Episode 36: Secret Dog Magic

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●     “Feature Film” – The Shaggy Dog (1959 - not the 2006 Tim Allen version)

○     LOOSELY based on The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten (author of Bambi), a German novel, which is, frankly, just very upsetting

○      The Shaggy Dog is the story of dog-hating mailman Wilson Daniels, and his two sons - apparently the only 2 child actors Disney had access to prior to 1965. Kevin Corcoran as younger son “Moochie”, and Tommy Kirk as the lead, “Wilby”. Wilby Daniels is an awkward teenage inventor that seems to be capable of financing his best friend “Buzz”’s romantic life, but has not been able to date himself. He wants to change this when he and Buzz both catch sight of their new French neighbor Francesca,  - Francesca needs to go to  the local museum, so Buzz and Wilby trip over themselves to take her. While at the museum, they split up, and Wilby runs into Dr. Plumcutt, a former customer on his paper route. Dr. Plumcutt tells Wilby all about the Borgia family, their sinister reputation, and their secret dog magic. Afterward, Wilby knocks over a display of antique jewelry, only to realize that he has stolen, ahem, “acquired” a Borgia ring and smuggled it out of the museum in the cuff of his pants. Wilby reads the inscription on the ring aloud and inadvertently turns himself into a dog - which happens to be identical to Francesca’s “Bratislavan sheepdog”, Chiffon. Wilby returns to Dr. Plumcutt at the museum, who takes talking to a dog in impressive stride, and basically is told there isn’t anything he can do except perhaps an act of bravery to break the curse. Wilby switches uncontrollably back and forth between dog and boy, and manages to cause mayhem at a dance and discover a spy ring trying to steal government secrets led by none other than Francesca’s adoptive father. Through another long series of events, and the police refusing to listen to the Daniels family about the spies, and Wilby, in dog form, steals Buzz’s car and leads the police to the harbor, where the spies are escaping with Francesca in tow. Wilby tries to board the boat himself to stop them, but Francesca is knocked into the water and dog-Wilby leaps into the water and drags her to safety, breaking the curse (although no one actually realizes it, and all credit is given to Chiffon). Wilby’s dog-hating father is also commended for his role in the discovery of the spy ring, and is photographed with Chiffon for the paper - for an article about Chiffon being given a medal for bravery.

●     Trivia

○      The initial release of The Shaggy Dog grossed more than $9 million on a budget of less than $1 million – an almost unprecedented return on a film investment, making it more profitable than Ben-Hur, released the same year.

○     This movie has been remade a few times - a 1994 TV version featuring Scott Weinger and Ed Begley Jr, which kept the same general story intact, and the aforementioned 2006 horror movie version featuring Tim Allen

○     “Shaggy” was actually an Old English Sheepdog named Sam - he was a pet, and was recommended for the role by his obedience trainer, William Koehler, who trained many animals for Disney movies, including The Incredible Journey, That Darn Cat, and The Ugly Dachshund.

○     Sam was prepared for the car chase scene by using rubber bands to keep his hair out of his eyes and running him around in a wheel barrow, gradually increasing the intensity and speed as he got comfortable with the situation. A custom seat was made for Sam, with fur-covered “mittens” attached to the steering wheel, and a matching fur-covered seatbelt that blended in with his body.

○     Some of the stunts, such as jumping off of the boat were done by a child or a little person in a sheepdog suit. (The child was Johnny Kirk, Tommy Kirk’s little brother)

○     Sam accidentally stepped onto Tim Considine’s eye during filming, and scratched it.

●     Segment: News/Announcements  “The Newsies Banner”

○     Not a real surprise, but Disney release windows are not expected to vary after the release of Disney+

○     Disney released a TON of content that is going to be available on Disney+

○     Maleficent: Mistress of Evil scheduled for release on October 18, 2019

●     Segment: Whosits and Whatsits Galore

○     Disney Trivia

●     Segment: Top 4 Ranking “Let’s get down to business”

○     Top 4 Most Powerful Mages

○     1. Maleficent

○     2. Merlin

○     3. Jafar

○     4. Eglantine

Tease Next Week: Escape to Witch Mountain 1975

Top 4: animated non-human extra-terrestrials