Customer Reviews

The Dog Who Saved Christmas

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This movie is a good hearted family sit down with a bowl of popcorn and relax movie.The family wants to take in a great dog for Christmas but the mother is not into having a dog.So the father goes to the pound looking for a dog when he spots Zeus,a former K-9 unit dog,who was picked up as a stray.The family falls for Zeus instantly,but the mother has problems with him being there.When the family decides to go to Grandmas house for Christmaas Eve ,Burgulars decide to break in and rob them,but Zeus has to remember what made him a great K-9 dog and bring it up from inside.In the end Zeus capture the Burgulars,but not before having a little whimsical humor with them.Andrean Barbeou,guest as the cat lady.Dean Cain is one of the Burgulars along with Joey Cool.Very humorous,includes bloopers at end of movie.

This movie is pretty much Home Alone 4 (or 5, or whatever its up to) but with a dog. I think they are trying to capitalize on the popularity of the Marley movie (even the DVD covers look similar!)

Zeus the dog is an ex-police K9 turned pound puppy who gets taken home by a family at Christmas. The dad and kids love the dog but the mom isn't sure she wants one around the house. To make matters worse, they think he might be too friendly to be a good watch dog.

But when a pair of bungling burglars set their sights on the family home... Well, you did see Home Alone, right? Kind of predictable.... but overall a harmless family holiday movie.

I watched this on TV with my 3 and 5 year old children. I had to fast forward through a lot of material that I felt was adult oriented and not very "happy" for a Christmas movie. It's cheesy at best- don't buy it.

this movie is the best. it has all kinds of things at diffrent corners. the dog who saved christmas is a fun family movie that let's little dog lovers know how hard it is to take care of a dog.

This one is hard to watch: Hokey, badly photographed, stupid, predictable story, cheap production. I felt sorry for the adults in it. I did not realize that Dean Cain's career had sunk to this? Got this for my young child who loves dogs and Christmas movies. But, this one was really bad. Not charming at all. My child was pretty bored through the whole thing. Also, I did not like the robber acting like he was going to bludgeon the dog with a golf club. Much better dog movies are the Cats & Dogs series, they're amusing and have reasonably good photography and CGI, unlike this turkey.

"The Dog Who Saved Christmas" is the story of Zeus, a former police dog who is adopted by the Bannisters, a family concerned about being robbed over the holidays. We soon discover that Zeus has a psychological problem though, and it's one that prevents him from being any good as a guard dog. Due to an on the job trauma, Zeus is afraid to bark. Being useless as a guard dog makes him unwanted by the family's matriarch, Belinda, and she is determined to return him to the pound after Christmas, despite the rest of the family's love for the dog. It's up to Zeus to prove himself during a Christmas robbery that two bungling burglars have been planning for a while.

"The Dog Who Saved Christmas" is an adequate television Christmas movie fit for the family audience. It has some cute ideas and some genuinely funny moments, often due to what seems to be a lot of improv by the actors and a lot of awkwardness that may or may not have been intentional. There are some annoying factors too. Sometimes the jabbering of the dumber burglar can be tiring, and there's something about the voice over of Mario Lopez as Zeus (yes, we hear his thoughts, or dog talk, here much like in Disney's Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey) that seems more obviously done after the fact than on big screen releases. I'm not sure why this problem exists, but I think it's a direct to video or made for TV thing, as it reminds me of the trailers for the Buddies films. Anyway, if you can get past this, the performances are mostly pretty good. Gary Valentine and Elisa Donovan are great as the parents. Though, you will find yourself double-taking a lot, as Gary seems a bit like a clone of Kevin James. Elisa, on the other hand, I never have been too into her before, but she is super gorgeous here. Dean Cain is great as the smarter of the two dumb crooks, and Mario Lopez does a sincere and decent job as Zeus, whom you do feel for in the film, even though some of the writing for him could have been better and there's that problem I mentioned before of it sounding too much like something recorded in a sound booth later. Also worth noting are Adrienne Barbeau and Mindy Sterling, who were very good in their respective roles. One area I really want to give the film extra credit for is that it was better than I originally expected. Yeah, I'm only giving it three stars, but I didn't expect to give it that many, and I almost feel like giving it 3 and a half (but not quite like rounding up). The reason I thought it was better than expected is that it didn't end up just a whole film of 2 burglars falling into booby traps a la Home Alone. That happens, but it is not much of the film at all. There is more attention paid to the theme of getting over past traumas and not letting them define your life and cause you to miss out on other things. So, nice job on that. This may not be on par with Christmas TV movies from my childhood, but it's certainly got its pluses.

The DVD of "The Dog Who Saved Christmas" is presented in widescreen and includes a commentary with some of the filmmakers and stars, a behind the scenes look at Mario Lopez recording his dialogue, and the film's trailer. Nice extras for an ABC Family Channel movie.

This is a fun film to watch with your family at Christmas time. No it won't win Oscars, but it will leave you feeling good. Lots of times that's what I really want. I will watch this one every year.

Well, it's a cute movie. Reminds me of Home Alone. Don't expect great acting, or believability. It's a nice holiday picture that the younger kids would enjoy. The premise is a bit far-fetched, and who heard of a dog who doesn't bark because of past 'trauma.' But, hey, it's the plot.

Overall, it is a good family-oriented, feel good movie about a pound dog saving the day for a family that was about to send him back. Of course, he now becomes the hero of one and all.

Would I recommend it? Yes, it depends on the audience, but it is a nice movie. Just lower those expectations and go along for the ride.

I generally collect Holiday movies and animation shows. Most are very well done. Well, there are the exceptions - this is it.

The production value was a little on the 'student film' style. Choppy editing, framing and composition of shot seem not to match and the dialogue was almost infantile and predictable.

Mario Lopez - who is nothing more than the voice of the Dog "Zeus"- seemed to be having fun - at least as seen in the behind the scenes recordings they showed - but the rest of the cast was tired and stale. Mario was reading with gusto - but it didn't translate onto the small screen.

There are two exceptions - Adrienne Barbeau (Creepshow) as the Cat Lady and the stellar performance of Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers Movies) as the overbearing and impossibly annoying Grandma.

Another small - but 'real' acting charm was Dean Cain. In fact he seemed to be the only one really acting for acting. While Adrienne was the emotional core - who did give a short heartwarming back-story to fill in the mystery that is her character, with the exception of those I mentioned - the rest of the cast was week.

Dean Cain (Superman of Lois & Clark) was trying to make it real - however his supporting star couldn't hold a candle to Mr. Cain's acting chops!

It was trying to be a Home Alone, but with a dog. It didn't quite reach the mark. Good for the toddlers - but I can see adults dozing off. 1-14-10

I give this movie 3 stars because my 10 year old did like it, some. She said it was ok, not great, not horrible. It's like Home Alone but instead of starring a kid, it stars a dog. I really didn't care for the movie at all, but since this movie is geared more towards kids is why I went with my daughters feeling on the movie instead of my own. There's really not much more I can add that others haven't already said about the movie. My daughter did say she would probably watch it again next holiday season.