Zampa 2 - I cuccioli di Natale

At the North Pole, Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves are always busy. But, they also have a canine crew to help make Christmas wishes come true, Paws and Mrs. Paws. Now comes more golden helpers, with the arrival of four puppies. The three girl pups, Charity, Hope, and Jingle, join their only brother in classes taught by elves. You see, it will be the puppies future job to spread holiday cheer to communities and to reward unique wishes with the help of magic crystals. But, these little doggies have a great deal to learn, so no crystals yet. Naturally, they are too impatient. So, when Mrs. Claus (Cheryl Ladd) loads up a sleigh for an advent trip to the joyous community of Pineville, the puppies sneak on board AND pilfer an elf's stone. Once in the village, Mrs. Claus is mistaken for a new nanny for widower Thomas Reynolds (George Newborn) and his two kids, Sarah (Kaitlyn Maher) and her older brother, Carter (Josh Feldman). Having recently lost his wife, Mr. Reynolds is trying to make do by continuing a cheery radio program with help from his talented, singing daughter. But, alas, big brother is very much NOT in the holiday mood, still missing his mother greatly. Thus, the stage is set. Out come the pups and one of the first folks they run into is young Reynolds. As the boy opens his mouth to speak, the crystal is stroked to ensure a wish is granted. Right you are, the wish is for the Christmas spirit to vanish from the town! What have these puppies done and can it be corrected? As the "grumpy attitude" spreads like a cold from person to person, will Pineville have a dreadful season? This is a nice film for families, with darling canines and a good cast. Ladd, Newborn, and especially the very talented youngster Maher are quite fine and Maher can sing like a wee angel. Danny Woodburn is terrific as elf Eli. Also, the look of the film is lovely, with a sophisticated art direction, and it also has an enjoyable, funny tale. On top of it all, there are the adorable dogs who steal scenes and hearts. The only problem this viewer can see is not everyone enjoys musicals, with songs being sung to the interruption of the action. Nonetheless, most extended families will consider this a nice diversion for the holidays and "pause" to include it in an evening's get-together.

Well, first - hallelujah! This is a Christmas movie that actually mentions, if only obliquely, the REAL reason for Christmas! No, not jolly family get-togethers and being nice to strangers and animals, but Christ! Although, as I say, the mentions are very oblique and shouldn't offend any atheists.

Second - oops! Kids and adults alike will be confused by this movie. Kids will be confused because the little girl playing the lead role, Sarah (who has a dad), is the same actor who played the lead in the first Santa Paws movie - only in that one, she played an orphan called Quinn. Sarah looks precisely the same as Quinn (perhaps a year or so older), and has an absolutely indistinguishable character from Quinn (naive and cuuuuuute).

Adults will be confused because one of the three erstwhile sexy Charlie's Angels, Cheryl Ladd, plays a relatively glamorous but unmistakably matronly Mrs Claus.

Otherwise - the plot is predictable and clichéd, but bearable. And the pups, of course, are gorgeous. Oh - and this time, the majority of them (three out of four) are ... prepare for a shock ... FEMALE. Disney must finally be learning. Took them long enough ...

This is a lovely Christmas film, full of the Christmas spirit and magic.

Being Disney, there are some things that you expect, like a good story, with decent actors and actresses, and special effects that give Disney it's magical touch. You will not be disappointed in this movie. Unlike the lower budget movies where the animals talk without moving their mouths or even directing their speech, here you'll believe dogs and reindeer can speak. The voice actors carry the script and characterisation off very well

The secondary human actors also do a great job. To be honest I only watched this movie to see how Cheryl Ladd (Mrs. Clause) was doing, as she's a favourite actress of mine but I've not seen her in anything for a while. She's still beautiful - lucky Santa - and still a good actress. Her portrayal as the loving Mrs Clause was spot on.

Even though, this is a musical I found that the songs weren't too grating and the actress playing Sarah Reynolds, Kaitlyn Maher, has a wonderful voice.

I really enjoyed this tale and would recommend it to all, young and old alike.

Not only did my 6 year-old granddaughter love it, so did everyone else. What is there not to like? The songs were endearing and the finale of Oh Holy Night sung by that adorable young girl had me in tears. The message was uplifting, the visuals were magical, the acting was spot on, and the writing was terrific. I did not see Santa Paws 1, but I will definitely be looking for it, for sure.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but maybe if someone didn't like this show, it is because they just don't have the Christmas spirit like they should. I can see if you don't have that, you probably would be grumpy watching this delightful show. Not me and this household. Two thumbs up for sure! I can't imagine any young child not loving this show even if you might not.

When Mother Christmas travels to Pineville, the playful children run away from the sleigh. Taking the concept of mischief to a whole new level, they begin granting merry wishes to the boys and girls of Pineville, but something goes terribly wrong and the Christmas spirit begins to fade. Now the children and Mother Christmas must race to save Christmas around the world.

Much less interesting than the previous one, which at least involved three dramatic Christmas stories, including parental abandonment, abuse and adoption, here there is a lot of music, fluffy puppies, talking reindeer, but nothing contagious, quite the contrary, not very attractive and charming , despite the vibrant colors and cool Natalina theme... It reminded me a lot of the AirBubbies, I'm already tired of them...