The Return of the Shaggy Dog

“The Return of the Shaggy Dog,” released on television in 1987, is a sequel to “The Shaggy Dog,” and takes place before “The Shaggy D.A.” What’s funny is that “The Shaggy D.A.” took place in the 70s and “The Return of the Shaggy Dog” takes place in the 80s. Originally released as a two-parter on “The Wonderful World of Disney,” this movie, according to Billwenham, has been aired twice and had Wilby Daniels (Gary Kroeger) engaged to Betty (Michele Little) but before his wedding, he is kidnapped by Professor Primkutt’s (Jack Ammon) caretakers (Jane Carr and Gavin Reed) (who find the ring and read the inscription, hence Wilby’s transfiguring back into the shaggy dog).

There is also another plot where Wilby’s brother, played by Todd Waring, is trying to find the perfect dog for a dog food commercial. Would you say this is predictable and guess what happens next? I guess this is up to the viewer to say if this is enjoyable or not.

You could say that this is disappointing, as is to be expected of made-for-TV sequels. At-A-Glance said in their review, “The villains are cartoony and irritating, the stars have little chemistry or screen appeal, and the comedy includes too few laughs amongst too much slapstick that, excuse the pun, falls flat.” Still, the movie pulls no punches when it comes to getting Wilby in trouble with everyone, and that part of the film is fun. Cindy Morgan is also in the film as Laura.

I guess I could say that I didn’t expect much from the film because the franchise started to feel tired. Thankfully, this is the last that featured Wilby. This is available on YouTube, but I don’t think anybody should see this.

Stay tuned tomorrow when I talk about the last film in the franchise in “Disney Month 2023.”