Super disappointed, I really wanted this to be about dogs.

Though the film had very little to do with pets/dogs, it still ended up being a very enjoyable short film. The message was clear and uplifting, and was a nice break from the typical Christmas shows/movies that I also enjoy. Voice actors were average to above average, but those who sang were surprisingly talented. Especially being less than 30 minutes long, it's worth your time. Just go in with the proper expectations that the dog(s) get minimal screen-time.

"Elf Pets: Santa's St. Bernards Save Christmas" is an American English language animated short film from 2018 that runs for 26 minutes and more than I expected of these are credits at the very end. The writer and director is Chanda Bell and if I am not mistaken she is also the original writer who came up with the book this is based on. Fairly unusual though that a writer does not only come up ith the screenplay based on her book, but even directs. Anyway, like the other reviewer said it is true that this film is considerably less about fluffy cute dogs than you could think judging from the title and also from the photo here on imdb. And this I found airly disappointing, especially because the specific sub-species is among my very favorites when it comes to canines. And it would have fit nicely as you frequently find St. Bernards in rather snowy regions like Switzerland too. So it is a bit of a cheat already starting with the very basics and I cannot approve. There are other issues too though. I think the voice cast is not doing a particularly good job here. Some of them feel genuinely miscast. For example for the father I felt the voice was way too young. When they are singing instead of talking, they are frequently doing a better job, so perhaps they decided to cast mostly gifted singers here and not really voice actors. Not a good choice in any case. The animation I also found rather weak, more the character animation than the landscapes and sceneries etc. Those were mostly fine. What I also struggled with was really that this film totally relied on the emotional aspect when it came to the Christmas spirit. There is absolutely zero comedy in here and the drama felt rarely as realistic/authentic than it should have. At least looking at how seriously this film takes itself. Just take the scene at the supermarker with the people standing behind our "heroes". First they act annoyed, then they act touched. It felt pretty forced and not as if it could happen like this in real life. The unrealistic moments took away a great deal of charm from this film sadly, also that the women working there, the cashier I mean or is it teller? Anyway, she has her own background story there and of course helps the protagonists with their endeavor. Huge coincidence again. Really too much coincidence in this film for 1.5 hours and certainly way too much for under half an hour. There are okay moments, but these are clearly the minority compared to when this film is on the weak side. It is not a failure, but given the nonsense how it tries to make us believe the dogs play a major role, I am tempted to give this only 2 stars out of 10. I will be generous though. It is still especially disappointing from the perspective that this is by not the only elves-themed movie by Chanda Bell. She should be better by now. But I doubt she has the talent to come up with a strong film from what I have seen. 99% that I am never gonna watch this one again. Also not worth it for the holidays. Certainly skip. It's not the kind of movie you ant your kids to see. It may be totally harmless, but it is also completely pointless and the way how it is going for the happy ending feels forced and pseudo important.