3/10
You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?
9 September 2007
When his house is repeatedly robbed, Dean Jones (as Wilby) receives no assistance from the local authorities; so, he decides to run for District Attorney. Complicating his run is the reemergence of a magical ring from his teenage years - which turns him into an on again/off again shaggy dog.

This movie is the first sequel to Walt Disney's "The Shaggy Dog" (1959). Wilby Daniels, the teenager from the first film (Tommy Kirk), has grown up, and has a family of his own: Suzanne Pleshette (as wife Betty) and Shane Sinutko (as son Brian). None of the original film's leading actors appear in either flashback or cameo. "The Shaggy D.A." attempts to explain more about the reasons for the change, raising more questions than it answers.

This movie has a few funny moments, helped immensely by Tim Conway - there are a lot of other 1970s TV performers to pick out, which can be fun. But the film is a dog, compared to the original. The "special effects" from the first Shaggy progress surprisingly little, and look worse in color. The charming interacting performances of Mr. Kirk and the original's young characters is gone.

*** The Shaggy D.A. (1976) Robert Stevenson ~ Dean Jones, Tim Conway, Suzanne Pleshette
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