The only thing missing was a blanket fort.On Saturday night, September 24th, the Walt Disney Family Museum celebrated their loyal members and one of Walt’s favorite comfort foods, with "Chili & A Movie."
Undaunted by a wet afternoon and winds that threatened the planned outdoor event, a cheerful crowd gathered to share a special screening of the 1959 classic The Shaggy Dog, in glorious black & white. Everyone piled into the Special Events building and cozied up in their lawn chairs, turning what was once the Presidio’s military gymnasium into an indoor drive-in.
The popcorn machine got a good workout, and there was the obligatory candy and soda, but the big hit was the chili. Everyone lined up to fill their bread bowls, topping off with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped onions, and all was heartily consumed in the flickering light of the movie screen.
The original story of The Shaggy Dog came from the Felix Salten novel, The Hound of Florence. Salten was also wrote a story about a squirrel named Perri, which later became the first and only Disney “True-Life Fantasy.” However, he is best known for a novel that became one of the Disney Studio’s most beloved animated films. Do you know what it was?
The Shaggy Dog stars Fred MacMurray, one of Walt’s favorite actors, who is at his baffled best playing Wilson Daniels, father of Wilby (Tommy Kirk) and Moochie (Kevin Corcoran.) Wilby, the teen inventor, accidently acquires a mysterious ring belonging to the House of Borgia. When he reads the Latin inscription, Wilby shape-shifts, taking the form and place of neighbor girl Franceska’s sheepdog. This transformation comes as a delight to younger brother Moochie, who desperately wants a dog. Unfortunately, dad is a retired mailman, and gets hives in the presence of canines.
Actor Tim Considine gets a chance to break out of the clean-cut image he earned playing parts in “The Adventures of Spin & Marty” and “The Hardy Boys.” In this movie he plays confident, self-absorbed Buzz Miller, and succeeds in portraying a real stinker. Buzz manipulates poor Wilby into a double-date situation with snooty socialite Franceska (Roberta Shore) and humble but adorable Allison (Annette Funicello,) but is just using Wilby as a way to date both girls at once.
One notable cameo in the film is played by veteran voice-actor Paul Frees, who is audibly recognizable in countless cartoons and Disney attractions. He appears as the psychiatrist J.W. Galvin, when Wilson is finally convinced his son has turned into a dog, and is forced to get his head examined.
There is another memorable moment, when Wilson discovers Moochie on the porch reading a comic book (Uncle Scrooge, of course.) Instead of becoming angry at his kid for reading comics, he loses his cool only when he discovers that Moochie is using Uncle Scrooge to hide his real reading material. Do you remember what it was? (Maybe it’s time to pull out the DVD and watch it again.)
Of course all’s well that ends well, and our intrepid members left the theatre happy, with folding chairs and blankets in tow, along with a hot cup of cocoa for the chilly trip home. Hope to see you at the next one!
- David and Brenna Nadolski
Images: 1) © Disney 2) Brenna Nadolski manning the popcorn machine.