Santa Buddies (2009)

61% of users liked it
(1,922 ratings)

The adventures of Disney's adorable talking puppies continue as the Buddies make their way to the North Pole for a magical holiday adventure. D-Dawg, Buddha, Budderball, Rosebud, and Mudbud are back, and this time they're on a mission to save Christmas. As Santa Paws prepares to deliver fantastic… More The adventures of Disney's adorable talking puppies continue as the Buddies make their way to the North Pole for a magical holiday adventure. D-Dawg, Buddha, Budderball, Rosebud, and Mudbud are back, and this time they're on a mission to save Christmas. As Santa Paws prepares to deliver fantastic presents to good little pups all over the world, his son Puppy Paws grows weary of the cold northern winds. Sneaking a peek at dad's naughty and nice list, Puppy Paws notices that Budderball is about to get passed over for a present this year, and ventures out to help him get back into Santa's good graces. But while Puppy Paws is away, the enchanted Christmas Icicle begins to melt. Should it manage to drip away into nothing, the true meaning of Christmas will be forgotten forever. With Christmas fast approaching, Puppy Paws, Budderball, and the gang all race to ensure that the holidays remain joyous for generations to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 28 min.
Directed By: Robert Vince
Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Kids & Family

In Theaters: Jun 1, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Nov 24, 2009

Critic Reviews

James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Without a doubt the worst Buddies movie and one of the more tedious holiday films I've had to sit through.
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com
It's a tidy story, but never remarkable, and a few burp jokes reveal disconcerting limitations to the goodwill of the film.
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
Santa Buddies is the equivalent of a flaming bag of doggie dung on your doorstep: it's impossible to explain what you did to deserve it and you want it gone and forgotten as soon as possible.
Sierra Filucci, Common Sense Media
Popular puppy series adds a cheery holiday message.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...immediately establishes itself as a pointless and downright interminable family comedy that's almost entirely lacking in elements designed to appeal to older viewers.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Luke B

I've never seen an Air Bud movie. I know right? Insanity. But it's Christmas and so I just have to watch a ridiculous amount of Christmas movies, no matter how bad they are. This film just lays it out straight away. Santa and his dog (???) are walking (probably on the spot)… More
I've never seen an Air Bud movie. I know right? Insanity. But it's Christmas and so I just have to watch a ridiculous amount of Christmas movies, no matter how bad they are. This film just lays it out straight away. Santa and his dog (???) are walking (probably on the spot) in a painfully obvious CGI North Pole. Suddenly the dog talks, with a CGI mouth but a face as blank as a plank of wood. It turns out this is Santa Paws, the dog that delivers presents to all teh good puppies in the world. Anyway, the Christmas spirit is dying, and this causes the North Pole to lose power. Puppy Paws, a little ragamuffin that just wants to be a normal puppy, sets off to learn from the Air Buddies. This film will be painful to anybody over the age of 6. Sometimes the animals, such as the reindeer, are completely CGI, but don't fit their surroundings at all. Christopher Lloyd plays a dog catcher named Crooge (I can't believe I'm typing this either). He stalks around like some kind of serial killer, but goes completely slapstick when he needs to catch a dog. The movie also contains a sick and possibly dying little boy, a vomit inducing song, and characters such as B-Dawg. He's a puppy. He break dances. Once again, something that seems to be a staple of kids movies, we have a protagonist that ruins everything. He breaks stuff, gets puppies in trouble, and so on. WHy do kids films always have the message that it's OK to be an idiot? How about a character that uses common sense and has some social skills. He doesn't even learn a valuable lesson, those around him just have to accept him for who he is. The less said about the annoying voices the better, but one performance that simply can't be ignored is that of Santa. A supercut needs to be made of his reactions to terrible news. He's a lifeless soul in a film that aims for cute, but smashes through annoying.
Sylvester K

Boring story with really annoying and badly done voice acting from all the stupid children, the puppies looked scary and mutated, totally not cute
Sarah P

Of course this is not great cinema by any means, but the puppies are A-dorable!