Plot

Dave Douglas (Tim Allen) is a deputy district attorney, whom viewers see prosecuting activists who have broken into and allegedly set fire to the laboratory of pharmaceutical corporation Grant and Strictland, which the activists accuse of deliberately creating genetic freaks while searching for a “Fountain of Youth”. This distances Douglas from his activist daughter Carly (Zena Grey).

Viewers learn that the power-hungry minions of Mister Strictland (the surviving but aged junior partner of the late Grant), led by Dr. Kozak (Robert Downey Jr.), have stolen from a Tibetan Buddhist monastery the dog Khyi-yag-po (played by a bearded collie), whose DNA carries a mutation granting an extraordinary lifespan. Seeking to obtain his seeming immortality for themselves, the geneticists carry out several experiments which fail comically; though cell degradation desists in all the test subjects (a bullfrog, rats, a chimpanzee, a cobra, and a capuchin monkey), all of these start behaving like dogs. The scientists determine that Khyi-yag-po’s mutation is contagious and transmissible by bodily fluids.

Khyi-yag-po later escapes his cage and is found by Carly Douglas and her friend Trey (Shawn Pyfrom), who are trying to find evidence of the company’s animal testing. They bring him home and dub him “Shaggy”. When Dave returns from work, he objects to the dog’s presence and orders it out, but in the process is bitten on the hand, whereupon Khyi-yag-po’s saliva enters Dave’s veins, infecting him with the mutation.

Dave thereafter begins to exhibit canine behavior such as eating with only his mouth, being territorial in the presence of other dogs, and licking his wife rather than kissing her. When he becomes excited by stimuli associated with dogs, such as the command “Fetch!” or the presence of a cat, he transforms completely into a replica of Khyi-yag-po. This change is reversed only when he has calmed, as during sleep. When the real Khyi-yag-po is caught by Kozak’s lab minions, Dave is mistaken for “Shaggy” and takes his place. His family, ignorant of this, speak freely in his presence, leading Dave to realize that he is estranged from them. In particular, he learns that his son Josh (Spencer Breslin) wants to sing in the musical Grease instead of playing football, but is too scared to tell his father so.

In the ongoing trial, testimony from the activist accused of setting the lab on fire includes a description of the animals behaving like dogs, which sparks Dave’s suspicions about the company he is defending. When his dog-like behavior annoys the judge, Dave is removed from the case. He then decides to take matters into his own hands and infiltrates Grant and Strictland headquarters while in his canine form.

Hidden in the laboratory, Dave witnesses Dr. Kozak injecting the ailing Strictland with a drug that will paralyze him for several months, giving Kozak enough time to usurp control of the company. After viewing security cameras, Kozak and his minions realize that somehow Dave Douglas was able to become the exact copy of Khyi-yag-po.

When Dave comes home, still in his canine form, he overhears a conversation between Carly and Josh that Dave and Rebecca are splitting up. After hearing this Dave then knocks over a Scrabble and then used the letters to spell “I AM DAD” to his children, then spells “GRAND AND STRICTLAND” to them, making them realize the truth. Unfortunately when Dave gets out of the house he is then captured by Kozak’s minions.

After the humans leave, Dave and all the other mutants plan to escape. Acting on Khi-yag-po’s advice, Dave calms himself, then in human form breaks open his cage and opens the others. They all pile into a car and drive to the courthouse, but get into traffic making Dave leaving animals to drive (which then was droved near the courthouse making a scene after Dave said “I don’t know how that car get here!”) while he mets his wife and children in his canine form. When Dave said “I love you” he then turns into his human form.

In the court room, Dave attempts to show the assembly what Kozak has done, but only succeeds in doing so when he tricks Kozak into growing a tail. Grant and Strictland Corporation is thrown into disgrace, and Dave is able to spend more time with his family, though some of his canine habits remain. Hidden in the credits is a scene showing Kozak escaping from jail, to presumably return in a sequel.

