The Search for Santa Paws (2010 Video) User Reviews

Too Scary for Target Audience

[carrie-linscott · 5/10 · 17 December 2010]

I watched this movie with my daughters, ages 6 and 3, and personally enjoyed many aspects of it, but my children were pretty scared. As mentioned by another reviewer, the images of children being yelled at and having their special toys burned in the furnace were very disturbing, especially for my 6-year-old. The movie presents some important themes, such as the healing power of love and kindness. But, unfortunately, I'm not sure the target audience (young children) will be able to see past the scary parts to catch the messages.

I also agree with the reviewer who said the Santa was a little scary-looking. His character is wonderful, but he has so much make-up on, he does look a bit strange.

Overall, I would not recommend it for kids younger than 7--and I'm not sure if it would hold the interest of kids older than that, unless they really love puppies and Santa.

A bit bland

[rds_1 · 6/10 · 12 November 2010]

I can't agree with the other reviewer (the one that is advising this movie as opposed to recommending it!?). Don't just trust reviewers that give the full rating.

This movie is more in line with the low quality we've been seeing more and more the last 5-10 years. Nickelodean started with this low quality crap, Disney followed when they saw that this low quality stuff still got a decent amount of cash in.

I like a good Christmas movie (like Santa Clause and Jingle All the Way) but this isn't it. It is however mildly amusing, would like to give it 5.5 stars but had to round it up.

Summary Santa goes to New York with his dog to get the Christmas spirit going some more but soon gets hit by a car and gets mugged losing his magic crystal and his memory by the blow. The dog ends up searching for Santa and Santa himself ends up as a store Santa. Making the little shop very successful. Everything else is very cliché.

Now the acting looks very acted. The script is pretty lame too. Has the overall feel of a children's play. Oh yeah there is the occasional "burst out in singing" too (who likes that, no really who?).

The special effects aren't to good either. Looks rather fake, the reindeer, the magic sparkles. The moving mouths of the animals speaking are pretty good though.

Oh by the way this Santa is one of the most scary looking Santa's I've seen in these sort of movies. They tried to make him look like the jolly Santa often portrayed in coloring pictures but that doesn't work very well in real life, especially the blush cheeks.

Not the best or worst

[ericstevenson · 5/10 · 16 December 2017]

This is another entry in the Buddies film series, a spinoff from the "Air Bud" movies. This doesn't even have "Buddies" in the title, nor does it seem to have any of the original characters! This movie features Santa losing his memory and then becoming a mall Santa. A stuffed dog that he brought to life has to help him. I actually am glad they didn't focus too much on the animals. That lip movement can get very creepy.

Good movies like "Homeward Bound" and "Babe: Pig In The City" handled talking animals much better. One distracting part was the horrible special effects with the reindeer. They were so fake looking and creepy! At least Santa getting amnesia was kind of original. I'm glad there weren't any dog farts in this. They're too common in the Buddies films. **

Very scary.

[naunga · 1/10 · 19 December 2015]

This is a dark, dark movie. It is certainly not a feel-good holiday movie.

It starts with Santa getting a letter about a friend passing away.

From there it's constant peril:

* Santa gets hit by a car and robbed in the street.

* There's a crooked foster mother who locks children in the basement and burns their toys in a garbage incinerator.

* One of the little girls actually gets into the incinerator to save the dog (who is now a stuffed dog) from being incinerated.

* Santa ends up in the hospital near death, and his elf's efforts to save him seem to be a failure.

My 7 year old daughter looked at me in the middle of it and said, "this is really scary."

Granted in the end there's a happy ending, but it really doesn't offset the peril that the viewer has to endure.

I do not recommend it.

Unbelievably Distubing "Kid's Movie"

[k-pedana22 · 1/10 · 5 January 2011]

This was, hands down the most awful, disturbing "kid's movie" I've ever seen. My 2 year old daughter was horrified and confused as I promised her a cute doggy movie... and had to reassure her that a doggy was going to appear on screen soon. I, too, was fooled by the cute fluffy white puppy on the cover of the DVD. 20 min in, no sign of a dog! Terrible story line, horrible acting and the scariest looking Santa ever!!!!! I thought I was at times watching "Annie". Having orphan girls mop floors with old metal buckets, sleep in the basement next to an incinerator, and dressed like characters out of the original "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Yet, the head Mistress drove a lime green VW Beetle and wore hooker boots for her date with the freaking dog catcher... Santa almost dies, the puppy nearly gets burned, a preschooler jumps into an incinerator to save a stuffed animal... weird, creepy, awful, disturbing... the four words to describe this horrendous movie. I'm embarrassed for Disney!

