The Shaggy Dog (G)
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Caution: potential spoilers.

This came out in 1959, and pretty much the only reason I decided to list it in my "classic" section is because it's pre-1960s. I could have put it under "family" or "comedy" or "fantasy". Anyway, I'm sure I saw it on TV sometime in my youth in the 1980s or early 90s, possibly on The Wonderful World of Disney. At the time, I think I saw the colorized version, but I really hoped I would get to see the original black & white version when I rewatched it on Disney+ in 2024. I was worried because the preview image was in color, but luckily the movie itself was in b&w. It's a pretty redonkulous movie, but it's funny.

There's a mailman who hates dogs, named Wilson Daniels (Fred MacMurray), who has a wife named Freeda, a teenage son named Wilby (Tommy Kirk), and a younger son named Moochie (Kevin Corcoran, who has been in numerous Disney movies, of which I remember him best for Swiss Family Robinson). Wilby is the main character of the movie. He has a frenemy named Buzz Miller, who is dating a girl named Allison (Annette Funicello). When a French girl named Francesca Andrassy moves to town with her father, Mikhail, Buzz and Wilby are both immediately interested in her. She has a "Bratislavian" Sheepdog named Chiffon. One day, Wilby and Buzz go with Francesca to a museum. Wilby gets separated from them and winds up in a room that's not open to the public, where he meets a man named Professor Plumcutt, who tells him about the Borgia family, and shape-shifting. Wilby accidentally knocks over a table with several artifacts on it, including a ring of the Borgias that falls into the cuff of his pants, which he doesn't discover until later. When he gets home and finds the ring, he reads a Latin inscription on it, and puts it on. Not long after that, he turns into Chiffon, who disappears.

Wilby returns the ring to Professor Plumcutt, hoping he would know how to transform back into himself, but Plumcutt isn't sure. He just thinks the spell may wear off eventually, or may come and go, but will most likely end permanently after an act of heroism by Wilby. Meanwhile, Wilby has to hide from his father, but gets some help from Moochie, who is excited to finally have a dog. At one point, Wilby overhears plans Mikhail is making with some other guy, the nature of which I don't want to spoil, but it leads to all sorts of trouble. But ultimately, Wilby does perform an act of heroism, and the spell ends. In the end, Francesca moves away again, leaving the real Chiffon with the Daniels family, which to me is probably the most unbelievable aspect of the story, considering how much she loved the dog. But whatever, Moochie is happy, and Wilson finally gets over his hatred of dogs. Wilby and Buzz refocus their attention on Allison, but she's already moved on to another guy (I daresay too old for her, but I'm not sure how old he actually is.)

I've left out tons of details, and several semi-important characters. There's lots of unbelievable stuff in the movie, like things Wilby is able to do while in a dog's body, including driving a car. (Yet somehow, he was unable to turn a doorknob.) The movie is more fun than I remembered, but still too silly to be really great. I was a bit surprised that Funicello's role wasn't bigger than it was. And... I'm not sure what else to say.

It was followed by a sequel in 1976, called "The Shaggy D.A.", which I also saw as a kid and will probably re-watch sometime to write a review. In 1987 there was a TV interquel called "The Return of the Shaggy Dog", which I don't remember ever seeing and have no real interest in. There was also a TV movie remake of the original film in 1994, and a theatrical remake in 2006, neither of which I've seen, and have no interest in.