12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue (2012) Sean Patrick Flanery, Danielle Chuchran, Skyler Holman, Alisha Mullally Movie Review

12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue (2012)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Danielle Chuchran in 12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue (2012)

Not Such a Great Puppy Rescue

December, 1937, 6 years after making the town which hated dogs like them, Emma (Danielle Chuchran) is returning to Doverville for a funeral. But during her visit an old friend is involved in an accident and ends up paralysed whilst rumours start to grow about the dogs at the dog's home having rabies and need to be destroyed. The truth is that the town's millionaire businessman wants to buy the dog's home to demolish it and nothing is going to stop him. Well nothing other than Emma along with her old friends and dog lovers who set about raising enough money by putting on a show to save the dog's home.

Who ever did the art work for "12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue" needs a talking to as it makes it look like a cute modern movie featuring two bright young teenagers and a lot of cute dogs where in truth this movie is set back in 1937 and whilst not heavy is certainly not the throw away comedy it looks. Now maybe those behind the movie thought that those who had watched the first movie will already know what to expect but for those who haven't the conflict between artwork and actual movie is too vast. Thankfully for those like me who didn't see the first movie there is a quick catch up which manages to condense the entire first movie into the space of a minute or two which is kind of frightening that a whole movie could be explained so quickly.

Heather Beers in 12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue (2012)

Anyway as to "12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue" well if a young child was to watch this, although they may be deterred by it being not what it looks like, it might work but again this is another Christmas movie which ends up working with a tired old theme. That theme sees a stereotypical greedy businessman trying to tear down the dog's home only for those who support it rallying around to try and save it by putting on a show. There are some ins and outs which make it entertaining but it is that familiar story of the kids saving their club house from the ruthless businessman/ property developer which is why it is a theme which works best for children. The thing is that whilst it does a solid job of working through the theme it struggles to offer anything for grown ups who find themselves watching it.

Aside from that, well I got a strange sense of deja vu as I watched "12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue" because I had already watched the later "Christmas for a Dollar". You may wonder what I am on about but both movies are American period dramas which feature Danielle Chuchran, Heather Beers and James Gaisford and in truth both movies have a similar good natured style. Aside from some familiar names there isn't a great deal to say about the acting which is only solid but somehow this movie manages to bring Bing Crosby into the story which is really too much for me and as a fan of old movies is painful.

What this all boils down to is that "12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue" has a lot of problems starting with what feels like a huge conflict between the artwork and the actual movie. But whilst it didn't work for me and is in truth another movie with Christmas in the title but has little Christmas in it, it may still entertain young teens with its attractive cast.

Tags: Dog Movies, Christmas Movies


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