A flea-bitten farrago which bears only a fleeting resemblance to the 1959 film that inspired it.
The Shaggy Dog (2006)
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Reviews Counted:102
Fresh:28
Rotten:74
Average Rating:4.5/10
Consensus: This Disney retread has neither inspiration nor originality, but may please moviegoers under the age of ten.
Theatrical Release:31-03-2006
Synopsis: Directed by Brian Robbins (VARSITY BLUES, THE PERFECT SCORE), this updated spin on THE SHAGGY DOG and THE SHAGGY D.A. features Tim Allen as Dave Douglas, a Deputy District Attorney who spends way... Directed by Brian Robbins (VARSITY BLUES, THE PERFECT SCORE), this updated spin on THE SHAGGY DOG and THE SHAGGY D.A. features Tim Allen as Dave Douglas, a Deputy District Attorney who spends way too much time at the office and way too little time with his family. His son, Joe (Spencer Breslin), feels completely misunderstood, and his wife, Rachel (Kristin Davis), feels like a single parent. To make matters worse, his teenage daughter, Carly (Zena Gray), considers Douglas the enemy because he is representing a pharmaceutical company, Grant and Strickland, in their case against her social studies teacher, who is accused of burning down their lab to protest animal testing. Douglas' life changes in an instant when animal-loving Carly brings home a friendly shaggy dog that bites the dog-disliking D.A. What Douglas doesn't know is that the dog has a secret. This Tibetan wonder dog is 300 years old, as smart as a human, and as playful as a pup. Soon, Douglas is exhibiting canine tendencies himself - a heightened sense of smell, a tendency to growl at opposing counsel in court, and an overwhelming urge to defend his front yard. His full transformation to a dog allows him rare insight into what his family really thinks and feels, and gives Douglas the opportunity to decide what is truly important. To further complicate matters, Grant and Strickland – the very company Douglas is representing – are certain that the dog that bit him holds the secret to the Fountain of Youth, and are determined to learn what it is. Robert Downey, Jr. stars as Dr. Kozak, Grant and Strickland's evil mastermind, and Philip Baker Hall plays head honcho Strickland. Jane Curtin and Danny Glover are also featured. [More]
Starring: Tim Allen, Kristin Davis, Zena Grey, Danny Glover
Starring: Tim Allen, Kristin Davis, Zena Grey, Danny Glover, Robert Downey, Spencer Breslin, Shawn Pyfrom, Joshua Leonard, Jarred Paul, Bess Wohl, Annabelle Gurwitch, Jane Curtin, Philip Baker Hall, Craig Kilborn, Laura Kightlinger, Coal
Director: Brian Robbins
Director: Brian Robbins
Composer: Alan Menken
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
Reviews for The Shaggy Dog
Man becomes mutt in this inoffensive, uneven comedy that fails to make the most of its comic potential or familiar cast.
The plot may sound stupid, but it's tightly written and it pushes all the right emotional buttons.
Anybody given the assignment to write a movie in which a man turns into a dog would come up with these same jokes.
A retread of the 1959 original, the comedy harkens back to a time when the studio was creative, rather than making any attempt to try something new itself. Talk about rolling over and playing dead.
Disney's remake of its 1959 flick The Shaggy Dog is pretty flea-bitten from the get-go.
The Shaggy Dog is a well-dispositioned but forgettable mutt without any new tricks.
There are precious few surprises here, but parents will find director Robbins’ breezy remake a painless affair and, judging by the yowls of laughter from the peanut gallery at the screening I attended, the kids will be barking all the way home.
The Shaggy Dog may contain the single most disturbing image in recent years: Tim Allen licking Kristin Davis' face.
It's a pleasant surprise to find a movie that genuinely pitches itself at a child's level while also giving parents some real laughs.
Just when Allen is on a ferociously funny roll, director Brian Robbins is forced to collar and replace him with a collie doing a lame impersonation of a human.
It's a benignly bad creation, directed with one hand wrapped around the bullhorn and the other around a low-fat latte. The childhood affection we hold for vintage live-action Disney movies deserves better.
Five credited writers undercharacterize everyone including the dogs, and Allen turns in his typical good-natured, superficial performance.
There is an age above which this movie is unnecessary, and it may be in the low double digits.
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