The Shaggy Dog was one of the top movies of 1959, and actually grossed higher than Ben-Hur.^{[citation needed]}

Walt Disney Productions filmed a successful sequel in 1976 called The Shaggy D.A. which starred Dean Jones, Tim Conway, and Suzanne Pleshette. In 1988, a made-for-TV movie called The Return of the Shaggy Dog continued the adventures of the now-adult Wilby Daniels; although also a sequel to the original film, it did not share any continuity with the Dean Jones version. The Shaggy Dog was also remade as a 1994 TV movie.

In 2006, Disney released a “remake” of the movie with an entirely different story and characters, unrelated to the original trilogy. To tie-in with the theatrical release of the 2006 film, the original 1959 movie was re-issued in the USA as a special DVD labelled THE WILD & WOOLLY EDITION, which featured the movie in two forms; one in the original black and white, the other a colorized version. However, in the UK, the 1959 movie has only ever been made available on Disney DVD in black and white.

Tagline: The Funniest Shaggy Dog story ever told! Hello Dad… the funniest thing happened!

Plot

Wilby Daniels is constantly misunderstood by his father, Wilson. Wilson thinks Wilby is crazy half the time because of his elder son’s often dangerous inventions. As a mailman who often runs afoul of canines, this has caused his dislike of dogs, and he can’t understand why his younger son, Mongomery “Moochie” wants a dog so badly.

Wilby and his self-centered rival Buzz Miller take a new French girl, Francesca Andrassy, to the local museum. Wilby gets separated from the other two, who leave without him. Wilby ends up in a new wing, where he meets Professor Plumcutt, who tells him all about mystical ancient beliefs, including the legend of the Borgia family, who used shape-shifting as a weapon against their enemies.

On the way out, Wilby collides with a table of rings, ending up with one in the cuff of his pants which he finds later. It is the cursed Borgia ring, and when he reads the inscription on it, he turns into Chiffon, Francesca’s shaggy Old English sheepdog. Confused about what has happened, Wilby as a dog goes to Professor Plumcutt, who says he has invoked the Borgia curse upon himself, which can only be broken through an act of selflessness. After getting chased out of his own house, Wilby has a series of misadventures, as he constantly switches back and forth between human and dog forms. Only Moochie and Professor Plumcutt know his true identity when he is a dog, as Wilby has spoken to them both in dog form. Finally, he goes to a local dance (as a human) and while dancing turns into a dog. He runs out quickly, and goes home.

The next day, Wilby (as a dog) and Moochie are talking when Francesca’s butler comes out and drags Wilby into the house. The butler and Dr. Andrassy discuss plans to steal a government secret, and Wilby (still a dog) overhears. Unfortunately for him, he transforms into human Wilby right in front of the spies and is discovered, but not before he heard Dr. Andrassy expressing his wish to get rid of his own daughter.

The spies capture him and force Francesca to leave with them, leaving Wilby (human) bound and gagged in the closet. Moochie sneaks into the house after the Andrasses leave and discovers Wilby, as a dog, bound in the closet. Wilby reveals the secret to his father, who goes to the authorities, only to be accused of being either crazy or a spy himself.

Wilby steals Buzz’s car and pursues the spies. Mr. Daniels, Buzz and Moochie follow him and the police end up chasing everyone. The spies attempt to leave via boat, but Wilby (dog form) swims up and wrestles with the men, as Francesca gets knocked out of the boat. He then saves her life and drags her ashore, breaking the curse.

Mr. Daniels and Chiffon are declared heroes, Francesca leaves for Paris without her evil dad, who has been presumably arrested for espionage, and she gives Chiffon to the Daniels family for them to keep as thanks. Since Mr. Daniels has gotten such commendation for foiling a spy ring due to “his love of dogs”, he can no longer have his dog-hating attitude, and allows Moochie to care for Chiffon as he wanted a dog all along. Wilby and Buzz decide to forget their rivalry over Francesca and resume their friendship.