User Reviews

It's a funny movie. Don't "compare" it to the older one, it just isn't the same, it's made for the youth of today. Not sure what some expected, but those rating this a "1" obviously don't get out to see many movies, or are looking for something that just isn't this movie. It's funny, not Awful as a rating of 1 would suggest. Now, as far as Disney or the like goes, it's an average movie, below that which Tim Allen is capable of, this is more what I might expect to see on Sunday night TV, not on a big screen. Unfortunately as the Disney Corporation becomes more and more "corporate" and moves further from it's founding principles, its products are slowly failing to impress and differentiate themselves from the hordes of the plain and ordinary and unimaginative.

Wow, blah blah, just an average new age Disney movie, not awful but certainly not anything to write home about.

(Synopsis) Dr. Kozak (Robert Downey Jr.) kidnaps a 300-year old Tibetan sheepdog in an attempt to discover the dog's secret of longevity and produce a fountain of youth drug. Unfortunately, all he has produced are animal mutations such as a king cobra-canine with a tail, a dog-frog that barks, and other mutations that are part dog. The sheepdog escapes the lab and is rescued by Carly Douglas (Zena Grey), who takes him home. Deputy District Attorney Dave Douglas (Tim Allen) is prosecuting Carly's teacher for the firebombing of Dr. Kozak's lab. Dave hates dogs, and after he is bitten by the sheepdog, the dog is sent to the pound. The dog has injected Dave with some of his DNA cells, and Dave begins to have canine urges and eventually, becomes a sheepdog. Dave learns the truth about his family and the drug company as a dog.

(My Comment) This is a cute movie that you can take your children to. There are several funny scenes like the bathroom and park scenes that are just hilarious. I think they wasted their money on the CG effects on the cat chasing scene. If you look at the Shaggy Dog poster, you will see Tim Allen's eerie eyes. I enjoyed this movie, and you must remember that this is only a movie, and don't take the plot too seriously. (Note: The dog is actually a bearded collie.) (Walt Disney, Run time 1:38, Rated PG) (5/10)

Assistant D.A. David Douglas (Allen) finds himself barking up the wrong tree, after he's bitten by a dog being experimented on in a laboratory and suddenly finds himself acting and the turning into a dog himself.

Tim Allen's film career is a case of hit or miss. The Santa Clause movies are offset by Joe Somebody and Christmas with the Kranks. Unfortunately, The Shaggy Dog is in the latter group. To be blunt, the film is pretty bad. The movie was not funny and it was quite dull. I know it's just a harmless family film but did it have to be so boring and humorless? Of course it didn't. I always thought family movies were supposed to entertain the entire family not just one age group of the family. The Shaggy Dog may prove to be an enjoyable treat for the kids but most people over the age of 13 will probably hate it.

The acting is only okay and the decent cast keeps the film from completely sinking. Tim Allen gives a decent performance as Dave but he really needs to stop doing lame family movies. Kristin Davis also gives a decent performance and she is also way above this material. I really don't like Spencer Breslin. He just annoys me and his acting isn't very good. The Shaggy Dog did not change my opinion about him. Zena Grey just gives a bland performance, nothing special from her. Robert Downey Jr. gives a decent performance as the bad guy. Danny Glover is wasted in his role and he barely appears on screen.

The first twenty minutes or so are actually pretty enjoyable. After that, the movie starts reusing the same jokes and it becomes more serious. There was probably a break from the laughter for about 30 minutes since the movie was handling serious issues in a lighthearted way. I think the director did this to attract both adults and children but he ended up alienating both of them. The stupid humor will probably bore adults and the serious scenes will probably bore the children. I have never seen the original Shaggy Dog movies and maybe that's how those films were handled as well. However, the film seemed a little misdirected to me which isn't surprising since there are five(!) credited screenwriters. Behind the camera, it seems like things were a little messy and it shows in the movie. In the end, The Shaggy Dog is a harmless yet humorless family film that should appeal to the kids. Everyone else should skip the movie. Rating 3/10

Well, I'm not going to write too much in-depth on this movie. It's not a movie to be analyzed. If you only want to see believable antics & possible outcomes? Stay home, make some tea, and SIT YOUR CRANKY BUTT DOWN FOR THE DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL. Boy, some of you must've been really miserable kids whenever cartoons were on TV. Do note that Pixar makes a few shameless references to their past projects. If you see it, you'll know what I mean.

