 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Santa Buddies
- Review Date: November 22, 2009
- G
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 2009
Common Sense Media says
Popular puppy series adds a cheery holiday message.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this holiday movie is generally worry free. A puppy disobeys his father and ventures out on his own, where he gets into trouble and needs to be rescued. Several scenes occur in a dog pound where dogs are in cages and sometimes sad. The villainous dog catcher sneaks up on puppies and traps them, which provides a few moments of tension. At one point Santa Claus seems comatose, which might bother or confuse younger children.
What's the story?
Up at the North Pole Santa Claus and his buddy Santa Paws notice that the Christmas spirit icicle is melting. They attribute this not to climate change but to a lack of Christmas spirit in the world, where people have forgotten about the "unselfish spreading of love and kindness" and instead think only of themselves and material things. At the same time, young Puppy Paws is itching to get away from the North Pole to become a normal puppy. He escapes to the real world where he meets up with the familiar Golden Retriever pups who he hopes will help him become a regular dog. These efforts go badly. Simultaneously the cold-hearted dog catcher gathers stray dogs and eventually gets Santa Paws. In the end, the true spirit of Christmas wins out.
Is it any good?
To determine if the Buddies franchise is "good" depends partly on one's opinion of talking animals in movies. Some might find this a disturbingly unnatural quality in a movie that does little to make the characters feel relatable. Others might find a collection of fluffy, cute puppies irresistible and the fact that they speak even more appealing. However you feel, no one can dispute that the story is predictable, formulaic, and lacking in any nuance. But there are puppies!
What families can talk about
Families can talk about Christmas spirit. What is Christmas spirit and why are the characters in this movie so concerned about it going away?
If you celebrate Christmas, what do you consider to be the most important part of the holiday? What kinds of activities do you do that help you stay in the Christmas spirit? What would Christmas be like without presents?
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AGE
This movie is......kind of dumb. 3 of my brothers LOVE this movie but for 11+, it's kind of dumb for us.
It's a perfect christmas movie for the younger kids who can't watch some of the older kids christmas movie and it entertainment them and it's cute. I did not like the one part when the Buddies are praying to Santa. :(
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AGE
Just not worth it.
I'm not a fan of any of these dog "Buddies" movies. Using stereotypical personalities for each of the dogs is the ultimate in laziness and one dimensionality of character. You'd think Disney could find writers with more imagination and depth than that.
In this particular movie they plant the seed of "Santa's not real, it's just Dad in a red suit" in the first scene with the puppies. COME ON! Do they really need to inject that into a movie that is undoubtedly going to be watched mostly by kids 6 and under? It's hard enough helping kids keep hold of their magical imaginations with all of the media they are exposed to already; a Disney G movie should not be making it more difficult.
Are the kids going to be scarred for life? No. But I don't like the characters nor the story.
Finally, the story and dog personality seems to have jumped around too much for my kids (3 and 6) to appreciate what was really going on. I think the only attraction for the kids is talking dogs no matter what is going on.
If you see this on the shelf, keep walking, playa.
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AGE
Made my kid cry!!
My 5 year old son was so upset by the dog being taken to the pound that he cried for at least 15 minutes and asked me to turn it off. Then he cried again. Too upsetting for sensitive kids. Also, it's just plain bad and parents shouldn't have to suffer through the indignity of watching dogs talk like playas.
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AGE
want to keep Santa? Beware
Not so very good. Other Buddy movies much better. So called "positive messages" include praying to Santa (offensive to most christian families.) Lots of talk about "true meaning of Christmas" but not sure what that was unless redeeming yourself by doing good things is considered the meaning of christmas. Psuedo-religious nature was offensive to those who actually practice religion. Also the very stark portrayal of fack Santa's and elves disturbing for younger kids and parents who are working to preserve the Santa Legend. Overall a dud. Sorry I wasted my money, more sorry i showed it too my kids.
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AGE
not really worthy of buying or renting
this movie is not good like the other buddies its cute nothing bad in it but its bad more for the younger ones
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AGE
Protrays kids 'Praying' to Santa... weird.
Thought that it was inappropriate to show kids praying to Santa as if he were a God...
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AGE
Kidsploitation
This movie is squeaky clean and my kids (then 5 and 6) loved it. For us adults, though, it was grating and tacky to the extreme. There is not an un-cliché moment in the movie and the whole thing reeks of Disney's low-budget kidsploitation machine. On the bright side, the movie is one of those that is so bad, it's unintentionally funny. So, it has that going for it.
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AGE
There's got to be something better than this...
This movie is moronic and bad. A talking Christmas dog turns a statue of Buddha into a snowman; dogs talk like valley girls and gangstas; some characters don't believe in Santa and a mall Santa has his beard pulled off which could raise some unsettling questions for very young children. While my daughter seemed to enjoy it, I was uncomfortable letting her watch it.
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AGE
Fun movie and welcomed entertainment for the whole family!
A very good heart-warming story that is welcome entertainment for the whole family. I liked it better than other Buddy movies as it was more real and down to earth. Basically Puppy Paws acting out and trying to live a real life like other dogs. Nothing wrong with this story. A fun, cuddly, enjoyable story for an evening family movie that everyone will like.
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| Topics: | holidays |
| Studio: | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
| Director: | Robert Vince |
| Cast: | Christopher Lloyd, Danny Woodburn, George Wendt |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 88 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | November 24, 2009 |
| DVD release date: | November 24, 2009 |
| MPAA rating: | G |
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