and unloved due to Dave's focusing too much on his work. Matters literally get hairier when Dave is bitten by one of the lab's animals, which happens to be a three hundred-year old sheepdog. He begins to take on the habits and instincts of a dog and, eventually, turns into one whenever he's triggered by an impulse such as chasing a cat or fetching a stick.

All of the chaos is pulled off with solid comedic effort. There's no strong language that I recall, only brief peril, the action is humorous and the cast looks as if they had fun making the film. The special effects are decent, and Tim Allen's transformations are swiftly executed without revealing much to the crowd. There's also a light anti-animal testing message, but it never comes across as preachy.

The supporting cast is solid for a light film such as this. Danny Glover, Jane Curtin, Philip Baker Hall and Annabelle Gurwitch all give solid and funny performances.

As family films go, you can do a lot better and a lot worse than "The Shaggy Dog." It won't win any awards but it will entertain the entire family. Tim Allen has become a staple of family entertainment, and this flick only solidifies that. I give this film a strong family recommendation.

I went and saw this movie on it's opening day. I thought it was a wonderful remake of this classic. Yes, the old version with Fred MacMurray is great but Tim Allen brings a fresh & modern version in his always charming way. I'm not sure where some of the negative opinions come from. Tim Allen was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed it as did the rest of the family. Our kids are 4 & 12 & it was a big hit with us all, & will definitely be a new DVD addition to our collection when it comes out. Please see it & judge for yourself. California Mom.

Tim Allen is one of my favorite comedians. Love this movie. It's one of those movies that you want to watch over and over again, and you'll laugh as hard as the first time.

Allen is a great performer and is fun to watch, the theme was a funny enough of a set up and there were enough situations to make good jokes and funny scenes.

That said, this movie could have lost about a half an hour.

I do recommend it as a decent family movie, my almost five year old got a kick out of it, but she did get a bit bored near the end too, it was just a little too long.

The bad guys and the evil done in the film was a bit over the top, although I did enjoy the cgi animals that were created to show the horrible results of animal "testing". I felt there was too much propaganda, however I could live with it seeing as it was just a kids flick and being overly dramatic is sometimes part of the gig.

All in all it's a good enough movie to take the kids out to the movies (probably best for the preteen set) and will definately be a decent rental.

We saw this movie at the theater and absolutely loved it! Tim Allen is so funny in this movie! I have not seen the original version of this movie, but really enjoyed this film! There are some great special effects, action scenes that your kids will split up in laughter with! The character fits Tim Allen very well, he's kind of a scatter brained all business/attorney dad that trys to do the right thing, maybe spreading himself too thin, ultimately overlooking the ever changing needs of his growing children. With the help of a stray dog, and unfortunate event which causes the dog and dad to reverse rolls, in the end the dog helps him to see his mis-guided ways he's losing his children. There are some comical scenes of Tim slobbering, scratching, doing really funny dog things, sometimes infront of his court proceedings and clients, yikes! Likewise, the dog is able to understand and communicate non-verbally with the children and mom to convince them that he is the dad. The dad's crude behavior jeapardizes his career and the dog is in danger of being kidnapped by a crooked scientist with evil plans for the dog and his special abilities. It's a funny movie with a great message to parents to be involved in your kids lives.

RECOMMENDED!

Another unnecessary remake of a Disney classic, which is saved by Tim Allen's antics as a man who becomes a dog. He plays one of those too busy lawyers for his family, and once a mystical dog bites him, he learns what he's been missing and just how he has neglected his family. A subplot involving the fountain of youth is added on for padding, but it's really Allen's comic finesse and a hammy supporting performance by Robert Downey Jr. that makes this film so much fun. Probably not quite as family friendly as the original but worth a look.