This is NOT Scary...

[K-Kortez · 13 December 2022]

I am just laughing reading all the reviews of parents freaking out about how scary this movie is. When I watched it, it didn't even occur to me how dark some of the events were, but looking back, yes, it does get pretty dark at times for a Christmas movie about Santa and his puppy best friend. But it's not scary, and I'm trying not to judge, but when I read about 8 year old kids being scared and crying because of this movie, I can't help but laugh, and just think about how sheltered some kids are in this world. I know I come from a different era, and having watched Child's Play by age 8, I admit my tolerance for the macabre is higher than others. But if this movie is too scary for your kid, you might be a bit too overprotective and your kid is gonna have real bad smack of reality when they are not under your watchful eye.

I was stunned...

[mharah · 7/10 · 2 November 2020]

...at the vociferously negative reviews... and so many of them. It is almost as though some folks are ganging up on the rest of us. Calm down. Not every movie is for everyone. Just because it has a Christmas motif doesn't make it universal. And it also doesn't mean it's a horrible film.

I found The Search for Santa Paws to be very charming. If some viewers are looking for Christmas stories that are entirely upbeat and positive, then no, this isn't for them. However, others of us have different expectations. Reading reactions from reviewers running off with their hair on fire because the film didn't live up to their standards is very misleading. (I don't care for films in the tradition of Bad Santa, so I simply avoid them. I don't come unglued.)

Now then, that having been said, several characters could have used some more development. Mr Huckle was alternatively both unsympathetic and silly for no apparent reason, while his wife seemed mostly oblivious to his mood swings. The orphanage matron was just relentlessly and boringly obstinate. If she had even tried to be really mean rather than just persistently irritable, we might have learned something about how she even got into the orphan business. (She openly complains that it doesn't pay very well.) Mrs Claus was mostly sycophantic. Surely, she has a lot to say about how the North Pole operation is conducted. We needed to hear that. And Quinn - who is apparently a regular in these movies - is just annoying. Her diction is terrible, and her acting is wooden. (There are plenty of good child actresses. Go find one.)

Still, overall, the film is engaging. It certainly doesn't deserve to be castigated just because the viewer wanted something else. What I mostly read here weren't reviews. That were just complaints.

This is a Christmas movie for KIDS?

[bunecarlos · 1/10 · 17 December 2010]

The talking animals and kids are cute, and if you can make it past the cruel orphanage administrator who casts children into a creepy basement as a punishment and a dying Santa in a hospital (that included an oxygen mask and tubes!), you just might like the happy ending in the last 5 minutes of this awful movie.

My 8-year old twins either just sat there quietly or cried throughout, as my wife and I reassured them that Santa wouldn't die.

Richard Riehle is a good actor (see: Office Space), but miscast as a odd-looking, less-than-robust Santa. Most mall Santas would have been a better choice.

Kids will love it

[JenEvans1 · 8/10 · 30 November 2010]

Watched this with our grandchildren aged eight and four and they were absolutely enthralled! I can understand why the other reviewer criticised it, if you compare it to the Santa Clause ones, then it certainly falls short but then most Christmas films would, wouldn't they?. Just because a film is not the best one in a category doesn't mean that its a failure. This one certainly isn't! Don't forget you are dealing with children here and they have not seen the hundreds of Christmas films that we adults have. I would guess that they are not watching to see whether the dog's voices are in sync with their mouths, either.... My grandchildren loved it. I won't hear a word against it. Nuff said?

Fairly enjoyable but dark for a kids movie

[UniqueParticle · 6/10 · 30 September 2020]

Pretty enjoyable movie to watch especially since I'm tired although I wouldn't recommend this to most kids it has some mean spirited actions. Has sweet moments as well though, very cute, and solid amount of entertainment!

