The Shaggy D.A. is a 1976 film sequel to The Shaggy Dog (1959). Both are live-action films produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and starred Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, Tim Conway, Keenan Wynn, Dick van Patten, Jo Anne Worley and Shane Sinutko. It was written by Don Tait and inspired by the novel by Felix Salten.
Tagline: A Real Shaggy Dog Story. The Only Candidate With a Law Degree and a Pedigree!
Background
The Shaggy Dog had been at that point the most profitable film produced by Walt Disney Productions and heavily influenced the studio’s live-action film production for the next two decades. Using a formula of placing supernatural and/or fantastical forces within everyday mid-twentieth century American life, the studio was able to create a long series of “gimmick comedies” (a term coined by Disney historian and film critic Leonard Maltin) with enough action to keep children entertained with a touch of light satire to engage their adult chaperones. Using television actors on their summer hiatus who were familiar to audiences but did not necessarily have enough clout to receive over-the-title billing (or a large fee) from another major studio was one way these comedies were produced inexpensively; they also tended to use the same sets from the Disney backlot repeatedly. This allowed Walt Disney Productions a low-risk scenario for production, any of these films could easily make back their investment just from moderate matinee attendance in neighborhood theatres, and they could also be packaged on the successful Disney anthology television series The Wonderful World of Disney (some of these films were expressly structured for this purpose).
Occasionally Walt Disney Productions would find one of these inexpensive comedies would become a runaway success and place at or near the top of the box office for their respective release year (The Absent-Minded Professor, The Love Bug). The initial release of The Shaggy Dog grossed over nine million dollars on a budget of less than one million dollars—an almost unprecedented return on a film investment, making it more profitable than Ben-Hur (released the same year). It also performed very strongly on a 1967 re-release.
In the original film, young Wilby Daniels (played by prolific Disney actor Tommy Kirk) discovers a ring reputed to have belonged to Lucrezia Borgia. After chanting an inscription on the ring (in canis corpore transmuto) he finds himself repeatedly shape-shifting into a large, shaggy dog. Many comic scenes were built from the concept of a dog acting like a human, brushing his teeth, driving a car etc. and from the comic situation of the hero transforming into a dog at inopportune times. Eventually, he manages to break the spell and returns to a normal life.
