The Shaggy Dog
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Cast: Tim Allen, Robert Downey Jr., Kristin Davis, Danny Glover
Extras: Commentary Track, Bloopers, Deleted Scenes, Bark-Along
Rating:
For all those generations who never had the chance to see and enjoy the original "The Shaggy Dog, " Walt Disney Pictures has created a remake of the film, updating its contents, settings and plot to reflect these modern times.
Dave Douglas (Tim Allen) is the District Attorney handling the case of a break-in into a research lab by an animal activist. The activist claims the researchers in the lab, headed by Dr. Kozak (Robert Downey Jr.) are mistreating the animals and subject them to inhuman experiments, creating barking monkeys and frogs with dog faces in the process.
Of course, no one believes the stories of this young man but before long, Douglas is bitten by one of the dogs that was held in the lab and promptly mutates into a sheep dog himself. Realizing what has happened he begins an undercover investigation of the lab as a dog, while also trying to convince his children and wife that he is "Dad" and not just some stray dog.
"The Shaggy Dog" is a well put together family comedy that works on a variety of level to appeal to all ages. Tim Allen makes for a truly funny performance of the Shaggy Dog while Robert Downey Jr. comes across as ruthless and crazed as the role allows. The supporting cast is also well picked and makes for a high quality movie all around.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment has prepared "The Shaggy Dog" in a pristine transfer on this DVD that is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio and is enhanced for 16×9 TV sets. A cropped pan & scan version is also included, but it is of no interest or relevance to us. The picture is meticulously clean and free of any defects or blemishes. Color reproduction is faithful and reveals strong hues and gradients while deep black levels create solid shadows that give the image visual depth. No edge-enhancement or compression artifacts are evident.
The audio on the release is presented as a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital track that is nicely complementing the feature presentation. With a wide frequency response and dynamic range, it is a modern track that has good bottom end and is without even a hint of distortion. Dialogues are perfectly integrated to ensure that they are always clear and understandable.
A commentary track featuring director Brian Robbins and producer David Hoberman has been added to the release, offering some interesting insight into the making of this film. This is not a very technical track, as could be expected, but more of an informative elaboration as to what it was like to put the film together.
As extras the release serves up some deleted scenes and bloopers, as well as a "Bark Along" for your dog to enjoy. Cute. 🙂
"The Shaggy Dog" is a solid family film. It is funny and entertaining for kids and adults alike. The DVD is without problems and makes this DVD the perfect choice for a family night viewing.
