Parents' Guide to

Saving Santa

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Warm-hearted animated elf story with mild violence.

Movie NR 2013 83 minutes
Saving Santa Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Saving Santa is an engaging, pleasant family-viewing experience for the holidays. It's not a landmark achievement in computer animation (CGI) as is some major studio fare; it's not super-inventive or super-funny; and the original music is OK, but the vocal performances are first rate and there are nice messages about becoming our best selves and the wondrousness of childhood memories. Some of the plot logistics may prove confusing to little kids (such as, though they've dirtied up one of the time-traveling Bernards, it's occasionally hard to tell which elf is which when they're playing in the same scene). Given the abundance of substandard direct-to-DVD Christmas offerings, this is a welcome change, a movie that works for little kids, older kids, tweens -- and even willing adults.

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate