The Shaggy Dog was released on March 10, 2006, by Walt Disney Pictures. It received negative reviews from critics, audiences, and fans of the original film series and 1994 remake alike, and grossed $87 million against its $50 million budget, becoming a box office flop.[2]
Plot
In Los Angeles County, Deputy district attorney Dave Douglas is prosecuting social studies teacher and activist Justin Forrester for firebombing the pharmaceutical corporation Grant and Strictland. Forrester denies this but claims that the corporation has been engaging in illegal animal experimentation. This distances Dave from his daughter Carly, one of Forrester's students. As Dave is also a workaholic, his relationships with his wife Rebecca and son Josh are strained.
Geneticists working for company president Lance Strictland, led by Dr. Marcus Kozak, have stolen Khyi Yang Po, a 300-year-old sacred dog (a Bearded Collie) from a Tibetan monastery. Khyi Yang Po's genetic sequence, when isolated and put into a vaccination, alters the cells and DNA of a victim.
Carly brings Khyi Yang Po, whom she calls 'Shaggy', home. Returning from work, Dave takes Khyi Yang Po out in the garage, then the dog runs to get the newspaper. The dog gives him his newspaper, and Dave reaches for it, only to be bitten on the hand by Khyi Yang Po. Khyi Yang Po's saliva and cells infect Dave and is taken to be tested for rabies and the tests came back negative. Over the next days, Dave realizes that he uncontrollably transforms into a sheepdog like Khyi Yang Po when prompted by distractions and activities typical of a dog, such as a stick thrown through the air and chasing cats. These transformations can be reversed by sleeping, but Dave's human absence from his family further strains his relationships. During this time, his family, unaware of Dave's condition, continue housing Dave as a dog, thinking it is Khyi Yang Po. Dave learns just how little he understands his family and resolves to make amends.
In the ongoing trial, Forrester testifies to seeing the animals behaving like dogs and the presence of a bearded collie he identifies as a giant sheepdog, sparking Dave's suspicions about Grant and Strictland. When his dog-like behavior annoys the judge, Dave is removed from the case. Seeking answers to his transformation, Dave heads to Grant and Strictland. He has a homeless man help him transform so that he may sneak in through a vent. Hidden in the laboratory, Dave witnesses Kozak injecting Strictland with a drug that will paralyze him for months, giving Kozak time to usurp control of the company. Viewing security cameras, Kozak and his minions realize that Dave can transform into a copy of Khyi Yang Po.
When Dave returns home, still in his canine form, he overhears a conversation between Carly and Josh that he and Rebecca may be splitting up. After hearing this, Dave knocks over a Scrabble game and uses the letters to reveal his identity to his kids. While getting out of the house, Dave is tased by Kozak's minions. His kids attempt to save him, but end up picking up Khyi Yang Po instead and rush to their mom at work to report recent events.
Dave is taken to the laboratory to be euthanized, but Kozak has a court summons and must deal with Dave later. Before exiting, Kozak mocks Dave in canine form and an enraged Dave bites him in response. The other mutated animals in the laboratory tell Dave to meditate to reverse his transformation. Dave succeeds in returning to human form and escapes with the other animals. He drives to the courthouse and calls his wife to ready a change of clothes for him at the courthouse, but is forced to abandon the car with the animals when they get stuck in traffic. Dave runs on all fours to trigger his transformation and get to the courthouse in time. At the courthouse entrance, his attempts to tell his wife that he loves her allow him to transform back.
In the courtroom, Dave calls Kozak back to the stand and tries to get him to admit what he has done, to no avail. He then mocks Kozak by implying he was working under Strictland's shadow and angers him. The two begin growling at each other, and the judge, exasperated by Dave's canine behavior, orders the bailiff to remove him. Dave grabs the bailiff's baton and tells Kozak to fetch it, triggering a partial transformation in him and thus implicating him in illegal and unethical experimentation. The pharmaceutical company is returned to Strictland, the mutant animals enter protective custody, and Dave makes amends with his family.
The family later vacations in Hawaii with Khyi Yang Po. There, Josh tosses a frisbee, and Dave catches it with his mouth.
Cast
Tim Allen as David "Dave" Douglas / The Shaggy Dog
The film was released in the United States on March 10, 2006. To tie in with the theatrical release of the remake, the original 1959 film was re-issued in the United States as a special DVD labeled "The Wild & Woolly Edition", which featured the film in two forms: one in the original black and white, the other a colorized version. The colorized version, however, is not restored and suffers from age. In the UK, the 1959 film has only ever been made available on DVD in black and white.
Reception
Box office
The Shaggy Dog grossed $61.1 million in the United States and $26 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $87.1 million, against its budget of $60 million.[1]
In its opening weekend, the film made $16.3 million, finishing second at the box office behind Failure to Launch ($24.4 million).[3]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 26% based on 105 reviews and an average rating of 4.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "This Disney retread has neither inspiration nor originality, but may please moviegoers under the age of ten."[4] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 43 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[6]
BBC called Allen uninteresting and said he "only stops short of leg-humping in his attempts to win our affections."[7] At the Razzie Awards, the film earned three nominations, Worst Actor for Tim Allen, Worst Remake or Rip-Off and Worst Excuse for Family Entertainment,[8] but failed to "win" any of those categories.[9]Variety Chief Film Critic Justin Chang noted that "its occasional lump-in-the-throat moments are almost effortlessly achieved, thanks to strong work from [Kristin] Davis and Spencer Breslin in particular."[10]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to The Shaggy Dog was released on March 14, 2006. The entire score is by Alan Menken.[11]
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