This Shaggy Dog Movie: There are some potentially stressful scenes for young children. It involves what is implied to have happened to animals in captivation. Think of weapons that metro police might have to use on an uncontrollable person. Then again, Disney gave me Bambi and Old Yeller. We all know what happened to them. I may never get over that.

The script is typical Disney. I remember watching the original Shaggy Dog movie and loving it lots. I don't remember much about what the original, because I was so young. The part to keep in mind, when reading this is: "I remember loving it lots." Little kids beside me with their mum enjoyed it. A retired couple six rows ahead roared the loudest. I gave it a "7" because of the smiles it gave people around me. It was harmless & people knew what to expect.

For those that trash this movie because it isn't up to your high tech violent standards? I type this:

EVERYONE TURNS: 6... 7, AND 8 YEARS OLD IN THEIR LIFE.

You get the picture. Don't make fun of something you've outgrown.

OK, you know what let's get to the chase: ITS AWFUL!!!!!! The Shaggy Dog was obviously targeted for kids, and you know what? I'm not sure if they liked it! This is a pitiful movie and I can't believe some people paid money to see this! (Don't worry, I got free tickets.) This is movie I would never, ever recommend, and PLEASE take this advice and use it! I mean, don't get me wrong, Kristin Davis and Tim Allen are good actors, but this wasn't for them. heck, I don't think Reese Witherspoon could have saved this trailer trash!I know Disney is trying to become a more broad studio, but this movies is in with Gigli and In the Mix, and for some advice for Disney, this isn't a place you want to be. I bet Walt is looking down at all of you and saying "What the hell did you do to my empire? Why I oughta-

You want to know how disgustingly, morbidly PC Disney has become? They put trousers on a monkey because they are afraid to show naked animals in case parents are offended. Can you believe that? What is this world coming to? Walt would be spinning in his grave if he were not cryogenically frozen.

Tim Allen plays Dave Douglas, a bad dad who neglects his wife and kids and does way too much overtime. He's a lawyer you see and his current big case involves an animal research company who make poodles into frogs or something like that. Their goal is to make the elixir of everlasting life so naturally one would make a poodle into a frog to achieve such a noble ambition.

Dave is bit by one of the dogs and now is infected with dogness. This causes him to periodically turn into a dog and 'hilarity' ensues as he tries to keep up his case and maintain his family life. Why on earth would you want to see this? Tim Allen has already played a neglectful dad who learns important lessons after undergoing a weird metamorphosis in 2 Santa Clause movies so he's not broadening his role much. And how many movies are there with bad dads (always the dad and never the mum, eh?) who are usually lawyers who learn the same crap? About 86 billion!

I can understand why Tim Allen is in this as he is constantly scraping the bottom of the sludge barrel but how the hell did they get Robert Downey Jnr, Danny Glover AND Philip Baker Hall do to this? They must owe their bookmakers a fair whack. No one in their right mind could read this script and find it worthy of their talents.

So not only does the story stink of the worst clichés but it's woefully misjudged and badly directed. The scene where Mrs. Douglas confronts her dog husband and hears him bark 'I wuff woo' is pretty much the most disturbing scene I've ever come across. And I've watched snuff. When they look into each others eyes I seriously thought she'd start making out with him.

And when the film finishes...is Dave still going to turn into a dog? Is he cured? Who knows? Do I really care that much?

Why? Why do I do this myself? If you really hate life then see this movie. If you are of sound body and mind then save the pennies for guns, drugs and ill hookers. It's money better spent. Trust me!