AWFUL for young or sensitive viewers. Spoiler Alert.

[missramsey · 1/10 · 3 December 2010]

Prescreen SANTA PAWS before you let your little kids watch. Cute puppy and Santa on cover, looks fun and innocent.

Inside, old man dies, mean headmistress throws toys and threatened to throw children in the incinerator. Infertile couple with self centered husband. Orphans crying for their parents. People saying Santa isn't real through the whole movie. Santa gets robbed, hit by a car, then he almost DIES. The only way to save him is for the beloved fluffy puppy to give up his crystal and turn back into a stuffed animal.

Of course it ends well but we had to fast forward A lot. My 3.5 year old was very upset and was horrified through everything but the cute puppy and jolly Santa parts.

In my opinion, this movie focuses too much on how rotten people are and not nearly enough on the Christmas spirit and goodwill that the cover and description sets you up for.

I don't' know anything about the other 'buddies' movies, but I would not buy this movie for children under 5 who still believe in Santa.

Good Kids Movie

[msnellen82 · 8/10 · 29 November 2010]

I really enjoyed this movie, and my two girls, age 4 and 1 did as well. The plot line was great, with a lot of suspense. It's just like one of the Buddies movies, without the Buddies. Its has a lot of the same characters as the Santa Buddies movie, which was a little confusing for my 4 year old Buddies lover, when there were no buddies in the movie. This seems like it could be more of a prequel to the Santa Buddies movie. Unlike the previous review, I thought the animated characters looked pretty life like. Of course their mouths moving aren't going to look like humans mouths moving! But if you are familiar with the Buddies movies, you know, and are used to that. I hope you and your children enjoy this movie as much as me and mine did!

How Scary. I Actually Liked This. It Was Like, Totally Fetch!

[johnstonjames · 7/10 · 21 December 2010]

i hated myself for liking this commercial brain rot. what is it they say when you like junk like this? a guilty pleasure or something? if that's the case then this movie must be a cardinal sin. i mean any movie that has a film credit like "Diedrich Bader as Comet" is bound to destroy brain cells.

i guess i'm just a pushover for Christmas and Disney or Santa buddies or something. i guess it was kind of cute, i guess. i mostly thought it was funny. what's up with those musical numbers? were they kidding? they were so unabashedly corny it made my head kinda spin. the whole musical number with the little girls dancing around the Christmas tree in holiday dresses was like an extended commercial for 'Target' stores or 'Old Navy'.

in fact this movie turned the Christmas season into a 90 minute commercial. i don't know what it was hawking exactly, Christmas, Disney, dog food? who knows? but it definitely felt like it was selling something.

the whole thing was so facile it was kind of eerie. where the film's brains were supposed to be, there was commercial marketing executive mentality. where it's heart should be, there is broad-based mass audience appeal. where it's message is, there is a convoluted rehash of commercial Christmas shows from media past. it also lifted every Christmas cliché in film. everything seemed taken right out of movies like 'Home Alone:Lost in New York', 'Annie',and even the whole scene with the little girl and Santa Paws in the furnace seemed like it was taken from another recent Disney flick 'Toy Story 3'. there really wasn't much originality here.

'Cory in the House' star Madison Pettis, looked totally uncomfortable here too. she looked as if she was embarrassed to be playing such a babyish role and would like to move on. i know she was supposed to be the oldest of the little girls, but the other girls were like five and six years old and she's like what? twelve or thirteen? embarrassing for any tween to be seen in the company of babies.

oh well. for some insane reason i enjoyed this anyway. i used to believe i was a very discriminating movie watcher. after liking this i don't trust myself anymore. i obviously am too easy to please or too open minded toward this kind of junk my brains fell out. maybe like most baby boomers, i'm used to a lot of my commercial holiday entertainment being brain rot. i'm the kind of person who sits around watching Christmas specials about mice who save Christmas or talking toys. insane. and how sad for a man of 49 years old. i should have my head examined some more.

any person over the age of six who actually likes this, and i don't care if you're a parent, if you're an adult and you like this you need couch therapy for regressive behavior. or at least be sent back to pre-school.

all i can say is, babies might like this. i liked it. i hate to think what that says.

