Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.”

Title: The Shaggy Dog

Year: 1959

Source materials : The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten

Budget: under $1 million

Box office: $12.3 million

Plot: Wilbur “Wilby” Daniels is a boy who is misunderstood by his father, Wilson. Wilson thinks Wilby is crazy half the time because of his elder son’s often dangerous inventions. As a retired mailman who often ran afoul of canines, he is allergic to dogs, and he simply cannot understand why his younger son, Montgomery “Moochie” would want a dog.

Wilby and his rival Buzz Miller go with a French girl named Francesca Andrassé to the local museum. Wilby gets separated from the other two, who leave without him. Wilby encounters former acquaintance Professor Plumcutt (whose newspaper Wilby used to deliver), 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 that holds a display case of jewelry. He accidentally ends up with one of the rings in the cuff of his pants.

It is the cursed Borgia ring, and no sooner does he read the inscription on it (“In canis corpore transmuto”, which, unknown to Wilby, means, “Into a dog’s body I change”) then he transforms into The Big Shaggy Dog Name Chiffonn, Francesca’s shaggy “Bratislavian sheepdog”. Confused, Wilby as a dog goes to Professor Plumcutt, who says he has invoked the Borgia curse upon himself, which can only be broken through a heroic act of selflessness.

After getting chased out of his own house by his enraged father (who fails to recognize him as a dog), Wilby has a series of misadventures while switching back and forth between human form and dog form. Only Moochie and Professor Plumcutt know his true identity, as Wilby has spoken to them both in dog form. While at a local dance in his human form, he accidentally transforms himself into a dog.

The next day, Wilby, as a dog, and Moochie are talking when Francesca’s butler Stefano comes out and drags Wilby into the house. Stefano and Francesca’s adoptive father, Dr. Valasky, are discussing plans to steal a government secret, and Wilby, as a dog, overhears. Unfortunately for him, he transforms into human Wilby right in front of the spies and has been discovered, but not before he hears Dr. Valasky expressing his wish to get rid of his own daughter. The spies angrily capture Wilby and force Francesca to leave with them, leaving the human Wilby bound and gagged in the closet at once. Fortunately, Moochie sneaks into the house just after Dr. Valasky, Stefano and Francesca leave, and discovers Wilby, who is transformed into a dog, still bound and gagged in the closet.

Wilby reveals the secret to his dumbfounded father, who goes to the authorities, until Wilson suddenly finds himself accused of being either crazy or a spy himself. When Buzz appears at the Valasky residence to take Francesca on a date, Wilby, still in his dog form, steals Buzz’s hot rod automobile. Buzz reports this to Officers Hansen and Kelly, who are in disbelief until they see the shaggy dog driving Buzz’s hot rod. Wilson and Moochie follow Buzz and the police, who end up chasing everyone. The spies attempt to leave aboard a boat, but the police call in the harbor patrol to apprehend Dr. Valasky and stop his boat. Wilby, in his 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, which finally breaks the curse of dog form. When Francesca regains her consciousness, Buzz tries to take credit for saving her. This angers Wilby, who is still a dog, so much that he attacks Buzz. Seconds later, Buzz is surprised to find himself wrestling with the real human Wilby, and the real Chiffon reappears. Since he is soaking wet, Francesca concludes that he has really saved her from the ocean and she hugs and praises Chiffon.

Now that Wilson and Chiffon are declared heroes, Francesca is able to leave for Paris without her evil adoptive father and former butler, both of whom have been arrested for illegal espionage; and she gives Chiffon to the Daniels family for them to keep as her way of thanking them. Since Wilson has gotten such commendation for foiling a spy ring because of “his love of dogs”, he has a change of heart over his allergy to dogs, a promise to change his ways, and a sense of humor (while he also realizes that his dog-hating attitude isn’t really good anymore), so he 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 instead.

Background: The movie was originally intended as the pilot for a never-made TV series and advertised as “the funniest shaggy dog story ever told”, although it is not in fact a story of that genre. The director was Charles Barton, who also directed Spin and Marty for The Mickey Mouse Club. Veteran screenwriter Lillie Hayward also worked on the Spin and Marty serials, which featured several of the same young actors as The Shaggy Dog.

Cast: Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran return as Wilby and Moochie Daniels.

