The 12 Dogs Of Christmas (2005) [DVD]

The 12 Dogs of Christmas is a nice family film, which is "A movie about kids, dogs, Christmas and faith in small miracles!" (as stated on front cover, beneath the title).

Originally bought from a high street shop.  Beware of fake DVDs.

Details:

Aspect Ratio : 4:3 - 1.33:1

Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No

Language : English

Product Dimensions : 19 x 13.5 x 1.4 cm; 80 Grams

Manufacturer reference : 5060262850855

Director : Kieth Merril

Media Format : PAL

Run time : 1 hour and 45 minutes

Release date : 22 Oct. 2012

Actors : John Billingsley, Eric Lutes, Mindy Sterling, John Billingsley, Eric Lutes

Language : English (Dolby Digital 2.0)

Studio : Signature Entertainment

Number of discs : 1

Customer reviews: 4.3 out of 5 stars    (215 ratings)

Description:

The 12 Dogs of Christmas concerns a twelve-year-old girl named Emma who lives in a town that has outlawed owning dogs. She attempts to win over the hearts and minds of the town's mayor by putting together a memorable Christmas pageant using many of her canine friends.

Additional Info (copied from rear of case):

'12 Dogs of Christmas' - It's Christmas time and it looks to be a dismal season for motherless 12-year-old Emma O'Connor who has been sent to her unwelcoming Aunt Delores. On her arrival Emma is caught in the middle of a town war over the 'No Dogs allowed' law. With the help of her schoolmates, an unlikely band of grown-ups and a diverse canine corps of over 60 dogs, Emma attempts to win over the citizens of Doverville by staging a holiday pageant, 'The 12 Dogs of Christmas', and in doing so, may save not only the dogs but herself.

Reviews:

4.0 out of 5 stars  “A nice cheap B Dog movie that's a nice little stocking filler.”

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 November 2012

We picked this up with Santa Paws 2. Not quite realising that it was simply a repackaged older title. To be honest from what we saw it was easily a cheap B movie using the dogs to sell the title. The main character comes off as rather bland and certainly doesn't seem to be able to act very well. A lot of the more thrilling scenes she simply does not react to. On the other-hand the role of the villain and the mayor both come off rather well. The plot about it being Christmas is pretty non-existent too. Or at least downplayed a lot more than other Christmas films these days.

The plot is a little thin, a girl is sent to live in a small town that has banned dogs (not sure why. There are hints that it’s due to the dogs being able to carry diseases).  As she tries to fit in with the community she takes in a dog that has its mother taken away by a Dog Catcher, eventually her and her new friends find a way to save the dogs and reveal the sinister world the Dog Catcher is involved with.

I do wish to point out that the film is a lot more adult and I think it will be hard watching for younger people, except perhaps the last 20 minutes with the actual 12 Dogs of Christmas scene. There are things such as Dog fights (and it's unclear at times whether the dogs taken away are killed.) and the outcome for some of the dogs has a big question mark that older children may pick up on.

Overall the film is at a nice price but don't be expecting something amazing. If you're buying for kids and want a Christmas Dog Movie I would suggest Santa Buddies, Santa Paws or 101 Dalmatians instead.

Another point I wish to bring up is that the new box art for this film is rather deceiving as none of the dogs on the front cover actually make an appearance. Due to the timing of the release and the way it was linked on amazon is that it was clear to try and dupe people buying Santa Paws 2 into picking this one instead.

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