They call this a Christmas movie? A mean spirited pile of garbage is more like it.

[j-jessie-weaver · 1/10 · 11 December 2017]

This is absolutely the most mean spirited, dark and depressing excuse of a movie that Walt Disney Pictures has ever made. If you expect me to believe this is a Christmas movie, you are sadly mistaken. There are barely any lighthearted moments and the rest of the film is just scenes of the sadistic orphanage owner mentally abusing the children; Especially threatening the two girls of throwing them into an incinerator. She even has the GALL to confiscate Quinn's angel Christmas decoration; Mind you, the only thing she has left to remind her of her deceased mother. I cannot even believe this was fine to put in a movie centered around the holiday about the birth of Jesus. It is absolutely mind-boggling.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Santa loses his memory, gets separated from Paws, who, by the way, is one of the few likable characters in this movie, becomes mortal and almost dies. Yes, I did, indeed, say that. Santa Claus almost dies. And to top it all off, Paws and Quinn are nearly killed in the incinerator when she rescues him. Let me remind you, this is a movie that presents itself as cute and happy to a young target audience. Do the scenes I just mentioned sound like a Christmas movie to you? No? I think that proves my point.

The Air Buddies franchise may be the most terrible thing ever to be spawned into existence, but at least it's positive and has a lighthearted tone to it. The Search for Santa Paws? NO. There is nothing to like about this film, point blank period. It is ugly, disgusting and depressing in every facet. I honestly do not see this as a Christmas movie. It does not deserve to be called a family holiday film and could easily scare kids or give them nightmares.

Paws and the dogs are only a lazy gimmick and the writing is abysmal. The only actors who felt like they were putting effort into their performances were the kids, the people playing Santa, Mrs. Claus, the child who voiced Paws and the elves. The rest of the cast is just flat out cold and lifeless. I also forgot to mention that this movie has some of the worst CGI that I've seen in years.

If you want to see a good Christmas movie, see Rudolph or any of the other classics. Disney, for someone who has watched your movies since she was little, you have a really disappointed viewer. This movie outright destroys the true meaning of Christmas. If you ask me, it should've been rated PG-13.

I don't usually write reviews but this was abysmally horrible

[warmcognac · 1/10 · 22 November 2020]

Worst movie ever. Advertised by Disney as a story about cute dogs and Santa for kids, in the first 20 minutes Santa's friend dies, and a child's toy teddy bear gets burned in an incinerator on purpose by a mean lady running an orphanage. The dogs are nowhere to be seen. My 4 year old was crying holding her teddy bear watching this movie. I turned it off. Shame on whoever made this and shame on Disney. They should take it off the Disney Channel so more kids don't cry. Horrible horrible movie as others have said. Santa also gets hit by a car and almost dies in a hospital with tubes hooked up to him. And his makeup is all weird. In the bottom 5 movies I've ever seen and I've seen thousands.

My kids wanted to go to bed instead of watching the rest of this movie

[ddkub · 1/10 · 14 December 2010]

I can't even begin to explain how horrible this movie was. My kids thought they were going to get a funny movie about a puppy. But instead they got scared out of their minds. Halfway through the movie they ASKED to go to bed. A big point of the movie was the foster mom (was that what she was? or was it an orphanage....but they don't have those anymore) was MEAN. She wouldn't let any of the kids have toys of any kind. If she found them, she would burn them. Now imagine my 4 year old who just LOVES all of his stuffed animals witnessing another child's doll getting incinerated. He was fairly traumatized, despite our protests that it was just a movie. The worst part was that she was mean just to be mean, and there was no redemption. The Santa was really creepy looking as another reviewer pointed out. There are many other issues I had with it, but there is really no point. It's just to bad that there wasn't much funny puppy stuff in it. It was mostly people talking, or crying, or being mean.

