The premise of The Search for Santa Paws is that Santa Claus is given a very special gift: a white, fluffy, stuffed toy
puppy which is brought to life by the Great Christmas Icicle (turning
him into Santa Paws). When Santa loses his memory and becomes lost in
New York, Paws and his new friends must find him and his magic crystal
in order to restore Christmas. Along the way, they try to brighten the
lives of Quinn and Will, a couple of orphans whose only wish is to have a
family.
Toby thought the film was fun. "I loved that Santa Claus was so kind and I liked Paws the dog," he said adding that he also "liked it when the mean lady (Ms Stout at the orphanage) fell downstairs." His favourite scene was "when Paws did magic tricks to make the food nice".
The plight of the orphans in Ms Stout's care was rather gothic and overdone and as a result Toby found these bits rather scary. Santa's busy workshop was nicely evoked, as was the idea of an army of "assistant Santa Clauses" who pop up at Christmas time and help the real Santa out, which fitted in nicely with Toby's current understanding of the Santa concept. Toby especially enjoyed the bits of broad slapstick and the "Christmas magic" woven by CGI and special effects.
Disney's biggest hits are, quite rightly, woven into the fabric of modern culture. Toby and I happily settled down to watch The Search for Santa Paws and I looked forward to being sucked into the sentimental Christmas tale of talking dogs and adorable orphans but in my opinion this is not a genuine family experience that parents and children of all ages are all eager to watch and enjoy together again and again.
Howeve Toby really did enjoy The Search for Santa Paws very much and my enjoyment was watching it through his eyes.
Disney Buddies: The Search for Santa Paws [DVD]
is available from Amazon.