5/5 An absolutely wonderful film. I loved it !!!!!!!
  by Tiberius (Fulton)
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!! corinne

4/5 "HE'S a DOG and HE'S SOMEBODY'S DAD!"
  by Kevin J. Loria (New Orleans, LA USA)

"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



3/5 Cute and Harmless
  by J. J Woehr (Lindenhurst, NY United States)
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.

5/5 DOG GONE Good Family Fun
  by H. Parmenter Watkins
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!

4/5 Furry Family Fun
  by K. Fontenot (The Bayou State)
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.