I'll admit right off the bat that I am a fan of Tim Allen. I never really watched his television show "Home Improvement" but really liked him in films like "Galaxy Quest", "Big Trouble", and "The Santa Clause". But when I saw the trailer for "The Shaggy Dog" I shook my head with disbelief. How could Tim Allen do such a stupid movie? I asked myself. But I figured I would give the film a shot because sometimes the marketing is very misleading and the actual film itself could be decent. So tonight, I ventured to my local cinema to catch the 8:00pm showing of "The Shaggy Dog".

"The Shaggy Dog" is about a man named Dave Douglas (Tim Allen) who works for a big law firm in Los Angeles. Dave is a man that is so caught up with his work that he doesn't even realize he is ignoring his wife Rebecca (Kristen Davis) and his two kids Carly (Zena Grey) and Josh (Spencer Breslin). Dave is currently working on the biggest case of his career which involves animal testing. If Dave wins this case, he will become the head D.A. at the firm. But when a dog from the testing facility escapes and comes to the Douglas house. This is where Dave's priorities begin to change as Dave turns into a dog and sees his family and himself from a totally new and unique perspective.

I'll be really honest with my review here and state that "The Shaggy Dog" isn't a great movie by any means. The story is silly and the film reminded me at times of the Rob Schneider film "The Animal" but is "The Shaggy Dog" as bad as the trailers lead you to believe? Not really. The movie had good intentions but was just poorly executed. The movie really is a feel good family flick but it isn't very original nor is it very believable.

What "The Shaggy Dog" does well is it delivers a good message which is "Be there for your family". What makes "The Shaggy Dog" fail is the fact that the film is so incredibly silly. I think the writers of this film tried so hard to make the film childish that it caused the film to be overly stupid at parts. The whole scene where Tim Allen chases the cat like a dog is really too much and wasn't necessary. I feel if the film took itself a little more seriously instead of trying to be constantly funny, the final product would have been much better.

But that's not saying that the film is a total disaster like I thought it would be when I walked into it earlier today. It was a decent family film and kids under 10 will probably adore it but parents will probably beg for it to become a little less goofy. The movie itself was a decent, silly film that could have been executed better but instead turned into a very average family film.

Tim Allen actually does a decent job here although as I mentioned before not as good as he could have done. This is probably my 2nd least favorite film of his, the first being "Jungle to Jungle" which was also made by Disney. His performance was just a little too over the top here and it seemed like he was trying too hard to be funny. The family members on the other hand did a good job. I liked the roles that Kristen Davis, Zena Grey, and Spencer Breslin played and I felt that they all did a pretty good job. Also Robert Downey Jr. wasn't bad either as the evil mastermind. Overall the cast was a lot better than the actual film.

Brian Robbins was the director of this film and I feel that this is where the problem with the film lies. A director has total control of the film and I think Brain Robbins still doesn't have a good director touch yet. Robbins has brought us several bad movies including "Good Burger", "Ready to Rumble" and the absolutely dreadful "The Perfect Score". So looking at his previous experience I can see why "The Shaggy Dog" wasn't an excellent movie. The problem here is that he isn't that good of a director and that's why this film wasn't exactly good. I would think that he would have caught on by now but he is still missing the bar on what it takes to direct a good movie.

In the end, I didn't hate "The Shaggy Dog" like I thought I would have. It's a passable family film that kids under the age of 10 will probably love. Being a fan of not only Tim Allen but family films in general, I was disappointed with the outcome of this movie. It had some redeeming elements to it but not enough to save the lame script and the poor directing. If the movie didn't try so hard to be funny, it probably could have been funnier. I wouldn't recommend this movie as a full price ticket at the local cinema but it's an OK matinée or DVD rental.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "The Shaggy Dog" is a 6/10. If you have young ones, take them because they will love it even if you feel it's a bit too much at times.

