Times have certainly changed. Here we have a Disney live action feature film that looks and sounds more like a TV sit-com (and a below par one at that), and yet it grossed $8,000,000 at the box-office at a time when any film that grossed more than a few million was considered a box-office hit.
At least FRED MacMURRAY does a professional job as the bumbling father of TOMMY KIRK and KEVIN CORCORAN, a dog-hater with a shotgun who gets itchy around the collar if a dog is even remotely close to his territory. He provides some genuine chuckles with his comic touch on a role that could well have seemed anything but sympathetic. The boys do OK too, especially Kevin Corcoran as the younger brother who always wanted a dog and promises to take good care of his brother who has magically transformed into one.
The plot is pretty threadbare but it does provide some very amusing moments--such as the one where Tommy Kirk gets into his pajamas and brushes his teeth while in the guise of the shaggy dog. The transmutation has taken place because he read aloud the inscription on a ring that had once belonged to the Borgias and whose Latin words were meant to change the sayer into a dog.
What weakens the story is the whole spy subplot which has him overhearing the spies while a dog and then reverting to his own body before he can get away from their presence. All of this leads to a hectic chase that has the baffled police force falling all over themselves to catch a shaggy dog driving a stolen police car.
It's silly stuff and never overcomes the feel of a lame sitcom from the innocent '50s, complete with people like ANNETTE FUNICELLO, TIM CONSIDINE, JEAN HAGEN (a far cry from her "Singin' in the Rain" dumb blonde), and JAMES WESTERFIELD as the policeman who can't believe his own eyes.
It passes the time pleasantly enough but you have to be willing to view it in the context of its '50s era innocence.
And contrary to what some here believe, this was not Disney's first live action film--not by a long shot. However, it was one of the few to make a bundle at the box-office for some unknown reason and gave a boost to the sagging career of Fred MacMurray at a time when his film career was on the skids.
At least FRED MacMURRAY does a professional job as the bumbling father of TOMMY KIRK and KEVIN CORCORAN, a dog-hater with a shotgun who gets itchy around the collar if a dog is even remotely close to his territory. He provides some genuine chuckles with his comic touch on a role that could well have seemed anything but sympathetic. The boys do OK too, especially Kevin Corcoran as the younger brother who always wanted a dog and promises to take good care of his brother who has magically transformed into one.
The plot is pretty threadbare but it does provide some very amusing moments--such as the one where Tommy Kirk gets into his pajamas and brushes his teeth while in the guise of the shaggy dog. The transmutation has taken place because he read aloud the inscription on a ring that had once belonged to the Borgias and whose Latin words were meant to change the sayer into a dog.
What weakens the story is the whole spy subplot which has him overhearing the spies while a dog and then reverting to his own body before he can get away from their presence. All of this leads to a hectic chase that has the baffled police force falling all over themselves to catch a shaggy dog driving a stolen police car.
It's silly stuff and never overcomes the feel of a lame sitcom from the innocent '50s, complete with people like ANNETTE FUNICELLO, TIM CONSIDINE, JEAN HAGEN (a far cry from her "Singin' in the Rain" dumb blonde), and JAMES WESTERFIELD as the policeman who can't believe his own eyes.
It passes the time pleasantly enough but you have to be willing to view it in the context of its '50s era innocence.
And contrary to what some here believe, this was not Disney's first live action film--not by a long shot. However, it was one of the few to make a bundle at the box-office for some unknown reason and gave a boost to the sagging career of Fred MacMurray at a time when his film career was on the skids.