Santa Pups – Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups (2012)

Directed by: Robert Vince | 87 minutes | adventure, family | Actors: Cheryl Ladd, Josh Feldman, Kaitlyn Maher, George Newbern, Danny Woodburn, Pat Finn

Rusk with mice at the North Pole! Because Santa Paws, Santa’s faithful companion, has become the father of no fewer than four puppies. The canine family has expanded with three daughters, Hope, Jingle, Charity and a son, whom they call Noble. Unfortunately, the cute, but oh so mischievous pups don’t live up to their names right away and they have a blast in Santa’s workshop. They are taught by Eli the Elf (Danny Woodburn), but have very little patience. Like Santa Claus, his wife, Eli and Eddy, they also want a magical crystal pendant so that they can make Christmas wishes come true. But are the young puppies ready for that?

When word arrives at the North Pole that they’ve lost one of their ambassadors in Pinefield (a kid-friendly euphemism, as she actually died), someone from Christmas HQ has to look for a successor or else Christmas could be in danger. come. Because Santa himself is too busy, his wife (Cheryl Ladd, arguably Santa’s most beautiful wife you’ve ever seen in a movie) offers to travel to the village. What she doesn’t know is that the four puppies went along as stowaways. They want to prove, with the help of a stolen crystal pendant, that they deserve their own pendants.

Carter (Josh Feldman) lives in Pineville with his father (George Newbern) and sister Sarah (Kaitlyn Maher). Carter doesn’t feel like Christmas at all, he’s not over the loss of his mother and doesn’t want to sit down and act festive, when he feels anything but festive. When he shouts on the street in an angry mood that as far as he is concerned all the Christmas stuff can go away, his wish is heard by the puppies and they accidentally make it come true. Meanwhile, Santa’s wife is looking for her new ambassador, and when she hears Sarah sing, she’s convinced she’s found it in her. Due to a misunderstanding, Sarah and Carter’s father thinks she’s applying for the position of nanny. Carter infects everyone with his “Christmas cold” (the term Santa’s wife uses to explain Sarah why her brother is behaving this way) and by now all of Pineville seems to be suffering from the anti-Christmas mood. How should this be solved now?

‘Santa Pups’ is the follow-up to ‘The Search for Santa Paws’, and the umpteenth installment in Disney’s unstoppable ‘Buddies’ series straight to DVD. If you want to enjoy this film, you either have to be very young and don’t care about a predictable and also mediocre story, or have a weakness for talking puppies. In addition, you must be able to withstand a significant overdose of sweetness, because it really drips. If you do not meet the above conditions, then you have no business with ‘Santa Pups’, or you should not mind having your toes in an unnatural position for about an hour and a half.

‘Santa Pups’ is larded with musical bits, which are not all equally special, although the main song (which is played twice) can still get you in the right mood. The acting can continue, but Santa Claus, he really can’t, he is much too young, but luckily there is no big role for Pat Finn (almost a regular cast member in the ‘Buddies’ films). The characters remain flat (even the dogs don’t get any more depth than a single explanation of their names, which the whole film builds on). The most disappointing part is that no attempt is made to present an original story. Christmas is always in danger and it’s up to the dogs to fix it. On the other hand, it may also be difficult to make a completely different Christmas movie with these basic ingredients. And perhaps this is exactly what someone is looking for: an innocent film to watch with the whole family around Christmas and to review some norms and values ​​in the meantime.