I for one am getting tired of the cinematography of a movie being obscured by ads directed at kids. A few years ago it was much more subtle then it is now. It is a shame to see a actor with the caliber of Robert Downey Jr. in a "b" rated movie and likely even a "C" rated movie.. I guess after prison, one has to start right from the mail room. But for him he is sweeping the floor of the mail room. The story line is tired. Normally my kids are gluttons for this type of entertainment. but they walked away from it within 15 minutes.. I however endured.. what a waste of 90 minutes.. If your kids point to this movie at the video store and say.." How about this one? " . You can tell them with confidence.. "I'm sorry honey .. I heard that one sucks"

I took my 12 year old grandson to see it and he was rolling on the floor for most of the film. I was surprised that it was actually funny,much more surprise than I was prepared for. This is a funny movie for those preteens and early teens as they seem to really enjoy it. Sure it is not full of high tech special effects and should never be compared to the Matrix, but it is a Disney! movie --- get it... a Disney movie. Take that into consideration ... how many Disney movies achieve high ratings anyway, other than the classics? This is a fun movie. I saw the original and it was funny too. Remember way back when everything was black and white and not color? The special effects in this movie are not very high tech and some of the metamorphosis takes place when you do not see it, so do not expect "the wolf-man" changes to be shown, nope, one shot he is a man, the next he is a dog. Some of the other critters are pretty funny too and kids seem to love this movie.

Normally I would never see this kind of films since the title and presentation almost tells completely how bad this movie its going to be. I was almost forced to watch this movie since it was the only option in the airplane I took 4 weeks ago. This is one of the worst movies I have seen in my hole life, not funny at all. I love watching movies and I enjoy a lot of different genders including kid movies and family movies. The story on this one is ridiculous and the acting is horrible. Maybe kids under 5 years old may enjoy it, anyway I doubt it. Don't waste your time watching this movie and moreover do not waste your money renting it. This movie is awful. If possible I would of given this movie a 0 out of 10.

So it's a dumb movie with a dumb plot - what do you expect? Agatha Christie? Robert Ludlum? This is a Disney film for children!

As a kids' movie, it's a lot of fun with plenty of slapstick and lots of laughs. The plot is goofy, but the basic premise is hardly meant to be realistic. This is not cinema verité. People give "What Women Want" with Mel Gibson a much higher rating, but that's just as daft.

There are plenty of set-piece chases, as you would expect with a storyline about dogs.

If you want clever, go see the Usual Suspects, just don't take your under-eights.

Went today to see this film. another remake but admittedly haven't seen the original. And I personally thought it was OK. Had three kids with me...14 yr old 8 yr old and 6yr old who all sat watching it, enjoying it and laughing away. Me too. Tim Allen was great as usual and def suits the comedy side of acting. Bit samey with the oldest child a teenage daughter who wears different clothes and wants to be rebellious...father works a lot and isn't the most committed father..mother who seems to do it all and has had enough and then the younger son who just seems to want to do his own thing but hasn't the nerve to say it. BUT apart from that the dog was great, Tim Allen and Robery Downey Jnr were great(nice to see Downey in something), some funny scenes with the actors and with the animals. Bit slow to start with but gets better. Def entertaining for kids and adults..if only Disney done more like this, seem to have dome some fantastic films years ago and then lost the plot a bit. Worth seeing

I took my niece and nephew to go see this, they begged me to take them. After about 45 minutes they were begging me to take them home, NO KIDDING!! After much debating we left with about 20 minutes left. That was $$ and time well spent, YEE HA!! I've rarely seen a remake I liked for a few exception ( The Thing, i.e.). Even seeing the previews on TV beforehand really didn't spark my interests, I didn't think the highlights were that funny. Tim Allen could/can do better picking his roles, like maybe doing more adult comedies and staying away from the kiddie fare. I enjoyed the original hands down but this version really didn't show me anything new. 1/10

The shaggy dog is more or less what you would expect from a movie entitled: the shaggy dog, with Tim Allen in it. This is the kind of movie you see when your flying from Quito to Miami. Thats where i saw it. On the four hour plane ride there isn't much to do except watch the movie or sleep. In this case, i should have chosen to sleep.

