The Shaggy Dog is another example of Disney mining its cinematic vaults to bring classic films to modern audiences. While I know there are several people who object to remakes when the classics are excellent films, I am not one of them. Like Herbie Fully Loaded last year, The Shaggy Dog let me introduce my daughter to a classic in a modern setting.
The film stars Tim Allen (Tool Man Tim, The Santa Clause 1 & 2) and my daughter adores him. From the first time she saw the trailer, she asked if we could go. The film is rated PG and there’s a reason for that and we’re going to talk about that here. First thing first, my daughter laughed and cried while watching this movie. For sensitive kids, the scenes where Tim Allen’s Shaggy Dog self is shocked by the scientists and the scenes in the laboratories are a bit hard on them.
My five year-old was very upset and while the anti-animal testing message is delivered in this film, it’s not the anvil dropper. No the real message delivered is the importance of family. Director Brian Robbins scored a home run with his message because one of the first things my daughter said when she left the movie was that ‘family is more important than anything, isn’t it Mommy?’
Family tales are what Disney does best and while I know there are a lot of critics that will tear apart the idea of modernizing a film with CGI or not making it different enough, it’s important to remember that unlike we jaded adults, our children are still exploring a lot of themes in this great new world. I’d rather she came out of a film excited about family and wanting to hug her daddy than just about anything else.
For parents who want to know The Shaggy Dog features Robert Downey Jr (oozing laughable sinister evil) as the scientist Dr. Kozak. His company Grant Strictland is accused of animal testing and quite obviously they are really guilty. The movie opens with a group of commandos (can we get more over the top?) raiding a Tibetan monastery and stealing a 300-year-old dog. They take him back and perform tests, unfortunately for the lab, the dog is pretty cagey (he is 300 years old) and he escapes and finds his way into the care of the Douglas family headed by the neglectful dad Dave (Tim Allen).
Not so coincidentally, Dave is the District Attorney prosecuting a teacher for setting fire to a Grant Strictland laboratory. The dog bites Dave and Dave becomes a dog. The hijinks and endearing moments commence with ‘Dad’ learning a lot about his kids, his wife and himself. Ultimately, he realizes he’s been a lousy dad, but he’s got to overcome a lot to get back to his family and save the dog at Grant Strictland.
The movie is rated PG for the shocking scenes and the laboratory scenes that imply testing on the animals. There are a few of those so be warned for your more sensitive kids. Otherwise, I give this four and half full stars for being appealing, entertaining and most of all — informing in its message. Check it out – it’s a great way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon with the kids.