The Dog Who Saved Christmas
| The Dog Who Saved Christmas | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Michael Feifer |
| Produced by | Michael Feifer Jeffrey Schenck |
| Written by | Michael Ciminera Richard Gnolfo |
| Starring | Dean Cain Elisa Donovan Mario López Adrienne Barbeau Gary Valentine Joey Diaz Sierra McCormick |
| Music by | Andres Boulton |
| Distributed by | Anchor Bay Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | November 29, 2009 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Dog Who Saved Christmas is a TV movie starring Dean Cain, Gary Valentine and the voice of Mario López. It was written by childhood friends Michael Ciminera and Richard Gnolfo, and premiered on ABC Family on November 29, 2009 during their Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas programming block.[1] It was ranked as the number one cable program during its timeslot, and the number one cable film of the season with 4.0 million viewers. The film has been described as similar to Home Alone and Look Who's Talking.[2]
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[edit] Plot
Zeus, a Labrador Retriever and a former police dog, has lost his bark after his barking ended up blowing off a five-year investigation and his partner can't shoot straight again and ends up at the pound. He is adopted by George Bannister as both an early Christmas present and as a good guard dog for the house, but the mom is hesitant and didn't want a dog. The dog is left alone on Christmas Eve when the family head off to visit Grandma's house. A pair of burglars, Ted Stein and Stewey McMann break into the family home, and it is up to Zeus to save Christmas for his new family.[1][3][4]
[edit] Cast
- Dean Cain as Ted Stein
- Elisa Donovan as Belinda Bannistee
- Mario López as Zeus (voice)
- Adrienne Barbeau as Cat Lady
- Gary Valentine as George Bannister
- Mindy Sterling as Grandma Bannister
- Sierra McCormick as Kara Bannister
- Joey Diaz as Stewey McMann
It also features members of the production team in various supporting roles. Writers Richard Gnolfo and Michael Ciminera are credited as Policeman 1 & 2, while the director/producer Michael Feifer is credited as Police Officer 2.
[edit] Reception
The Dog Who Saved Christmas was broadcast on Sunday, November 29, 2009 and was cable's number one program during its time period of 8:00pm–10:00pm with 4.0 million viewers. It was also ranked number one in scripted telecasts on cable during that Sunday, and became the season's number one cable film of the season. Overall, it was a 14% increase in viewers from the same timeslot in the previous year.[5]
Critics compared it to another Christmas dog themed TV movie of 2009, A Dog Named Christmas and cited influences from Home Alone and Look Who's Talking.[2] A Dog Named Christmas was broadcast on the same night as The Dog Who Saved Christmas with the original timings overlapping by an hour.[6] Overall, critics rated A Dog Named Christmas as the superior film over The Dog Who Saved Christmas, but praised the performances Adrienne Barbeau and Mindy Sterling.[7]
The Dog Who Saved Christmas won several "Yulies" from the Popwatch column on Entertainment Weekly's website. The categories it won included "MVP: Most Valuable Pooch" and "Best Use of Dean Cain".[8]
It was given the "Family Approved" seal by The Dove Foundation.[9] Commonsense Media graded it as appropriate for ages 6 and up.[10]
[edit] Sequels
A sequel, The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation, aired on ABC Family in 2010. A second sequel, entitled The Dog Who Saved Halloween was released directly to DVD in September 2011.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Eve, Sarah. "The Dog Who Saved Christmas TV Movie Review". Totally Her. http://totallyher.com/the-dog-who-saved-christmas-tv-movie-review/. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ a b Wiser, Paige (2009-11-29). "The dog days of Christmas". The Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/wiser/1907592,christmas-dog-movies-paige-112909.article. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ Gerlach, Linette (2009-11-10). "The Dog Who Saved Christmas". Blisstree.com. http://www.blisstree.com/playlibrary/the-dog-who-saved-christmas/. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ "Mario Lopez in ABC FAMILY's "THE DOG WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS"". ABC Family. DaemonsTV.com. http://www.daemonstv.com/2009/10/14/mario-lopez-in-abc-familys-the-dog-who-saved-christmas/. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (2009-12-02). "World Television Debut of The Dog Who Saved Christmas is the Season’s No. 1 Cable Movie in Total Viewers". TV By The Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/12/02/world-television-debut-of-the-dog-who-saved-christmas-is-the-season%E2%80%99s-no-1-cable-movie-in-total-viewers/35074. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ "BARK the herald angels sing". Deseret News. 2009-11-26. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20091126/ai_n42293623/. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ Heinrich, Jim (2009-11-25). "TV: 'A Dog Named Christmas' better of two Xmas-canine shows Sunday". Scripps News. http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/49281. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ Snierson, Dan (2009-11-29). "The 2nd Annual Yulies: An absurd celebration of the holiday TV-movie genre". Entertainment Weekly. http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/11/29/the-2nd-annual-yulies-an-absurd-celebration-of-the-holiday-tv-movie-genre/. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ Rolfe, Donna. "Dog Who Saved Christmas, The". The Dove Foundation. http://www.dove.org/reviewpopup.asp?Unique_ID=8057. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ "The Dog Who Saved Christmas". Commonsense Media. http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dog-who-saved-christmas. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
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[edit] External links
- The Dog Who Saved Christmas at the Internet Movie Database
- The Dog Who Saved Christmas at AllRovi
- The Dog Who Saved Christmas at Rotten Tomatoes
