A Children's Canine Christmas Comedy
After being sent back to the orphanage once again it is no wonder that 12 year old Max Moogle (Andrew Robinson) doesn't do Santa, that is until he meets Santa's talking dog Hercules who takes him back to the North Pole to face Santa. If Max wants to be on the nice list he must complete a challenge and that is help a man called Rick (Danny Arroyo) who having lost his job has also lost the Christmas spirit. So Max along with Hercules returns back to reality to try and help Rick rediscover the Christmas spirit but there are those in the Elf community at the North Pole who would love to see Hercules gone.
I honestly believe that movies should not just have a certificate to say what age a movie is suitable for I honestly believe there should be a second certificate to warn people what age it is not suitable for. This is especially the case when it comes to Christmas movies as whilst a movie might be suitable for children as young as 5 it might offer nothing for anyone over the age of 8. That leads me to "Santa's Dog" which is also known as "Hercules Saves Christmas" and is purely a movie for young children between the ages of 5 and 8, well it is a movie featuring a talking dog and no big star name.
Now I haven't been at the age of this movies intended audience for a really long time and whilst some children's movie will entertain adults this one simply fails. But it is full of pantomime comedy which will appeal to young children from a quirky toy shop owner to a talking dog as well as the evil Rondo who wants to ruin Christmas. To go further we have jokes involving whoopee cushions and some confusion comedy with the Sister at the orphanage thinking the call she gets from Rick is to say he has kidnapped Max. It is really daft, simplistic and other than being inoffensive has no appeal for grown ups what so ever.
What this all boils down to is that if you spotted "Santa's Dog" / "Hercules Saves Christmas" in a bargain bucket and was looking for something to amuse children under the age of 8 then buy a copy. But don't worry about having to watch it yourself as the humour is at a pantomime level which is really only geared up to young children.
Tags: Christmas Movies, Dog Movies
