[3] It starts with Dean Jones as the adult Wilby Daniels, Suzanne Pleshette, Tim Conway, Keenan Wynn, Dick Van Patten, Jo Anne Worley and Shane Sinutko.

Katrinka eventually receives the ring and reads the inscription, just as Wilby is giving a public address at a ladies garden club.

Desperate to find the ring, the hunt leads to Katrinka, who loses it in a vat of pie filling intended for a Slade fundraiser.

Once again in the hands of the museum, the inscription is read aloud as a point of reference; at the police station, Wilby (who arrived to confirm that the ring had been recovered) finds himself turning into Elwood again.

Raymond understands what is happening after overhearing the museum's curator explaining the curse and how his predecessor[b] mentioned the story of a young man who turned into a sheepdog years before.

Aided by his dog friends from the pound, he also retrieves the ring from Slade, who has read the inscription aloud so many times that the curse has now passed onto him, causing him to transform into a bulldog.

Using a formula of placing supernatural and/or fantastical forces within everyday mid-twentieth century American life, the studio was able to create a long series of "gimmick comedies" (a term coined by Disney historian and film critic Leonard Maltin) with enough action to keep children entertained and a touch of light satire to engage their adult chaperones.

Using television actors on their summer hiatus— who were familiar to audiences but did not necessarily have enough clout to receive over-the-title billing (or a large fee) from another major studio— was one way these comedies were produced inexpensively; they also tended to use the same sets from the Disney backlot.

Occasionally, one of these inexpensive comedies would become a runaway success and place at or near the top of the box office for their respective release year (e.g., The Absent-Minded Professor, The Love Bug).

Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette were frequently paired in other Disney gimmick comedies, such as Blackbeard's Ghost and The Ugly Dachshund.

The story was set in fictional Medfield, a town that (along with its eponymous Medfield College) was the setting for six other Disney gimmick comedies, including The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, The Million Dollar Duck and the "Dexter Riley" trilogy (The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Now You See Him Now You Don't, and The Strongest Man in the World).

A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote: "Naturally, the story line is incredible and convoluted enough to give an uninhibited cast plenty of opportunities to clown for, unfortunately, a minimum of real laughs ...

Don Tait actually has written a cute script that gives adults in the audience a few laughs while watching the inevitable and unending pratfalls designed for the kids.

It has all the elements of smooth and sunny comedy that Disney does best, and it marks a return to top studio craftsmanship after a few uneven pix of late.

[9] Jill Forbes of The Monthly Film Bulletin called it "dully scripted and poorly paced, and so frequently interrupted by set pieces (the pie fight and Tim's attempt to make his dog talk) that it never succeeds in exploiting a situation which is gratuitous when it is not gruesome.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog referenced the film in the lyrics to one of his songs: "He gave head to the Shaggy D.A., and that's how we know that Benji's gay!