6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
When Mrs. Claus travels to Pineville, the playful Santa Pups stow away on her sled. Taking mischief to a whole new level, they begin granting joyful wishes to Pineville's boys and girls, but something goes terribly wrong - the Christmas spirit begins to disappear. Now the Santa Pups and Mrs. Claus must race to save Christmas around the world!
Starring: Cheryl Ladd, George Newbern, Pat Finn, Danny Woodburn, Obba BabatundéFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 58% |
Holiday | 13% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Be honest. Is the quality of Disney's latest direct-to-video Air Buddies outing and Santa Paws sequel, Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups, really of any concern to you? Of course not. Stocking stuffer, holiday treat or a surprise for the movie-hungry tots in your household... whatever the case, this one's for the kiddies. And frankly, that's okay. Don't get me wrong, Santa Paws 2 is dreadful, and has about as much sincere Christmas spirit as a bag of coal. But it's cute, it's cuddly, it's colorful, it's suitably winter wonderland-y, and pre-schoolers will eat up every ounce of its holiday hijinks. But make no mistake, you'll be desperate to find an excuse to get out of the room. The sequel's heart, script and performances are three sizes too small.
Disney's proficient 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation is more than serviceable, so long as mid-grade digital video and all the less-than-festive cheer it entails -- slightly muted skintones and black levels, somewhat diluted contrast and hit or miss detail -- don't stir up yet another case of the humbugs. The Pups' warm but wintry palette is bursting with bright splashes of color (reds, greens and golds in particular), and overall definition is decidedly decent, all things considered. Softness permeates many a shot, as does the haze of modestly budgeted green screen effects, but edges are clean, fine textures get their moment to shine and delineation doesn't disappoint. Moreover, artifacting, banding, aliasing, noise and other encoding issues aren't at work. As direct-to-video Buddies Blu-ray releases and spin-offs go, this one is comparable to most everything that's come before it.
The Santa Pups' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track isn't playful, powerful or enveloping, although it's presumably a fair representation of the movie's direct-to-video sound design. Dialogue is clear, intelligible and neatly prioritized. Voices just tend to float above the already front-heavy North Pole and Pineville soundscapes, and a flatness infects all but the busiest workshop scenes. The rear speakers are involved but not entirely involving; the LFE channel is engaged but not engaging. The various Christmas songs and Brahm Wenger's cheery score are nice and full, though, and most people will know better than to expect much more.
You know you're in trouble when the back cover of a Blu-ray release lists "Movie Plays in English, Spanish and French" as a special feature. Like Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws and The Search for Santa Paws before it, the Blu-ray edition of Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups offers a near-barebones disc. In fact, barebones might be preferred. Even kids won't get much out of this one.
With The Muppet Christmas Carol, Arthur Christmas and a variety of Christmas classics, old and new, available on Blu-ray -- most of which you probably already own -- there's no need to spend a chunk of Christmas change on Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups. Light but listless, young kids will enjoy it while the rest of the family will suddenly feel the urge to find something better to do. Disney's Blu-ray release is solid, if not underwhelming, though. Its video presentation is relatively strong, but its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track isn't all that remarkable and its supplemental package is dead on arrival. If Santa Paws 2 was backed by a stocking-stuffer pricepoint, I might be more forgiving. But at a premium price? There are simply too many better Christmas movies to be had.
2010
2012
2009
2011
2010
DVD Packaging
2012
2008
2013
2009
2002
Movie-Only
2011
2014
Three-disc Edition
2009
2006
2014
2011
2014
2009
2008
2016