Wonderful Holiday Film That Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes

[rannynm · 7 July 2011]

I loved the movie "The Search for Santa Paws." Tears were rolling down my face so fast. My favorite part of the film is when Santa Paws (voice of Mitchel Musso) and Santa (Richard Riehle) come to Quinn (Kaitlyn Mayer) and Will's (Madison Pettis) new home. They were adopted by the Hucklebuckles but Quinn had lost something important to her. Santa Paws gave Quinn her mother's ornament that had been taken from her. In the story, Santa Paws and Santa are best friends. They both have a special crystal to keep them alive but when in New York, Santa is hit by a taxi, he loses his memory and his crystal. It is taken by a homeless guy named Gus. Santa was heading off to find a new ambassador for New York because Mr. Hucklebuckle, who ran Hucklebuckle Toys, had died. Meanwhile, Hucklebuckle Toys was being run by his grandson, James Huckle (John Ducey) and wife, Kate (Bonnie Somerville). But you see not everything is what you see. James wants to sell the store, but his grandfather has one condition – he had to make a profit the first Christmas he ran it. So did he? Well, you'll have to buy The Search for Santa Paws today to find out. I recommend this film to everyone. It showed me the meaning of Christmas. It will make laugh, cry, and even smile. It is a heartwarming tale to watch on Christmas!!! You can give it as a gift, a movie to help your kids get in the spirit, or even a bedtime story. So stop reading this review right now and go buy "The Search for Santa Paws." The whole family will enjoy this film. I know --I loved it! Reviewed by Lauren Boxer, age 12, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Perhaps one of the most depressing Christmas movies out there.

[dhallhall · 6/10 · 29 October 2021]

Santa has depression.

Various orphaned children.

Neglectful and abusive foster mother.

Dog and child almost incinerated.

Santa then almost dies.

Other than that it's a cute movie and the songs are catchy.

Possibly the worst film my kids and I have ever been subjected to

[user581 · 1/10 · 26 November 2012]

My daughter was hoping for a cute film about puppies. I was hoping she'd see a film about people learning to get along, be tolerant and nice to each other. What we got was the most cynical, cliché'd piece of dog waste I think I may ever have seen out of the Disney marketing machine. It's like a 90 minute long toy commercial that sets out to teach kids that anyone who doesn't lie to their kids about Santa Claus is stupid, evil, wrong, has bad things happen to them, and that they deserve it. Every. Single. Character. So much for tolerance.

The story, if it can be called that, hardly serves even as an excuse to string together the same tired old cliché's without bringing anything new or fun to them at all. The main title character, unable to move, nearly gets burned alive in an incinerator. This is by an evil, stupid 1 dimensional character who doesn't believe in Santa Claus and thus ends up being kicked out of her home and into the streets. This is despite the fact that she thought he was a toy and not alive. When she loses her job and home, we're obviously supposed to cheer at this point, reveling in "the Christmas Spirit".

This film is what you would have gotten if a less competent Joseph Goebbells (Hitler's propaganda guy) had made a Christmas movie. I only wish it was possible to erase it from my daughters memory forever.

Sickening.

Great Christmas Movie

[toniannholmes · 10/10 · 20 December 2010]

I absolutely loved this movie. It does have sort of an "Annie" feel to it with the orphanage and the singing orphans! And of course the mean lady in charge of the orphanage was just as mean if not meaner than Miss. Hannigan. The puppy named Paws was just adorable! I would recommend this to everyone who wants to feel good at Christmas and all year long. Be careful though. Some younger children might be frightened by the mean lady. She is very mean. She doesn't allow the little girls to have any toys and no Christmas decorations. The DVD has extra features after the movie that are just too cute! My 8 1/2 year old son watched it and fell in love with it! Enjoy!

Warn the kiddies

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 6 December 2019]

As fun as The Search for Santa Paws is to watch every few years, it's certainly not a kids' movie. It's supposed to be, but there's so much in it that will result in tearful children boo-hoo-ing into their hankies. If you're going to watch this with your kids, tell them exactly what happens beforehand so they won't be upset.

Up in Santa's workshop, Santa gets a present of a stuffed dog who comes to life with a magical crystal. The dog becomes Santa Paws, his right-hand-dog in charge of making sure animals have a merry Christmas. In America, a childless couple, Bonnie Summerville and John Ducey, inherit a toy shop, and while they want to sell it, Bill Cobbs warns them that after a season, they might change their minds and stay. Santa Claus and Santa Paws come to the city and accidentally gets hit by a taxi cab and gets amnesia. He and Santa Paws are separated and no one knows where he is or how to get him back to the North Pole. Do you believe this? How many kiddies want to watch Santa get run over by a taxi for Christmas entertainment?

