Parents' Guide to

The Search for Santa Paws

By Joly Herman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Kids will love Santa's puppy, but watch out for sad moments.

Movie G 2010 96 minutes
The Search for Santa Paws Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 39 parent reviews

Krm216
Krm216 Parent of 9-year-old
December 28, 2019
age 9+

Really nice and heartfelt movie

Santa paws is a movie full of friendship between these orphanage girls and how they take care of each other. But there are some mean adult parts. But overall it is a amazing movie that everyone should see!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
tana.
tana. Parent of 4 and 7-year-old
November 26, 2022
age 12+

Not a cute Christmas movie

I wish I read the reviews before we watched it. My daughters were so terrified we turned it off.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 39 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Santa's workshop is operating at full tilt -- until Santa (Richard Riehle) gets a message on his birthday that his friend Mr. Hucklebuckle has passed away. This sad news is accompanied with the gift of a very special dog, whom Santa calls Paws. Meanwhile, Mr. Hucklebuckle's grandson has taken over the toy store, which is near a foster home. Santa plans a visit but has an accident on the way and needs the help of Paws and the girls from the foster home. But can they work together to save Santa -- and Christmas?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (39):
Kids say (22):

This musical take on the modern-day Christmas story holds a lot of appeal for kids, since there are talking puppies, a jolly Santa and elves, and brave girls. But the emotional punches delivered might be too intense for the youngest viewers, who are confronted with the notion that parents die and kids are put into foster homes, plus the idea that if prospective parents "think you are cute, then they will take you home."

This isn't a new theme -- there are lots of hard-luck stories out there. But this movie is embellished with cute puppies and lots of toys, which makes the gritty scenes of girls being thrown into the basement look more like child abuse than something a kid can simply shake off. That said, the payoff is pretty great when it comes. The rosy times glow a little brighter, but viewers might be a touch too sad to enjoy the rewards of a happy ending.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the spirit of Christmas. How does this movie define it? What does the spirit of Christmas or the winter holidays mean to your family?

  • Quinn and Will are in a foster home. What are foster homes really like? What purpose does this movie's negative depiction of foster homes serve?

  • When you see all of the toys in this movie, do you want to have some of them? Check out some of the ways that media influences kids to buy stuff.

Movie Details

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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.

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