Blu-ray Movie Reviews

When Puppy Paws (voiced by Zachary Gordon), the fun-loving son of Santa Paws (Tom Bosley) gets tired of the North Pole, he checks out Santa's naughty list and finds Budderballs's (John Flitter) name right on top. Puppy Paws heads south to meet the Buddies and find out how ordinary pups spend their days. But when the world begins to forget the true meaning of the holidays and the magic of the season begins to literally melt away, it's up to Puppy Paws and his newfound Buddies to save the day.

The "Buddies" franchise has sunk to a new low in Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws with a tired concept, inept CGI, and a script that makes Space Buddies look Oscar worthy. You know a movie's bad when your kids walk out of the room halfway through in order to finish their homework, brush their teeth, or clean their rooms in lieu of seeing the ending.

One of the only redeeming qualities of the direct-to-video production is the 1080p/AVC encode, which looks great. Resolution is solid with rich detail and clarity, black levels are inky with revealing shadows, and colors are vivid. Unfortunately, the CGI is horrendously poor and not up to Disney standards.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack has solid dialog, decent ambience, and adequate dynamics. Expectations can't be set too high for a low budget production, but the kids should enjoy the Christmas themed score.

The sparse supplements include three "Buddies" sing-a-long tunes and a music video (both in HD).

Direct-to-video productions have a poor reputation for quality entertainment, and that's certainly the case here. The script is second-rate (or worse) and the CGI isn't far behind. Even the most diehard dog lover will have a difficult time stomaching this 88 minute film. Skip it.

Release Date: November 24, 2009
Studio: Disney

Movie: 3/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics