The Search for Santa Paws

**The Search for Santa Paws** is a 2010 film produced by Keystone Entertainment and released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The film was written by Robert Vince and Anna McRoberts. It is the fifth spin-off film of the Air Bud Franchise in the Air Buddies series.

## Plot

At the North Pole, all the elves prepare for Christmas and arrange a birthday celebration for Santa Claus who receives a gift from New York City with a letter informing him of the passing of his old friend a toy store owner named Mr. Hucklebuckle, who gives him a stuffed dog. Mr. Hucklebuckle was an ambassador for "The Santa Cause", an organisation of delegates who embrace and encourage Christmas spirit around the world.

To cheer Santa up, his head elf Eli uses the great Christmas icicle to bring the stuffed dog to life. Santa names his puppy Paws and tells him that they will be the best of friends for all eternity.

In New York City, following her parents' deaths, a young orphan named Quinn arrives at The 64th Street Home For Girls, a foster home/orphanage run by a strict, abusive and child-hating woman named Ms. Stout who disapproves of anything that children love: toys, Christmas decorations, singing and even pets, including dogs and her hatred of children, including girls. She confiscates toys from the girls who rightfully own them and destroys them in her incinerator the house's basement. Despite the strict rules she has to respect while staying at the foster home, Quinn eventually befriends the girls, including Janie and Willamina "Will", who has lost her Christmas spirit since the death of her own biological parents when she was Quinn's age.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hucklebuckle's grandson James, a CPA from Los Angeles and his wife Kate arrive at his toy store and are informed by Mr. Stewart they need to run the store profitably for one Christmas season in order to gain ownership of the store. James and Kate are melancholy about going through another Christmas without any children. They decide to hire a store Santa to bring in customers so they can sell the store once they have ownership and return to LA.

Santa and Paws decide to travel to New York City to visit some ambassadors but as they land the sleigh in Central Park they are seen by a homeless man named Gus who follows them. In the city Santa runs into Ms. Stout and loses his memory after being hit by a cab. Paws assumes a little man is an elf and tries to ask him for help, which only leading to him and Santa become separated. Santa's crystal that keeps him eternal is stolen by Gus. He recovers but has amnesia, going by the name of Bud, and after wandering the streets overnight he comes across Hucklebuckle Toys the next morning. James and Kate take him in and give him a job as their store Santa, where he quickly becomes popular with the children, even attracting media attention.

In order to save Christmas, Eli and Eddy the uncanny elf dog have to go to New York City where they recruit local Boy Scout Jimmy in order to save Santa and Paws. Eventually, they find Gus and get him to return Santa's crystal to them. However, Santa soon lands in the hospital again after being without his crystal too long.

Meanwhile, Paws meets Quinn and is brought back to the orphanage, where he befriends the girls and uses his crystal's magic to give them Christmas cheer. However, Ms. Stout discovers this and locks Paws and Will (who takes the fall for Quinn) in the basement, stealing the former's crystal. As a resort, Paws reverts to becoming a stuffed animal by the next morning. When Ms. Stout discovers this, she assumes Paws has escaped and then attempts to throw him into the incinerator but he is narrowly saved by Quinn and the other girls. Eli, Eddy and Jimmy then arrive and reunite Paws with his crystal, restoring him to life. After explaining the situation to everyone, Will and Quinn leave with them to help Santa. Eli tells Jimmy to keep the pin now that he is an official Santa's helper before Jimmy heads home. After arriving at the hospital and finding Santa near death, they try to reunite him with his crystal but its magic has been too used up to work. Paws then sacrifices his crystal's magic to restore Santa's, reverting him to stuffed animal form once more while saving Santa's life.

Santa, Eli and Eddy rush back to the North Pole and reach the main crystal just in time, and Paws turns into a full-grown dog named Santa Paws and Christmas is back on track. Meawhile, much to the excitement of the girls, Ms. Stout is fired from her job and evicted from orphanage after Eli reports her mistreatment of the children to Quinn's social worker Mrs. Gibson, who then takes her former position.

After bringing Will and Quinn back to the orphanage James and Kate decide to adopt them with all of them getting the family they always wanted. Gus donates the money he collected to the orphanage where Mrs. Gibson invites him to spend the holiday at the orphanage. Haggis, Rasta and T-Money stow away in a mail truck to the North Pole and become official elf dogs. Santa and Santa Paws reunite with Quinn, Will, James and Kate on Christmas Eve with Santa Paws returning Quinn's mother's ornament to her before he and Santa continue their deliveries.

Mr. Stewart returns on Christmas Day and James and Kate tell him that they ran the store profitably and they decide to keep the store and continue the Hucklebuckle legacy, after introducing him to the girls. Before leaving he speaks to Mr. Hucklebuckle's spirit, bidding him a merry Christmas and his wish has been fulfilled.

## Cast and Characters

* Kaitlyn Maher as Quinn
* Madison Pettis as Willamina "Will"
* Richard Riehle as Santa Claus
* Danny Woodburn as Eli
* Wendy McLendon-Covey as Ms. Stout
* John Ducey as James Hucklebuckle
* Bonnie Somerville as Kate Hucklebuckle
* Chris Coppola as Augustus "Gus"
* Jonathan Morgan Heit as Jimmy
* G. Hannelius as Janie
* Michelle Creber as Taylor
* Kathryn Kirkpatrick as Mrs. Gibson
* Melody B. Choi as Mary
* Nicole Leduc as Meg
* Patrika Darbo as Mrs. Claus
* Pete Gardner as Franklin
* Bill Cobbs as Mr. Stewart

### Voice Actors

* Zachary Gordon as Paws
* Mitchell Musso as Santa Paws
* Richard Kind as Eddy
* Jason Connery as Haggis
* Christopher Massey as Rasta
* Josh Flitter as T-Money
* Diedrich Bader as Comet
* Michael Deyermond as Dancer

## Reception

Angela Walker, writing for ChristianCinema.com, gave the DVD three stars out of five but said that the film fits the normal Disney DVD formula. However she went on to say that the film was predictable and a little clichéd but that kids would enjoy it and that the film adds to the "spirit of Christmas".