The Ugly Dachshund (DVD)

...live action efforts. This was the year that saw The Ugly Dachshund hit the screen, and while it certainly has nothing that children can't watch it in it, it is more likely to appeal to an older audiences. Starring Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette, it's a rather gentle comedy about a Great Dane who thinks its a dachshund. It's a bit of lighthearted fun, making for a nice little date movie, though dog loving children aged 7 and up will also find something ...
...Great Dane is the topic of the film, it's not so much a story about the Great Dane as it is about the childless Garrisons. Fran Garrison loves her dachshund Danke, who has had puppies. Boy, does she love that dog. Think baby substitute, and you will get an idea of how she dotes on these dogs, though thankfully it is not the sickly sort where they put clothes on the critters and buy a doggie pram so it not a cringe worthy experience to watch. Husband ... more

In 1966, Disney was still in its Golden Age, especially in regards to their live action efforts. This was the year that saw The Ugly Dachshund hit the screen, and while it certainly has nothing that children can't watch it in it, it is more likely to appeal to an older audiences. Starring Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette, it's a rather gentle comedy about a Great Dane who thinks its a dachshund. It's a bit of lighthearted fun, making for a nice little date movie, though dog loving children aged 7 and up will also find something to like about it.

While the Great Dane is the topic of the film, it's not so much a story about the Great Dane as it is about the childless Garrisons. Fran Garrison loves her dachshund Danke, who has had puppies. Boy, does she love that dog. Think baby substitute, and you will get an idea of how she dotes on these dogs, though thankfully it is not the sickly sort where they put clothes on the critters and buy a doggie pram so it not a cringe worthy experience to watch. Husband Mark, however, comes home with a puppy the vet has made a gift of, as the poor thing needed a home. It's a Great Dane Puppy, and he settles right on in with Danke's pups. This is all well and good save for the fact that the goofy dog begins to think that Danke is indeed his mum and the pups his siblings and that he is as small and dainty as they. The dachshunds are mischievous little sods, and poor Brutus the Great Dane happily follows along in the fun, with often dire consqeneces. Fran of course feels the trouble is Brutus' fault as he is just so big ad clumsy, and after a fiasco at her garden party, lays down the law: Brutus must go. Mark is adamant he wants the dog to stay as it is more or less HIS dog. Then calamity strikes with one of the dachshund puppies, and only Brutus can save the day. Does Chloe the pup get saved by Brutus, and does Brutus ever learn he is a Great Dane and how not to galumph about quite so much? And does Fran realise that Brutus is a lovable mutt and let him stay as one of the brood? It's Disney, so what do YOU think?

It's pure situation comedy gold, with no need for large special effects. It's also surprisingly free of slap stick, instead relying solely on the situations and the gifts of the actors to deliver their lines with maximum impact. This is a much more grown up sort of Disney film then, and it is a shame they did not do a lot more of these. There certainly was a market for it, with films such as With Six You get Eggroll (1968), Divorce - American Style (1967), and the wonderfully satiric The Odd Couple (1968) proving that grown ups enjoyed a good knowing laugh at situations they found themselves. This was not to be however, and Disney returned to making more family films that had definite child appeal.

The animal handler for the dogs is to be congratulated in this film as the action on screen looks entirely natural and spontaneous on the part of the dogs. All too often in these sort of films you get the feeling that someone is standing just off screen waiting for a green light to go off so they can open a hatch to let the dogs or whatever run across the set to someone holding a box of treats. Suzanne Pleshette is not so bad either, playing middle class Fran very well. She has her nice orderly little life, and we can practically see her mental tooth grinding going on as the dog and her husband unwittingly complicate her feminine existence. Dean Jones is perfectly adequate and makes his role believable, but let's face it, he plays second fiddle to a dog. Still, he carries it off with aplomb and the film just would not be the same without him.

This used to come on occasionally during prime time as part of the whole 70's Wonderful World of Disney network TV show, and then again from time to time on the Disney channel. I hadn't seen it ran for quite some time though, and one day was talking about films with my husband and adult step daughter when this one came up in the conversation. With it now firmly in mind, I resolved to see if it was on DVD and I did indeed find it over on Amazon and several other places. It's part of their budget style releases, meaning it has the film on it and no extras of any sort. I was really glad I had not bought it though when it first came out, as the original price was around the £15-20 mark. last year, however, it was reduced down to about £5 over at Amazon, and that is when I snagged us a copy. Looking over that way, I see it is still for sale at that price, so not too dear for you get. The picture quality on this R 2 release is clear and scratch free, and the sound although admittedly in mono, is crackle and pop free so just turning up the sound a notch to compensate for the single speaker does the trick.It's a nice piece of comedy fluff perfect for date nights with that special someone, or a rainy day in, as long as you don't expect your four year old to sit through it.

 

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