This is absolutely the most mean spirited, dark, and depressing excuse of a movie that Walt Disney Pictures has ever made. If you expect me to believe this is a Christmas movie, you are sadly mistaken. There are barely any lighthearted moments and the rest of the film is just scenes of the sadistic orphanage owner mentally abusing the children; Especially threatening the two girls of throwing them into an incinerator. She even has the GALL to confiscate Quinn's angel Christmas decoration; Mind you, the only thing she has left to remind her of her deceased mother. I cannot even believe this was fine to put in a movie centered around the holiday about the birth of Jesus. It is absolutely mind-boggling.As if that wasn't bad enough, Santa loses his memory, gets separated from Paws, who, by the way, is one of the few likable characters in this movie, becomes mortal and almost dies. Yes, I did, indeed, say that. Santa Claus almost dies. And to top it all off, Paws and Quinn are nearly killed in the incinerator when she rescues him. Let me remind you, this is a movie that presents itself as cute and happy to a young target audience. Do the scenes I just mentioned sound like a Christmas movie to you? No? I think that proves my point.The Air Buddies franchise may be the most terrible thing ever to be spawned into existence, but at least it's positive and has a lighthearted tone to it. The Search for Santa Paws? NO. There is nothing to like about this film, point blank period. It is ugly, disgusting and depressing in every facet. I honestly do not see this as a Christmas movie. It does not deserve to be called a family holiday film and could easily scare kids or give them nightmares. Paws and the dogs are only a lazy gimmick and the writing is abysmal. The only actors who felt like they were putting effort into their performances were the kids, the people playing Santa, Mrs. Claus, the child who voiced Paws and the elves. The rest of the cast is just flat out cold and lifeless. I also forgot to mention that this movie has some of the worst CGI that I've seen in years. If you want to see a good Christmas movie, see Rudolph or any of the other classics. Disney, for someone who has watched your movies since she was little, you have a really disappointed viewer. This movie outright destroys the true meaning of Christmas. If you ask me, it should've been rated PG-13.

(mild spoiler below) "Manos, Hands of Fate" notwithstanding, this may be the worst movie I've ever seen. Full of clichés, terrible acting, continuity flaws, and predictability.The worst two things so far: They show a homeless man that turns into a thief and steals from Santa. They show a foster parent who basically runs a really mean and dangerous orphanage. Thanks Disney for teaching children these valuable lessons. I work with homeless people and am personally a foster parent to three children. This movie is awful.Kids may be easily duped by movies like this but I feel its not only a bad movie, but also very irresponsible.

This was, hands down the most awful, disturbing "kid's movie" I've ever seen. My 2 year old daughter was horrified and confused as I promised her a cute doggy movie... and had to reassure her that a doggy was going to appear on screen soon. I, too, was fooled by the cute fluffy white puppy on the cover of the DVD. 20 min in, no sign of a dog! Terrible story line, horrible acting and the scariest looking Santa ever!!!!! I thought I was at times watching "Annie". Having orphan girls mop floors with old metal buckets, sleep in the basement next to an incinerator, and dressed like characters out of the original "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Yet, the head Mistress drove a lime green VW Beetle and wore hooker boots for her date with the freaking dog catcher... Santa almost dies, the puppy nearly gets burned, a preschooler jumps into an incinerator to save a stuffed animal... weird, creepy, awful, disturbing... the four words to describe this horrendous movie. I'm embarrassed for Disney!

This was a great movie!! All 8 kids of the family loved it!! We had to watch it 2xs in a row. We are now looking for a dog like paws. It was good but the lady in the movie was mean. We just brought a new HD TV and this was the first movie and it had great colors too! The story line was good for the kids. We had an enjoyable time watching it. Another great movie of the buddy movies. From an adult side just wish the Santa didn't have too much makeup on. The family in the story was great on finding the meaning of family and helping people. They had a great cast of children and adults. Such a sweet and heartfelt movie for families to watch and clean for the children.