Disney / Buena Vista | 2009 | 88 mins. | Not rated
This all started back in 1997, when Airbud burst onto theater screens. For those that don’t remember that little gem, Airbud was a sweet film about a golden retriever who helped a young boy get over his loneliness. The story about a dog that could play basketball gave rise to a series of similar films about who could play everything from football to baseball. Out of that mold, arrives the direct-to-video release, Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws. The premise is quite simple, the polar ice cap is melting, and energy crisis threatens the world as we know it. Obviously, something has to be done to avert certain disaster.
The spirit of Christmas is contained inside a North Pole icicle is slowly dying, leaving Santa (George Wendt) and companion Santa Paws (voiced by Tom Bosley) deeply about the future of the holiday. Enter the Buddies: wise philosopher Buddha (Firld Cate), always hungry troublemaker Budderball (Josh Flutter), outdoor lover Mud Bud (Henry Hodges), rap dog B-Dawg (Skyler Gisondo), and the pack’s ever-prissy resident female, Rosebud (Liliana Mumy). When the rightful heir to Santa Paws’ throne, a rebellious runaway named Puppy Paws (Zachary Gordon), is captured by a cantankerous, old dog catcher named Stan Cruge (Christopher Lloyd), the Buddies have to rescue the pup, find a way to save Christmas and the North Pole, and help Cruge rekindle his holiday spirit.
I hate to be a Scrooge, but Santa Paws is the worst Buddies film so far. Writer Robert Vince, who penned all of the little Buddies movies, has just completely misfired here. The film seems like it insults its own target audience, by asking children to believe they’re two Santa s who sit in big red-velvet thrones at the North Pole: Santa Claus, and Santa Paws. One keeps a naughty-and-nice list for humans, and the other for canines. As for cats and cat owners, apparently you don’t have Christmas. My cat was very disappointed when she heard this news.
Some young preschoolers may enjoy Santa Buddies, but most kids who have been fans of the Buddies series will likely turn away from this one before it hits the fifteen minute mark. Surprisingly, there’s already a sequel in production: The Search for Santa Paws, which is scheduled for release next holiday season.
Santa Buddies looks visually stunning in 1080p. Presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, “Santa Buddies” offers rich colors and sharp detail at every turn. The AVC/MPEG-4 transfer is complaint-free, as are black levels and color saturation.
The audio is also impressive. Disney delivers with an English DTS-HD 5.1 MA (48kHz/24-bit) that delivers clear-as-a-bell dialogue and effects, with a dynamics that put this well above average. Additional audio options are French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles in English SDH, French, and Spanish.
Other than a DVD of the film, the Blu-ray is light on special features:
• Buddies Christmas Sing-A-Longs (HD, 3 minutes)
• Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town music video (HD, 3 minutes)
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