The Dog Who Saved Christmas (2009)

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

a perfect addition to the holiday season and its a very family friendly Xmas tradtition for future family time in this movie this come out in 2009 on TV i gave this film 6/10 at a short 1hr25mins but jump in a watch this cute Xmas movie The Bannister family's new addition, Zeus (voiced by Mario Lopez of TV's SAVED BY THE BELL), the yellow Labrador, appears to be less than the dependable guard dog the family needs.he wrecks the house and the family decide when they come back he is gone with no bark cause of a trauma However, when two burglars set out to break into the Bannister's home while they're away for Christmas, Zeus seizes the his chance to be a hero and a member of the family and stop being in the dog house so by a guard and a pet proving he can , proving every dog - even this one - has his day. Dean Cain (TV's LOIS & CLARK), Gary Valentine (TV's THE KING OF QUEENS), Elisa Donovan (CLUELESS, TV's SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH), Mindy Sterling (AUSTIN POWERS), and Adrienne Barbeau (MAUDE, CARINVALE) also lend their voices in this heart-warming animated holiday movie

Oy, vey! Another talking dog movie! At least, except for the scenes in the pound, there's only one of them. Lana, as barkless K-9 certified Zeus, has to be one of the most docile dogs in the business. Her main talents seem to be the ability to open unlocked doors (while the family is away) and to stick her head under a closed toilet lid to drink from the commode. On the plus side, the human stars include one of my favorite TV-movie actors, Elisa Donovan, married here to Kevin James' look-alike and "King of Queens" brother, Gary Valentine. TV's Superman, Dean Cain, plays the head crook, while forever-sexy Adrienne Barbeau is the neighbor lady with, OMG, a talking cat! Oh, and have I mentioned the talking mice?

The Dog Who Saved Christmas is a shamelessly derivative, predictable Christmas movie that really can't help but feel like the low-budget, made-for-TV movie that it is. It's a complete rip-off of other, and not to mention BETTER, Christmas movies. A lack of a joyous Christmas atmosphere is a real buzzkill and the cringe-worthy physical gags only lessen the fun.Although this review contains some major spoilers, I suggest you just read on. There's no reason for you to actually watch this (Willingly, that is).After Zeus, a former police-dog, loses his bark, he's sent to the pound (for reasons that are beyond me..) One day, he is adopted by George, a man in need of the security of a burly watch-dog with an intimidating bark. Of course, once he finds out that the dog is incapable of barking, him and his wife ponder taking him back to the pound. Before taking him back, they go to visit grandma for Christmas, and leave Zeus at home. As soon as they leave, two wacky, cartoonish villains break in and attempt to loot the house (for decorations, apparently). This is the perfect opportunity for Zeus to prove himself as a good watch dog. He sets up multiple booby traps and after about a half hour of the robbers goofing off and getting their ass handed to them by a dog, they are ultimately defeated. If you're thinking that this sounds an awful lot like Home Alone, but with a dog, you're right. The last half of the movie is an obvious rip-off and the writers made no attempt to hide it. In the end, the dog gets his bark back and the family decides to keep him. I bet you didn't see that one coming, did you? The stars of the film are people you've probably never heard of. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but when the acting is this terrible, it's probably best that it stays that way. Gary Valentine plays the role of George. His appearance, voice, and acting style are fairly similar to that of Kevin James, who I'm personally not a fan of, but if you are, you'll probably enjoy Valentine as well. The rest of the family's acting is subpar. The two robbers are probably the worst actors in the show. Their goofiness is too unbelievable and over-the-top.The script was terrible. With lines like "There better not be a dog in there! You know how I feel about dogs! I get panic attacks", it was far too literal and left nothing to the imagination. In fact, it kind of insults the viewer's intelligence. The style of humour is mostly slapstick physical gags with a few talking toilets and gassy fat guys mixed in. Although this doesn't personally tickle my funny-bone, I do realize that a sense of humour is subjective and everybody has different preferences. If this is your sense of humour, you're in for a blast; but if not, you'll hate this movie.The Dog Who Saved Christmas was a poor effort in basically every aspect. Horrendous acting, scripts, and humour detract from the overall quality, lowering the bar for the standards of made-for-TV movies. I really wouldn't recommend this to anyone, except people who are still in their diaper days.And you know what the sad thing is? Citizen Kane was on the other channel at the exact same time, but my cousins insisted on torturing me with The Dog Who Saved Christmas instead. :(

One of the worst made for anything movies... Unless it was made by a film student at a community college, thank goodness mini DV tapes are so inexpensive. So sad to see some respectable actors making a movie such as this. The location (SoCal) chosen to represent Connecticut, couldn't have been any worse. Sun Valley, Angeles Crest Highway, representing the East Coast, really?? Palm trees (not to mention chaparral, and evergreen tree lined streets, replacing snow, just doesn't cut it, on any level. The voice over acting or should I really blame the sound editors... In the same room, one actor's voice sounding like its in a can, while the other is respectable. How about wardrobe and props. The thieves were more than dusted with flour, however they were amazingly flour free. The house which was multiple level, I'll give the viewer that, would have the actors on one level... then on another level without taking the stairs. I can't go on... I'll let the viewer get a kick out of ripping this move apart!!