This is not exactly a Christmas classic. Two actors do stand out. Elisa Donovan, who looks too pretty to be celebrating 20 years of marriage, really rises above the material she is given. And Joey Diaz as "Dumber" actually comes across as pretty smart, and does a better job as a bumbling villain than partner Dean Cain. Jack Scalia does a good job too as the evil loan shark. I just wish Cain had been a good guy because for the most part, he just doesn't have the ability to play a villain. That's not to say he doesn't have some good scenes. Gary Valentine as George does reasonably well. And the actors doing animal voices other than the dogs are pretty good. As for the dogs, their voice actors are not that special.
The dogs seem really intelligent. I'm referring to the canine actors, of course. The characters are geniuses.
It's a family film, but not squeaky clean. It does have some bathroom humor and, while not explicit, does have some adult discussions about relationships between married people. Kids might get bored with George and Belinda's problems. Plus there are threatening situations for the dogs, but nothing too serious--I mean, look who we're dealing with. Still, it has to be geared toward kids because let's face it: most of the dialogue is apparently intended just for them.
Toward the end this is kind of a low-budget "Home Alone"--very little excitement compared to that masterpiece of slapstick, but still a few laughs.
This movie should get credit for one thing: acknowledging the true meaning of Christmas. The kids don't want to go to church on Christmas Eve, but Belinda insists and George goes along.
There seems to be an epidemic of movies where Elisa Donovan has a dog and doesn't want to spend Christmas with her mother, in which Michael Gross plays a Scrooge. Keep in mind, though, how Scrooge turned out.
It's probably worth seeing. If you like the formula of heroic pets and bumbling villains.
