A 1979 Disney film secretly used a man in dog costume as stunt double for real dog — 40 years later, the 'perfect' footage is putting AI to shame

In the age of AI, a classic Disney film from 1979 is making waves online for its innovative use of a stunt double man who replaced a real dog in the film. A viral video that shows hilarious footage from the film has left people comparing modern-day CGI effects with the practical techniques prominent in the New Hollywood era, which lasted till the early 1990s. 

1976’s The Shaggy D.A., one of Disney’s most unique films, has regained the spotlight after a clip shared by @explaining unveiled an unheard fact. The comedy film reportedly used a human in a dog sheepdog costume as a real stunt double for the dog, adding to the hilarious moments of the film. The caption stated that some of their funniest stunts featured the stunt double, strategically replacing the dog with filmmaking tactics. In a scene, when a powerful man demanded that his assistant call the pound for the dog to be taken away, the sheepdog runs up to the assistant and smacks his face. A stunt brilliantly portrayed by the stunt double.  

A following scene shows the dog has to jump down a building on a rope as he is chased down by two men. The stunt double in the dog costume latches onto the rope from the third floor and escapes the building, as per PEOPLE. “When scenes called for complex actions—like driving cars, running on two legs, or performing slapstick falls—a stuntman in a full sheepdog costume stepped in to safely handle the chaos!” the post’s caption mentioned. Several scenes from the film had been stitched together to emphasize the original techniques used to shoot complex scenes, say the star dog punching a man, without making the transition apparent.  

With nearly a million likes, the post was a hit among viewers who discussed the old-school filmmaking hacks that made classic Hollywood films a joy to watch. “Honestly, I’m kind of sick of hyper realism and all this CGI. I’m for some silly analog solutions to make a return once in a while,” wrote @moving_pictures_71. Similarly, @arctiquinox added, “Honestly, it’s a lot more seamless than some transitions to CGI.” The popular opinion was that people liked it better than modern CGI effects, which seem fake and unrealistic. “They need to do away with CGI and bring this nonsense back,” demanded @seanmcwhorter89.

A similar discussion broke out in a Reddit post shared by u/BasicAccount01, where viewers joked about the stunt double being a dog. "I’d rather watch this than CGI any day," quipped u/Appropriate_Net_4281 and u/emptyvoidofjoy said, "What do you mean? You can clearly see it's a dog." The movie stars Dean Jones as Wilby Daniels, a lawyer running for district attorney who wants to clean up his city of corruption. After a magical ring’s inscription is read aloud, Wilby suddenly begins transforming into a shaggy dog. The cast also includes Tim Conway, Suzanne Pleshette, Shane Sinutko, and Jo Anne Worley, among others.