Sometimes, the vehicles from movies spawn a cult following instead of the actual film. Icons such as the Bullitt Mustang from Steve McQueen’s Bullitt or the Ecto 1 the Cadillac ambulance from Ghostbusters. Who can forget the DeLorean DMC-12 from Back To The Future?

On that note, who remembers the Mutt Cutts Van from Dumb and Dumber? The van itself was perhaps more iconic than Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels themselves. Despite being impractical, the Mutt Cutts Van spurred a massive craze of replicas thereafter. It was frankly pretty ridiculous to have a fur-covered van in the first place, and even funnier to add a dog face and tail to it. But then again, Dumb and Dumber was just about as slapstick and in-your-face as it could get, so the van fit in perfectly.

The fact that many “fans” later turned their vans into replicas of it shows that common sense isn’t all that common and people would do anything to have the spotlight on them, even it meant covering their vans with fur.

So here’s what we know about that iconic and furry Mutt Cutts Van from Dumb and Dumber, and what happened to it.

Dumb, Dumber And The Dumbest

The Mutt Cutts Van Was Perhaps More Iconic Than Jim Carrey And Jeff Daniels Themselves And Spurred A Huge Craze Of Replicas Thereafter
via WXYZ

In 1994, after Jim Carrey had established himself as the most insane comic performer in such films as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective; Dumb and Dumber was released with Carrey pairing up with the normally serious Jeff Daniels.

Rather interestingly if unfairly, Carrey was paid a whopping $7million for his role as Lloyd Christmas while Jeff Daniels, whom the studio did not think to be a good fit, was paid a paltry $50,000. The movie was a smash hit and is still considered a cult classic of sorts.

In the movie, Harry Dunne is a dog groomer and drives the Mutt Cutts “Shaggin’ Wagon” at his workplace. The story starts when the woman Christmas loves leaves on a flight and he picks up a suitcase she left behind. At the same time, Dunne gets fired from his dog grooming job.

Both the friends are blue and decide to head off in the Mutt Cutts van with the briefcase, unaware that it's full of ransom money and are now being chased by goons. The adventure is dumb, the friends dumber and the goons are perhaps the dumbest of all.

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What Lies Beneath The Fur

The Mutt Cutts Van From Dumb And Dumber
Via: Twitter

Under that fur lies a Ford Econoline, boring to boot but once the Farrelly Brothers, the producers of the movie, got their hands on it, woof it went.

In 1984, the Ford Econoline came with the standard V6 but also had both a V8 and a diesel option as well. For Dumb and Dumber, the 1984 Econoline was transformed into a giant dog on wheels with a tan carpet covering it inside and out, giving it a very furry look. Along with the “fur”, the van also got a tail, floppy ears, a nose, whiskers, and even a tongue. Plus the rear side panels also came with “legs” and you had to lift one of these to get to the gas cap.

Logically speaking, this van would be a pain to maintain. Any kind of precipitation means all that fur getting wet and smelling worse than a wet dog. Plus how do you get stuff like this clean? That’s the thing about movie cars, they are so impractical, people fall in love with them anyways and this van spawned a whole slew of replicas.

Including one that hit the Barrett-Jackson auction. This replica was built from a 2003 Ford Econoline; it was optioned with a V8 mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. Staying true to the original, this Mutt Cutts replica even came with props, including a briefcase, Petey the Bird fur seats, and most importantly of all, a mini bike.

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Where’s The Original?

The 1984 Econoline Was Transformed Into A Giant Dog On Wheels With A Tan Carpet Covering It Inside And Out, Giving It A Very Furry Look
via Hagerty

The same van came back to existence in the 2014 sequel. Dumb And Dumber To shows Dunne and Christmas reunite with the van 20 years later, though by now, it's too broken down to run and has lived its life like a good dog.

In reality, during the filming of the first movie, two of these vans had been made, one based on the Econoline, and the other used a Chevy van that was never used at the movie.

A Reddit stream discovered the Mutt Cutts van lying at the Celebrity Car Museum in Branson, Missouri, and claimed that the owner was friends with the Farrelly Brothers, thus acquiring the van for the museum.

Meanwhile, there are plenty more replicas running around and many of these take part in rallies and races to promote their business. Nothing like a hit movie car to keep the customers coming.

Sources: Hagerty, Barrett-Jackson

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