This movie is just another Home Alone flick, except this time, it's a yellow lab named Zeus, that the Banisters reluctantly adopted. However, Zeus has a few issues, similar to Marlie (Marlie & Me) that persuade the mother to insist he be sent back to the pound. In the end the dog redeems himself with the family by appearing to catch two moron burglars. There are a few entertaining scenes in the movie, but I thought the dog and mice narrations were rather irritating to listen to. Overall, the movie was a rather amusing Christmas flick worth seeing just once.
Gary Valentine stars as the father and I have seen him do better in other movies, esp the Zoo Keeper, which was hilarious.
The Dog Who Saved Christmas
2009
Action / Adventure / Animation / Comedy / Family
Plot summary
The Bannister family's new addition, Zeus (voiced by Mario Lopez of TV's SAVED BY THE BELL),the yellow Labrador, appears to be less than the dependable guard dog the family needs. However, when two burglars set out to break into the Bannister's home while they're away for Christmas, Zeus seizes the chance to be a hero, proving every dog - even this one - has his day. Dean Cain (TV's LOIS and CLARK),Gary Valentine (TV's THE KING OF QUEENS),Elisa Donovan (CLUELESS, TV's SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH),Mindy Sterling (AUSTIN POWERS),and Adrienne Barbeau (MAUDE, CARINVALE) also lend their voices in this heart-warming holiday movie.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
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Another Home Alone, Except now it's Zeus, the Dog?
This is one Christmas movie you can pass on
I wish I had. This movie is mindless drivel and toilet humor. It doesn't even deliver a very cute dog, and the main part of the movie is a second rate rip off of Home Alone. It felt like most of the actors didn't even care, and I can't say blame them. The mother character in the film seemed incapable of showing any real powerful emotion and came across as a heartless ice queen. A big question I had is, if the wife wanted an alarm, why couldn't they still keep the dog? Also if she was so convinced the dog was incapable of preventing a break in why would she let them leave it alone in the house on Christmas day! The mice are another annoyance, there pointless characters annoyingly voiced and there humor won't make anyone laugh over the age of 6. Still worse is the fact that there are objectionable scenes in the film for smaller children (theres a scene in the film where the fat criminal is talking about hurting the dog). Anyway I can think of no good reason to watch this as there are many good Christmas movies and even some other doggy ones out there, this one is better left unwatched.
Home Alone goes to the dogs
Since this movie makes absolutely no effort in concealing it's a knock off of Home Alone, I guess you can let it get away with it. The only difference is, an ex K9 cop named Zeus takes the place of Kevin.
Done on a low budget, and clearly aimed at dog lovers. It's upbeat and silly, and uses slapstick comedy in every scene. Some of the humor is middle school level and below: dog drinking from a toilet, a guy who passes gas a lot, and one character that's a poor man's annoying version of Fred Flintstone. The one scene that echoes the booby traps of Home Alone is fleeting; there's only so much a pup can do, after all. The baddies here are as dumb as the burglars from H. A.
Acting isn't bad, considering how the characters are written. Mario Lopez's voice-over work for Zeus is OK, although the low budget only allows Zeus to be staring at somebody as we hear his thoughts. Oh, Zeus never barks, and the reason is predictable. But it doesn't matter that everything is obvious; this is just some playful silliness for its own sake. Fun enough for a viewing, if you're going to be home (alone or not).