This is a dark, dark movie. It is certainly not a feel-good holiday movie.

It starts with Santa getting a letter about a friend passing away.

From there it's constant peril:

* Santa gets hit by a car and robbed in the street.

* There's a crooked foster mother who locks children in the basement and burns their toys in a garbage incinerator.

* One of the little girls actually gets into the incinerator to save the dog (who is now a stuffed dog) from being incinerated.

* Santa ends up in the hospital near death, and his elf's efforts to save him seem to be a failure.

My 7 year old daughter looked at me in the middle of it and said, "this is really scary."

Granted in the end there's a happy ending, but it really doesn't offset the peril that the viewer has to endure.

I do not recommend it.

Worst movie ever. Advertised by Disney as a story about cute dogs and Santa for kids, in the first 20 minutes Santa's friend dies, and a child's toy teddy bear gets burned in an incinerator on purpose by a mean lady running an orphanage. The dogs are nowhere to be seen. My 4 year old was crying holding her teddy bear watching this movie. I turned it off. Shame on whoever made this and shame on Disney. They should take it off the Disney Channel so more kids don't cry. Horrible horrible movie as others have said. Santa also gets hit by a car and almost dies in a hospital with tubes hooked up to him. And his makeup is all weird. In the bottom 5 movies I've ever seen and I've seen thousands.

As fun as The Search for Santa Paws is to watch every few years, it's certainly not a kids' movie. It's supposed to be, but there's so much in it that will result in tearful children boo-hoo-ing into their hankies. If you're going to watch this with your kids, tell them exactly what happens beforehand so they won't be upset.

Up in Santa's workshop, Santa gets a present of a stuffed dog who comes to life with a magical crystal. The dog becomes Santa Paws, his right-hand-dog in charge of making sure animals have a merry Christmas. In America, a childless couple, Bonnie Summerville and John Ducey, inherit a toy shop, and while they want to sell it, Bill Cobbs warns them that after a season, they might change their minds and stay. Santa Claus and Santa Paws come to the city and accidentally gets hit by a taxi cab and gets amnesia. He and Santa Paws are separated and no one knows where he is or how to get him back to the North Pole. Do you believe this? How many kiddies want to watch Santa get run over by a taxi for Christmas entertainment?

Meanwhile, in a nearby orphanage, a sweet little girl, Kaitlyn Maher finds the little dog and smuggles him in so the other girls can have some enjoyment out of life. In the tradition of orphanages, the headmistress is incredibly mean and likes destroying the kids' toys in the incinerator. You can guess what she might want to the dog if she ever finds it. Again, this is not entertainment for children.

If you're a dog person and want to see a fun musical about Santa and his furry friend getting reunited, check this one out. Just be sure to tell your kids what's going to happen so they stop crying. The songs are pretty cute, and the production values are good, so you won't be gritting your teeth through a "family friendly" flick, like some others out there.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to upsetting scenes involving children, I'd warn my kids before letting them watch it.