The Search for Santa Paws (2010)

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. **

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!

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!

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.