Watched due to a policy we have of monitoring our kids' "free" viewing choice, a policy we are now reconsidering after sitting through this pile of dog snow. Basically there is no Christmas movie cliché that is not recycled, nor is there a script problem that can't be addressed with "magic blah blah blah".My wife and I did have a running discussion during the film, though, as to whether George Wendt was (a) drunk (b) deliberately trying to camp it up, or (c) channeling his worst high school play as the inspiration for his performance.There is some nostalgia value, though: Christopher Lloyd revives his "Jim" character from Taxi, at least we think that's what he's doing. The computer-animated reindeer reminded me of the talking Camels from the pre-1972 Camel cigarette ads.So, cynical adults, did the kids enjoy it? The six-year old got bored, at the end the nine-year old, whose choice it was, said, "my Christmas wish is that I had chosen another movie for my video time."

This movie was full of Christmas magic and inspiration. I loved it, and will always list this movie as one of my favorite Christmas movies. It shows how important it is to have Christmas spirit, and never lose faith in Santa Clause. The puppies in this movie are so cute, I love movies with animals in them. I would recommend this movie to anyone and everyone of all ages! If you ever lose faith in the spirit of Christmas this is a movie to come to. It is so heartwarming and full of love. It reminds us that Christmas is about more than presents, and miracles do come true on Christmas if you truly believe. This movie shows us that those who are bitter and cold have not let Christmas into their hearts. If only you accept Christmas, you will feel it's magic. This movie shows that, and helps to inspire.

I've never seen an Air Bud movie. I know right? Insanity. But it's Christmas and so I just have to watch a ridiculous amount of Christmas movies, no matter how bad they are. This film just lays it out straight away. Santa and his dog (???) are walking (probably on the spot) in a painfully obvious CGI North Pole. Suddenly the dog talks, with a CGI mouth but a face as blank as a plank of wood. It turns out this is Santa Paws, the dog that delivers presents to all the good puppies in the world. Anyway, the Christmas spirit is dying, and this causes the North Pole to lose power. Puppy Paws, a little ragamuffin that just wants to be a normal puppy, sets off to learn from the Air Buddies. This film will be painful to anybody over the age of 6. Sometimes the animals, such as the reindeer, are completely CGI, but don't fit their surroundings at all. Christopher Lloyd plays a dog catcher named Crooge (I can't believe I'm typing this either). He stalks around like some kind of serial killer, but goes completely slapstick when he needs to catch a dog. The movie also contains a sick and possibly dying little boy, a vomit inducing song, and characters such as B-Dawg. He's a puppy. He break dances. Once again, something that seems to be a staple of kids movies, we have a protagonist that ruins everything. He breaks stuff, gets puppies in trouble, and so on. Why do kids films always have the message that it's OK to be an idiot? How about a character that uses common sense and has some social skills. He doesn't even learn a valuable lesson, those around him just have to accept him for who he is. The less said about the annoying voices the better, but one performance that simply can't be ignored is that of Santa. A supercut needs to be made of his reactions to terrible news. He's a lifeless soul in a film that aims for cute, but smashes through annoying.

I absolutely love the "Buddies" movies. When I heard of this one coming out, I just desperately wanted to see it! I gotta be honest, this is one of the best Christmas movies I have ever seen in my entire life! While the previous three had some ups and downs, I didn't really see anything bad with this one. Unlike the previous three, "Santa Buddies" helped me learn more about the Buddies than I've ever known before. I always imagined B-Dawg as the possible leader of the Buddies, but I wasn't sure if there really was a leader amongst the five, and while Rosebud did seem to show some good leadership skills compared to her brothers, I believe this movie truly revealed to me that B-Dawg really is the leader. If you watch the film, you'll probably see what I mean. While this is the fourth installment in the "Buddies" series, this was actually the first one to have a song in it, which wasn't necessary but good to have in the film. Also, I might add that compared to other Christmas movies and specials I have seen, the plot to this one is actually very original. Most Christmas specials have one of five plots: 1. A kid has one wish for Christmas that he really wants, 2. Santa Claus has a problem of some kind and wants it resolved, 3. Somebody tries to take over Christmas from Santa, 4. A parody on "A Christmas Carol", or 5. A parody on "It's a Wonderful Life". This movie is not one of those plots. The plot to this movie involves Santa and his helpers trying to get everyone to believe in the Spirit of Christmas. This is a completely original plot that has never been used in any other Holiday movie or special. At least none that I can think of. Overall, this was by far the best of the "Buddies" movies, and it left me looking forward to seeing the next one. Although, I do have kind of a bad feeling that this is probably going to be the last movie of the series. I hope it isn't, but if it is, then I really hope they make a TV series. The Buddies are all great characters that I always look forward to seeing, because each one has a great personality, and I simply adore their chemistry. On a whole, "Santa Buddies" is a wonderful movie that should be in everybody's collection of Christmas movies for years to come.