...and you'd need more perl code to get the job done.

While it may take more code, using more doesn't have to involve a significant bloat (well, not visually ;)).

use File::Find qw/ find /;

my $uid = getpwnam($uname) or die "$uname: no such user";
my $gid = getpwnam($gname) or die "$gname: no such group";

find( sub { chown $uid, $gid => $_ }, @directories );
[download]

Not bad for the added portability.

    --k.