Meanwhile, in a nearby orphanage, a sweet little girl, Kaitlyn Maher finds the little dog and smuggles him in so the other girls can have some enjoyment out of life. In the tradition of orphanages, the headmistress is incredibly mean and likes destroying the kids' toys in the incinerator. You can guess what she might want to the dog if she ever finds it. Again, this is not entertainment for children.

If you're a dog person and want to see a fun musical about Santa and his furry friend getting reunited, check this one out. Just be sure to tell your kids what's going to happen so they stop crying. The songs are pretty cute, and the production values are good, so you won't be gritting your teeth through a "family friendly" flick, like some others out there.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to upsetting scenes involving children, I'd warn my kids before letting them watch it.

The Most HORRIFIC "KIDS" Move I've Ever Seen

[kellyhenault · 1/10 · 11 December 2013]

**SPOILER** This is by far the most disturbing, horrifying "kids" movie I have ever seen in my entire life with "Santa isn't real" being the least traumatic part of the movie that I had to explain to my 3 year old. What I thought was going to be a light and fun Christmas movie lead to me feeling like the worst parent in the world for subjecting my 3 year old to such a thing. I turned it on for my daughter once while I was cleaning so I wasn't paying attention but when I laid down to watch it with her a few days later I could not believe what I was watching. I was upset when my child turned to me during the movie and asked "Santa isn't real?" but then when she said "that mean lady is going to put the dog in the fire now" (the stuffed dog that was once real is put into an incinerator) I was completely horrified! If you think your child would be into a movie with orphans crying for their parents while under the care of an awful woman who yells at them, takes away their toys, locks them in the basement for punishment and puts a stuffed dog into an incinerator that ends with Santa almost "dying" (yes, they honestly say "Santa is going to die") then this movie is for you. I can't believe this movie even exists.

Great movie!!

[alwayschloe-1 · 10/10 · 30 December 2010]

This was a great movie!! All 8 kids of the family loved it!! We had to watch it 2xs in a row. We are now looking for a dog like paws. It was good but the lady in the movie was mean. We just brought a new HD TV and this was the first movie and it had great colors too! The story line was good for the kids. We had an enjoyable time watching it. Another great movie of the buddy movies. From an adult side just wish the Santa didn't have too much makeup on. The family in the story was great on finding the meaning of family and helping people. They had a great cast of children and adults. Such a sweet and heartfelt movie for families to watch and clean for the children.

Too Intense for young viewers. Avoid! Avoid!

[mdluckydog · 1/10 · 24 December 2010]

I choose this DVD because there was a cute puppy on the cover, it looks fun and innocent, and Disney's promo said "heartwarming ... story of love and kindness."

As a previous reviewer noted: Inside, old man dies, mean headmistress throws toys - and threatened to throw children - in the incinerator. Infertile couple with self-centered husband tries to profiteer off people's belief in Santa. Orphans crying for their parents. People saying Santa isn't real through the whole movie. Santa gets robbed, hit by a car, then he almost dies. The only way to save him is for the beloved fluffy puppy to give up his "life-crystal" and turn back into a stuffed animal.

Of course it ends well, but my seven year old was in tears, and my nine year old (who will watch ANYTHING) said she hated it and just wanted to go to bed.

For a movie aimed at children, this movie goes WAY TOO FAR to make the villains bad. Avoid! Avoid!

Also - apart from being developmentally inappropriate for children under 11 or 12 - anyone concerned with the religious significance of Christmas should be forewarned that this film depicts possession of a crystal as essential to eternal life and repeatedly refers to "magic" as the key to understanding and experiencing Christmas.

Complete Garbage

[FrostByghte · 1/10 · 24 December 2010]

You would expect a seasonal family movie to bring the family together and have something for everyone. This movie fails to do anything but waist your time and your children's time.

Poor acting, bad effects, and terrible casting...hands down it's just a stupid movie. Go grab something good like A Christmas Story or find another classic. It's a chore to even sit through this piece of junk. The only positive aspect about this intensive pile of rubbish is that it ends.

The holiday movie mill churned out this piece of garbage and you are better off finding something else to see.