I must admit, the movie is targeted for children and the younger audience to which it must be more entertaining and comical. You will most likely get what you think you will of this movie, especially if you don't think much of it. Its an original idea, but not a very good one. So to Tim Allen i say: Points for originality, but don't do it again!

When I ask, "where's the magic?" I'm not talking about the magic that turns Tim Allen into a sheep dog. I'm talking about the "Disney Magic." I realize that a bunch of you have already commented on this, but now I'd like to add my two cents.

The original "Shaggy Dog" movie was released in 1959 (my parents were about three years old). I constantly watched it on video when I was a kid. It was cheesy, sappy, corny, etc. Even though the story was silly, the acting bad, and the special effects tacky, it had a certain charm and squishy Disney cuteness that made it appealing. I watched it recently, and I still liked it even though I'm a 26-year-old man now.

The fact that the new movie sucks has nothing to do with the fact that I'm old and jaded. It doesn't have to do with the bad acting (except for Tim Allen, who, as always, did well with what he was given) or lame special effects. Disney has lost its magic. You can only do so many remakes and sequels of a movie before it turns into a cliché and loses all the creativity and charisma of the original. This is about the fourth or fifth remake and/or sequel of the original, and it's not cute any more. It's the Xerox effect. If you keep making copies of something, you lose the all the sharpness and clarity that you began with.

Disney has perfected this over the last ten years. They've ruined just about every classic they ever made by coming out with a cheap remake or thrown-together sequel. The Shaggy Dog has gone from being a silly story about an awkward teenager trying to deal with life as all these crazy things start happening to him (totally relatable story, by the way), into a goofy special effects showcase about a lawyer who's prosecuting a tree-hugging hippie teacher, only to find out that the teacher isn't a criminal but was framed by these evil scientists who are doing genetic testing on animals (I could go off on how Disney always tries to put some liberal message into all of its new movies, but this isn't a political website).

If the good people at Disney would put more time and effort into making new and original films, they could once again become a great company. Instead they make mediocre original stuff and lackluster rehashes, and they're wasting their money. If all their resources would go into new ventures, we would probably see fewer movies from them each year, but we would once again be astounded and mesmerized by that Disney magic.

Awful. Cringeworthy. I want my 2 hours back.

Probably one of the most wooden scripts I've ever seen shot. How could someone green-light this? The acting was horrible. The sets were horrible. The comedy was nonexistent. The plot was stupid. I watched the whole movie with my 6 year old and neither of us laughed once. I mean, come on. Even the "Cat in the Hat" got the *parents* to laugh once and the kids to laugh a few times. I swear that Tim Allen had no idea what was going on on screen and was test reading the script when he read his lines.

My daughter kept asking me if we could leave. "Is it over yet? Can we go now?"

If you're looking for something to take your kids to, take them to the playground instead of this. Even if you're there for 10 minutes, it'll be more fun than watching this piece of junk.

The Shaggy Dog is utterly pathetic.Tim Allen's acting is brutal as always and the jokes if you can even call them jokes are not at all funny.The plot is clichéd,ridiculous,stupid,unnecessary,and well downright dumb.The only way they could've made this movie worse is if Bob Saget was in it as well.As always Tim Allen is bland and boring and pathetically fails to make you laugh.The director must be a five year old child or a mental patient because it is not possible for a director to make something this bad.I wish i never saw this piece of recycled bird crap because that is what The Shaggy Dog is.Tim Allen your career is over please either go on The Surrreal Life or work at your local McDonalds.