Fred MacMurray 1 After suffering from leukemia for more than a decade, MacMurray died from pneumonia at age 83 in November 1991 in Santa Monica. as Wilson Daniels. He is best known for his role in the film noir Double Indemnity. He performed in numerous Disney films, including The Absent-Minded Professor and The Happiest Millionaire, He played the role of Steve Douglas on My Three Sons, He also appeared in The Gilded Lily, Alice Adams, Above Suspicion, Hands Across the Table, The Princess Comes Across, Swing High, Swing Low, True Confession, The Caine Mutiny, and The Apartment. Jean Hagen 2 Hagen died at age 54 of esophageal cancer on August 29, 1977, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, and was buried in Chapel of the Pines Crematory. as Frida Daniels. She is best known for her role as Lina Lamont in Singin’ in the Rain for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was also nominated three times for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Margaret Williams on Make Room For Daddy. She appeared in Adam’s Rib and The Asphalt Jungle.

Annette Funicello 3 On April 8, 2013, Funicello died at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, California, at age 70, from complications due to multiple sclerosis. as Allison D’Allessio. She was one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the original Mickey Mouse Club. She had a successful career as a singer with the pop singles “O Dio Mio”, “Tall Paul” and “Pineapple Princess.” For Disney she appeared in Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones and The Monkey’s Uncle. As a teen, she starred in several “beach” movies such as Beach Party, Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach, Pajama Party, Beach Blanket Bingo and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini. Tim Considine as Buzz Miller. For Disney he appeared in Spin and Marty and The Hardy Boys (with Tommy Kirk). He played the eldest son, Mike Douglas, on My Three Sons. He also had a brief role in the film Patton.

Cecil Kellaway 4 Kellaway died after a long illness at a West Los Angeles convalescent home on February 28, 1973. as Professor Plumcutt. He appeared in many films, a few of the better known ones were Harvey, Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Alexander Scourby 5 Scourby died of a heart attack on February 22, 1985 in Newtown, Connecticut, aged 71. as Dr. Mikhail Valasky. He is best known for his film role as the ruthless mob boss Mike Lagana in Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat. Scourby recorded 422 audiobooks for the blind which he considered his most important work.

Roberta Shore as Francesca Andrassy. She appeared in A Summer Place, Because They’re Young, The Young Savages and in Lolita. You can also hear her voice as the yodeller on the “It’s a Small World” ride. James Westerfield 6 Westerfield died from a heart attack in Woodlands Hills, California, at the age of 58. as Officer Hanson. He had roles in The Magnificent Ambersons, On The Waterfront, Lucy Gallant, Decision at Sundown, Cowboy, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, Birdman of Alcatraz, Man’s Favorite Sport, The Sons of Katie Elder, Hang ‘Em High, and True Grit.

Strother Martin 7 the last year of his life Martin had been under doctor’s care for cardiac problems and he died of a heart attack on August 1, 1980, at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California; he was 61. as Thurm. He is best known as the prison captain in the film Cool Hand Luke. He appeared in numerous other films such as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Shenandoah, The Sons of Katie Elder, True Grit, The Wild Bunch, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Paul Frees 8 Frees died on November 2, 1986 at his home from a self-administered overdose of pain medication. as Dr. J.W. Galvin, the psychiatrist (uncredited). He was a legendary voice actor appeared in many Rankin/Bass specials. His voice is heard in the parks as the Ghost Host in The Haunted Mansion and the Auctioneer in Pirates of the Caribbean. Some of his more famous roles were Ludwig von Drake, Burgermeister Meisterburger, John Lennon, George Harrison, The Thing, The Pillsbury Doughboy, and of course, Boris Badinov.

Legacy:

• 1976- The Shaggy D.A., starring Dean Jones as a 45-year-old Wilby Daniels.
• 1987- two-part television movie set somewhere in the 17 years between the films entitled The Return of the Shaggy Dog, with Gary Kroeger as a 30-something Wilby Daniels.
• 1994 -a television movie, with Scott Weinger and Ed Begley, Jr.
• 2006- live-action remake of the movie with Tim Allen

My take: This was a fun movie. McMurray is great as usual, giving a fun everyman performance, but I think the real fun is watching the teenagers interact. The DVD has an interview with Kirk, Corcoran, Considine, and Shore where they talk about their experiences shooting the film. I noticed that in one scene, Moochie is reading an Uncle Scrooge comic.

Next Week: Sean Connery sings! Darby O’Gill and the Little People