Shaggy Dog DVD: Review By Mushy

Tim Allen stars in the The Shaggy Dog as Dave Douglas. He is currently prosecuting Justin Forrester for breaking into a lab where they are doing animal testing. Through a series of events, Douglas gets bitten by a dog who has been tested in this lab and he suddenly turns into one. As you can guess, the comedy ensues as he tries to live a normal life and prosecute the case all while battling canine tendencies. In the end, Douglas convinces his family that having become a dog has changed him and he also ends up siding with Forrester's cause and against big business animal testers.

As this is a Disney film one can't fault me for being a little bit tired of their tried and true formula. That said, this is a kids film and parents could do a lot worse (but then could certainly do better!) than renting The Shaggy Dog.

Deleted Scenes

There are four deleted scenes to choose from, none of which really illuminate any more about the film. They have titles like "Kozak and Strictland" and "Alternate Ending for Kozak," and they feature some moments that fans of the actors in the scenes will probably find funny. Also, they have cut these deleted scenes in such a way that looks as if they were lifted out of a longer segment from the movie.

Bloopers

When making a Tim Allen movie it would seem that many bloopers would naturally come out of the working environment. What we have here is a long string of clips cut together where actors laugh during lines, flub lines and even accidentally break parts of the set. Tim Allen fans will certainly enjoy seeing him in a rawer form, as he seems to really let loose whenever he messes up a line or causes another such mishap.

Bark Along

Aside from featuring an informative bit of information on adopting dogs, this has to be one of the most hysterically inane things I have ever seen on a DVD. A song plays that humans can sing along with and there's a version for just dogs. Yes, you read that correctly. I know this is supposed to be cute and fun but I just found it a but weird and kind of awkward.

Commentary Track

This features director Brian Robbins and Producer David Hoberman. Okay, I know these guys put a lot into making this movie. However, what was most jarring about this commentary was how seriously these guys took this track. It was devoid of all humor and it sounded like they'd just finished working on the film, and now they were using this audio track to decompress. Then when they start talking about "devices" and breaking down scenes this thing becomes almost laughable.

Full Screen (1.33:1) or Widescreen (2.40:1) - Enhanced for 16x9 TVs. Okay, these next few sentences don't talk about how this movie looks per se, but I find it highly ironic that American's are always told how stupid we are. Truthfully, a film like The Shaggy Dog really doesn't do much to kill that idea, however, having been extra in this movie (and on a bunch of other fluff films), I find it interesting that the Director of Photography, the person shooting the movie is usually from Europe where we are thought to be such idiots. Witness the DP work of Gabriel Beristain on The Shaggy Dog.

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound in English. Full Screen includes French and Spanish 2.0 Audio. Both Full Screen and Widescreen include French and Spanish Subtitles. Like a sitcom or other simply shot piece, there isn't too much about the audio that is that well done. In fact, Disney seems to be going out of it's way to recall the films of yore, as it showed us different shots of the dog and then we hear Tim Allen's thoughts in it's head. Nothing too amazing about the audio but I guess it's good to have options.

Tim Allen graces this front cover with that plastic smile he's known for. The dog who plays him in the movie stands close by in charge of the leash around his neck. The back cover shows Tim Allen in human form running after a cat and other shots of him and Robert Downey Jr. (yup, he's here too) acting like dogs. There is a description of what this film is about, a Special Features listing, some technical specs and a cast list.

Okay, I am not sure how rare this is but it's rare in my case. I can say without a hint of sarcasm or anything of that nature that I am in this film. I am extra but it's not the kind of extra that is in a "blink and you'll miss it moment." I am not saying that Disney should have shared some of Tim Allen's DVD cover space with me, but I am actually in this movie. If you would like to know where, first I will say that I can be seen intermittently through out the film as a juror on the Forrester trial. My biggest scene (if you haven't already seen the film) is where Tim Allen talks about a drug's many cures and he leaves off on "baldness." The camera then zooms in and you see yours truly with what my friends have described as my "dipsh*t smile."

The Shaggy Dog is a family film that should supply a lot of laughs for kids and everyone else who wants a simple, stupid comedy.