Cast: Christopher Lloyd, Field Cate, Josh Flitter, Zachary Gordon
Director: Robert Vince
Screenwriters: Anna McRoberts, Robert Vince

Having escaped from the clutches of evil dog catchers, triumphed in a gruelling Alaskan sledging race and manned (or should that be dogged) a space craft to the moon, you’d have thought the Buddies would not only be fully-grown dogs by now, but they’d also be enjoying a hard-earned rest. But no, the Buddies are back, and this time they’ve got their sights on saving Christmas.

In typical festive movie style, Christmas is in danger. At the North Pole, Santa and his canine sidekick Santa Paws are fretting as the world’s lack of Christmas spirit is melting the Christmas Icicle, which – for reasons unexplained – could mean no festive cheer, presents or turkey dinners for anyone this year. Things are made even worse when Puppy Paws, air to Santa Paws’ throne as Santa’s right-hand dog, becomes disillusioned and dreams of a world without Christmas. In search of a normal life he tracks down Budderball, who happens to be on Santa’s naughty list for ruining one family dinner too many with his greedy ways.

After hitching a ride with an unsuspecting elf, Puppy Paws lands in Washington and tracks down the Buddies. But, there’s a spanner in the works, in the shape of the evil dog catcher Mr Cruge, played by Christopher Lloyd, who – rather disappointingly- goes the whole film without uttering the phrase “Great Scott!”. Luckily the Buddies are on hand to swing into action and – as we know from the previous Buddies films – these pooches work best when the dog mess hits the fan.

Being a Disney creation it’s little surprise that Santa Buddies is about as saccharine sweet as you can get. The Buddies, and their fellow canine co-stars, are adorable, the voice acting is up to scratch and even the storyline is half decent, even if it is mind-numbingly predictable, but then this is a kid’s movie afterall. While the pups look great, the CGI reindeers are a little more suspect, but as this a small budget straight-to-DVD release, you’d have to be severely lacking in Christmas spirit to not let that slide.

Flying in the face of the other films in the series, there is slightly less emphasis on the Buddies and more of a team effort, we even get two intertwining plots. While this does restrict the screen time of the Buddies, it allows the other characters, Lloyd in particular, to come to the fore and share the limelight.

For those looking for a festive stocking filler that will keep the little ones entertained over the long Christmas break, there are far worse choices than Santa Buddies. It’s cute, cuddly, heart warming and can even be enjoyed by the older members of the family, providing they prepare themselves for a sugary, puppy-filled take on Scrooge.

Special features: Sing Along to Christmas Carols with the Buddies, Santa Claus is Coming to Town Music Video

Santa Buddies is out on DVD and Blu-ray on November 2nd via Walt Disney Entertainment

By Richard Chamberlain