Project-Blu Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws, by M. Enois Duarte

Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws

By: M. Enois Duarte, 11.30.2009

The Movie Itself:
'Santa Buddies' is actually the ninth installment of the popular children's franchise about a family of talented golden retrievers. There are only two other film series to last this long and still retain a semblance of their original title. One comes attached to a guy with a hockey mask wielding a machete, and the other involves a man with a burnt face invading the nightmares of teenagers. James Bond doesn't really count as he's a recurring character but never the same title. For a film chain geared explicitly at toddlers, this is somewhat of an accomplishment. The point is that for the last twelve years since the original's release, parents have been made to suffer while children everywhere are entertained by Buddy's family lineage of talking puppies.

Seeing as how these particularly canines have become accomplished athletes in all major sports, including beach volleyball of all things, I suppose it only makes sense to then tackle all other areas of human endeavors. After learning to mush and then rescuing an experimental space shuttle, the Buddies return for their fourth adventure and are called upon to save none other than the Spirit of Christmas. No small task to be sure. But this being predictable genre type, the little golden retriever pups are up to the challenge when they discover the legend of Santa Paws to be true. Who ever knew Santa Claus was a dog lover, and that his dog had a puppy of his own? I wonder if cat lovers feel offended or discriminated against by Santa's preferential treatment.

The holiday-themed film even comes with some well-known names attached to it, which is both a surprise and a sad reality of forgotten but beloved actors looking for any paycheck. Tom Bosley of the "Happy Days" era voices the Santa Paws character. Not only is he Santa's best friend, but he's also the caretaker of something or other within the elves' toy factory. It's not exactly clear what he does, but he walks around like the boss and apparently even elves have their dogs following them everywhere. "Cheers" alumni George Wendt plays jolly St. Nick himself, and I don't think I've even seen an actor so bored by the material. Christopher "Doc Brown" Lloyd makes an unexpected appearance as a villainous, Scrooge-like dogcatcher, aptly named Mr. Cruge. With just the mention of Scrooge, I'm sure you can guess where that goes.

The more thought I put into - which I must admit is a big mistake - the more I convince myself 'Santa Buddies' cleverly hides it's political intentions. As crazy as it sounds, the movie almost seems to imply a connection between global warming and the loss of Christmas spirit. It's quite funny actually as something called the Christmas icicle slowly melts away because children no longer believe in the existence of a fat man in a red suit, not even Puppy Paws. If I'm reading this correctly, Santa is a stand-in for climate change, and the thawing of the icicle caused by a lack of holiday cheer is an ingenious metaphor for governments doubting the existence of global warming and the dissolving of the polar ice caps. No, I'm sure I'm reading too much into this. It's a kid's pic, after all.

Despite my own personal lack of enjoyment and obvious misinterpretation (or is it?), I imagine 'Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws' will bring a great deal of pleasure to the target audience. Although the plot really drags in the middle, the little tykes in the family still holding on to their fanciful dreams of the jolly fat man climbing down a chimney will likely ignore the endless drawbacks and some possible political overtones. For adults, the movie is a lump of coal in the Christmas stocking; for the kids, it's a cheerful bringer of the holiday spirit.
Rating: 3/10

The Presentation:
'Santa Buddies' arrives with an AVC-encoded transfer in a 1.78:1 window, and much like the previous Blu-ray release, the movie looks good in hi-def for a direct-to-video premiere. It's nothing spectacular, but any parent forced to watch will be pleasantly surprised. Contrast and brightness is stable and evenly balanced, giving viewers a bright and cheerful picture quality. Colors are vivid and nicely saturated while flesh tones are warm and healthy. There are several scenes which look fantastic and even exceptional with plenty of visible textures in clothing and faces. But they are quickly offset by many sequences that only come in slightly above average and the finer details in animal fur suddenly soften. Adding to the issue, every single CGI effect is made glaringly blatant and horribly distracting. Overall, I doubt the kiddies would care about any of the drawbacks and simply enjoy the Christmas bliss expressed by the HD image.
Rating: 7.2/10

Disney Home Entertainment also gives this puppy adventure the ability to save Christmas with a high-rez DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Unfortunately, the lossless mix won't be saving much this holiday season as there is very little to give the equipment a workout. It's a very front-heavy track with well-prioritized vocals and a surprisingly active low bass that adds decent depth when required. There's not much action going on in the back surrounds, but discrete effects are used on occasion for enhancing the soundfield. Only, they sound obviously artificial and forced when employed. There is never a true moment of immersion or engagement. Despite exhibiting strong clarity, some respectable activity and not being a bad soundtrack per se, the problem is that it's just bland and quite boring.
Rating: 6.4/10

Overall Presentation: 7/10

** 9 - 10 = Reference / 8 = Excellent / 7 = Good /
6 = Satisfactory / 5 = Average / 4 & under = Below Average **

The Extras:
Unlike typical Disney Blu-ray releases, 'Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws' breaks from the usual pack with a small and disappointing package of bonus material. The movie debuts in a 2-disc keepcase with a glossy slipcover. The first disc is BD-Live Enabled while the second one is a DVD copy of the film.

Sing-Alongs to Christmas Carols (HD)
Music Video featuring Steve Rushton (HD, 3 min)
Trailers for other Disney titles (HD)

Rating: 2/10

Final Thoughts:
It's difficult sometimes to recommend a film not intended for older audiences, and that goes double for 'Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws'. I imagine toddlers enjoying the holiday-themed film while parents do their best to remain focused. The Blu-ray disc arrives with a pretty good A/V presentation but a very disappointing package of supplements. If members in the family are of pre-school age, then the movie is worth recommending, even as rental. And that's where it will probably stay.
Rating: 4/10