I took my daughter to see this movie, and we both enjoyed it very much. We can't wait until it comes out on DVD to add to our personal collection. I really was happy with the fact that there wasn't any profanity throughout the entire movie. It reminded me of the good old days when rated PG movies could be watched by the entire family. We laughed throughout the entire movie, and it managed to hold my 8 year old daughter's attention, which is commendable within itself. So, I really wanted to say Thank You to all of the individuals who were apart of the decision making process of making sure that this movie was completely decent for our children to watch.

I really liked Home Improvement, Galaxy Quest and the first Santa Clause, but most of Tim Allen's other movies have been pretty bad. The original Shaggy Dog was only mildly amusing, but it was a masterpiece compared to the remake, which like most remakes, is just lazy garbage. Movies have become Big Macs, rapidly prepared junk food for an increasingly lazy audience. While Allen's Shaggy Dog is certainly better than Santa Clause 2 or Zoom, it's still mind-numbingly dull, even for the child audience it was obviously made for. I understand they're making a Santa Clause 3. Somebody should tell Tim Allen to retire before he embarrasses himself further.

A wonderfully traditional Disney remake of the Shaggy D.A. Great acting and cinematography as well as perfectly timed dialog. This is what we've come to expect from Disney, good clean family fun. Tim Allen plays his familiar role as the preoccupied but hilarious comedian, an Assistant DA (ADA) prosecuting a case against an animal rights activist who was caught damaging a research lab. The lab is performing illegal experiments of which the ADA becomes a part. I didn't notice any slow spots, it was nonstop action and humor as Allen deals with his job, marriage, and family while trying to understand and cope with his hairy predicaments. The special effects were minimal as well as goofy and fun.

In this 21st century update of the 1959 Disney classic (and its 1976 sequel, "The Shaggy D.A."), Tim Allen is cast as Dave Douglas, a deputy district attorney who ends up being bitten by a mystical Tibetan canine who is supposedly hundreds of years old. Of course, he will then start transforming into a dog himself - at the worst possible times, naturally. He'll have to do some serious adjusting to these developments as he discovers some truths about the case he is currently trying, and deals with a nefarious geneticist (Robert Downey, Jr.).

Usually derided by adult viewers, who understandably are miffed by some mis-use of acting talent, "The Shaggy Dog" '06 is really not that bad. This viewer would be lying if he said that he didn't burst out laughing at some of the expected gags where Allen is committing to canine behaviour while still in human form. The transformations are almost entirely done off screen, with cuts made between Allen and his canine version.

Since this IS a Disney feature we're talking about, it should come as no surprise that it does get sentimental, and ultimately workaholic / absentee dad Dave will become a better man, and become closer to his children, through his off the wall experience.

Allen is definitely fun, and the supporting cast serves him well: Danny Glover, Philip Baker Hall, Kristin Davis, Spencer Breslin and Zena Grey as the kids. Jane Curtin is admittedly under utilized in a very straight role as the judge presiding over the trial. But this viewer will be honest, the main reason that "The Shaggy Dog" '06 hits him in a soft spot is because the dog in the movie is a bearded collie (or beardie). This may offend some purists, since the dog in the original movies was an Olde English Sheepdog, but I love beardies; our family had one for fourteen years and she was a wonderful pet. And Cole, the beardie utilized here, is adorable and obviously extremely well trained. Young viewers may take to some of the other endearing animal characters, as well.

While inevitably formulaic and predictable, this movie generates enough decent laughs to make it okay entertainment.

Six out of 10.

I would just like to say that you know a movie is bad when it makes you try to commit sepukku with your car key. I literally cried at how bad some of the acting was, and by the time the movie was over (which I think took a few years), I suffered from a complete disorientation from which it took the rest of the day to recover. Even the seemingly funny parts immediately were followed by more of the same horrible, vomit-inducing lines, not to mention a plot that NEVER ENDS. Bad Acting + Stereotypical Animal Activism + Cheesy Computer Graphics = Me Crawling Into The Fetal Position And Crying And Mumbling To Myself To Try To Escape The Blinding Pain Of Boredom. My advice if you see this movie: consult a mental health professional, or bring really big knife.