The Search for Santa Paws from Disney is a direct follow-up to last year’s Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws.  There are three stories going on simulataneously – Santa and his new puppy Paws (who starts out as a stuffed dog and is enchanted to become real) go to New York to find out why kids there have lost their Christmas spirit, Mr. and Mrs. Huckle who have inherited a toy store and need to turn a profit by Christmas, and an orphanage for girls run by a lady who hates Christmas and doesn’t allow toys or singing.

The movie does have some dark moments. Santa gets hit by a taxi in New York and then mugged, and when the thief steals the magic crystal necklace that connects him to the North Pole, he gets amnesia and forgets who he is. The orphanage lady locks the girls in the basement for punishment and takes any toys the girls get and puts them in an incinerator, and when she steals Paws’ magic crystal, he is turned into a stuffed dog and is also tossed in the incinerator (but don’t worry, one of the orphans bravely rescues him just in time).

But there are also a lot of happy moments in the movie. Santa takes a job working at the Huckle’s toy store as their store Santa and soon it’s the most popular toy store in New York. Paws bands together with a group of cute street dogs to find Santa, and two of the orphans find a new family. And Paws is just the cutest fluffiest dog you’ll ever see! My 5 year old wasn’t at all bothered by Santa getting hurt or by the orphanage scenes, she was focused on all the dogs.

One thing I want to mention is that although this movie has dogs in it, and Santa Paws from last year’s Santa Buddies movie, it does NOT have the rest of the Buddies in it. What it does have is a lot of cute kids, cute dogs, and cute songs. Once you get past the first few scenes of unpleasantness, it’s a heartwarming story of the importance of believing in Christmas.

Bonus Features:

• English, French and Spanish language tracks
• An interactive Animated Pop-Up Book- ‘Buddies’ puppy star Rosebud reads a holiday story featuring new canine friends from The Search for Santa Paws
• Sing-Along Mode- colorful lyrics added to the film’s song sequences, so audiences can sing along to the films’ fantastic new songs
• Music Video- tween favorite Debby Ryan (Disney Channel’s Suite Life on Deck) performs a great new arrangement of ‘Deck the Halls’
• Deleted scenes

Kaitlyn and I have watched The Search for Santa Paws three times now and we find it adorable every time! Highly recommended for purchase or rental.