Dennis the Menace repackaged for Christmastime has the troublesome kid tormenting elderly neighbor, Mr. Wilson (this time, Robert Wagner) during the holiday season. Although Dennis intentions are noble (he wants to bring the Christmas spirit to grouchy scrooge, Wilson), it often comes with disastrous results. Wilson's expensive stamp collection is ruined as is the front of his house when Dennis' antics, unsupervised even if well intended, cause more harm than good (the stamps were meant for sent Santa letters and there were lights haphazardly placed resulting in explosion and fire!). Couple those instances with a cookie made by Dennis (his use of kitchen foods, many of which don't quite mesh well together, included in a blender mess) that disrupts Wilson's blood pressure and an "accidentally" stolen Christmas tree meant for his home (Dennis felt Wilson's home needed Christmas spirit) further complicate matters. After an equally disastrous Thanksgiving special on stage that goes awry when Dennis lets free accidentally a chicken (he opens the cage to get it some water!), there was an insurance clause called "the Dennis clause" that says if the menace causes damage the family owes those financially harmed by him! An appeal to "Christmas Spirit" (played by a spirited and very appealing Godfrey) for helping Wilson find "Santa" (essentially the spirit of the season) leads to a brief middle-of-the-film "Christmas Carol". Innocuous, family-friendly, ooey-gooey fare is harmless and forgettable. Wagner amuses as a grumpy old-timer who Bah-Humbugs his way through the movie until he realizes that he was similar to Dennis as a child (when visiting the past), understanding that his wife truly loves the holiday (she keeps a single ornament in a drawer), and is shown that his words (the season is "S"tupid) can lead to rotting the spirits of Dennis resulting in a tragically lonely future. With Louise Fletcher as Wilson's tolerant wife (how she calmly deals with Dennis' damage to her home and husband is commendable!), George Newbern and Kim Schraner as Dennis' long-suffering but patient parents enduring numerous cost-increasing disasters thanks to their son, and Isaac Dumford as an insurance agent who benefits significantly from the damage caused by Dennis. Dumford is an antagonist with a bullying son (to Dennis, who is an itty-bitty tyke), he insists not be a "loser". Dumford's son challenges "Mitchell" (Dennis' nickname said with extra malice) to a bike race but Dennis doesn't have the "Mite-y Bike" as of yet, hoping Santa delivers this to him on Christmas morning. Almost exclusively for kids, this aims to please those about ten or younger. Maxwell Perry Cotton is just too sweet and cute, without that "problem child" mischievous edge to him, that makes him the least bit convincing as the Dennis the Menace we associate with that beloved character. Wagner gets into the part as Wilson, an oft-endangered and nervous senior just wanting to be as far away from Dennis as possible.

Dennis is inspired by a classroom lecture about Christmas celebrations, and goes on a reckless rampage of "well-intentioned" destruction. Don't expect the exuberant Dennis who touches adult hearts with his ingenuous spirit. Expect a misguided kid whose ill-conceived crusade involves trespassing, persistent obsession, vandalism, and ignoring warnings. Aimed at three year old kids with a slapstick approach, the violent accidents are supposed to be funny and cute. They're neither.Dennis's parents do nothing, as the kid marks a "checkoff" list of good deeds to "help" Wilson. One fiasco after another. Damage, destruction, injury. Then he tries another item on the list. Damage, destruction, injury. Then another. Damage, destruction, injury. And on and on. No jury in the world would convict Wilson if he bought some pit bull attack dogs to devour this little psycho next time he sneaks on to the property. And then blow up the Mitchells' house. Anyhow, the story then throws in a weakly contrived "Christmas Carol" sequence in for a moral tag. In spite of a hopeless script, the cast all do a pretty decent acting job. You may not notice the actors by this time though; you'll be too busy rolling your eyes. Uses the Dennis moniker, but it's really a thinly disguised cheap rip off of Home Alone.

Raucous, slapstick fare for young children - harmless enough, you might think, but beware! This G-rated holiday movie features the most unforgivable Christmas spoiler of all time: at one point grouchy old Mr. Wilson (played to otherwise amusing effect by erstwhile tough guy Robert Wagner) bellows "there's no such thing as Santa Claus!" at his mischievous but well-meaning little neighbor Dennis.Given that nobody without young children would ever feel compelled to watch a G-rated, kid-centric and essentially flimsy comedy, one has to wonder what the director hoped to achieve by including such a profoundly disappointing revelation in a movie bound for an audience of little children at Christmas time.Move over, Mr. Grinch - you've got competition.

You shouldn't watch this, your children shouldn't watch this,prisoners at Gitmo shouldn't watch this. Only those who produced this abomination should be forced to view their mistake over and over again. I wish I could give it a zero. The # 1 problem with the plot is a total lack of child supervision. This observation came from my daughter not me though I totally concur. It was totally devoid of humor, the characters were two-dimensional at best and Joseph Kerns from the grave could have put more life into Mr. Wilson than Robert Wagner did. Can't anyone make a Christmas story for kids anymore? And please hire kids that can act like natural kids instead of just being cute.