Review: Disney's Air Bud "World Pup" (DVD)

For almost a year now, my 3 dog-loving children have been enjoying Air Bud DVDs. The most recent adventure featuring this ball-playing dog is Disney's Air Bud: World Pup. It turns out that this talented Golden Retriever can play more than just basketball and football. He can now add soccer to his list of skills.

In this DVD, Kevin Zegers returns as Josh to continue this series about a boy and his dog. In the last movie, Josh's mom finds romance, but this time it's Josh's and Buddy's turn. They both stumble into puppy love, which results in a humorous adventure.

In addition to romance and soccer action, this movie also offers a pair of villains, one of whom is an ex-dog catcher. Their get rich quick scheme is to dognap family pets for ransom money. Parents need not worry. There is nothing remotely frightening about these dognappers.

This movie is fun and lighthearted. Plus, the two dogs' budding romance resulted in puppies, which just adds to the cuteness.

Take a look at Buddy showing off his skills . . .

As usual, my children's favorite parts of the movie were during the displays of physical comedy. I think everybody, both adults and children, loved the scene when the dognappers were defeated.

This Special Edition Air Bud: World Pup DVD comes with a mesh Air Bud drawstring sport bag and can be purchased at the Disney Store and other retailers of Disney movies.

Thank you to Click-Communications for sending us a sample DVD free of charge to base this review upon.

Review: Air Bud "Golden Receiver" (DVD)

Being a dog-lover at heart, I am a big sucker for dog movies. Since my husband has a soft spot for dogs also, I am happy to report that our children are well on their way to becoming dog-lovers themselves.

On February 2nd, a new Disney movie became available on DVD called Air Bud: Golden Receiver. This movie stems from a series started by the original Air Bud movie. Other DVDs in this series are Snow Buddies, Santa Buddies, and Space Buddies. Although this film is rated G, there are themes that my children may not have understood, such as losing a spouse and a parent, dating, and falling in love. Nevertheless, my two preschoolers and one kindergartner (as well as my husband and I) found this movie to be very entertaining.

I liked that the movie gave the audience a taste of how this Golden Retriever named Buddy became Air Bud in the original movie by playing basketball. If you could not guess, this movie is about how Buddy develops a new love for football along with his best friend Josh.

Take a look at how Buddy makes his football debut . . .

One thing that really appealed to my children was the physical comedy in this movie. There was a lot of falling down, which they found to be extremely amusing. The antics of the dognappers also caused them to laugh out loud. Let us not forget Buddy's signature victory dance, which he did after each touchdown. Our 3yr old son thought it looked like so much fun that he had to give it a try himself.

As added bonuses, this DVD is specially packaged with an Air Bud Sport Whistle Necklace. It also includes the BUDDIES puppies in a bonus feature where they give a play by play of their canine dad's football games on the set of Sports Channel. I thought that the bonus feature was cute, but it may appeal more to someone who actually watches Sports Channel.

If you have a grade school-aged child, this DVD would be a great idea for putting in their Easter basket or using as a stocking stuffer this year. You should be able to find Air Bud: Golden Receiver most places where Disney DVDs are sold.

Thank you to Click-Communications for sending us a sample DVD free of charge to base this review upon.

Review: Puppy Party (DVD)

For the first time in 15+ years, our household is without a canine companion. Although we did have two elderly dogs during my children's lifetime, they never really knew either dog during their playful and active stages. That is why this Puppy Party DVD, which introduces over 25 different breeds of dogs, was so fascinating for my three children.

What I thought about the Puppy Party DVD:

1) I found this DVD to be very engaging for both children and adults. The action was lively and all the puppies, both the big and the small ones, were very endearing.

2) I like the vast variety of breeds covered on this DVD. They even included the Puggle, which is a newer breed of dog.

3) This DVD would be a great tool to help children not to be afraid of dogs. All the puppies shown in the footage were very adorable and social.

4) For the same reason, I do not think this DVD should be used to decide which breed of dog would be a good fit for a household. All the breeds are shown to be friendly and playful, but not all the breeds are ideal for households with children.

5) One of the extra features of this DVD is a section of facts about each breed of dog. This does include a very basic description of temperament and general size, so it is a good place to start, but I would still recommend doing more research before choosing a breed to include in your household.

Be warned . . . the puppies shown on this DVD are so lovable that there is a good chance your children will be asking for a puppy after watching it.

You can currently find this DVD on NCircleEntertainment.com for just $5.99 .

Thank you to NCircle Entertainment for sending us a copy of this DVD to review.

Review: Santa Buddies "The Legend of Santa Paws"

The newly released Blu-ray/DVD combo Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws really put my family of dog-lovers in the mood for Christmas. Even though we have our tree and decorations up, we have all been too busy to enjoy them. This movie was the perfect excuse for us all to sit down together to experience some Christmas magic.

To enjoy the movie, you will just have to accept that people have Santa Claus and dogs have Santa Paws. The main character is Puppy Paws, Santa Paws' son, who decides he has had enough of Christmas 24/7 at the North Pole and wished that it all did not exist and that he could be just a regular dog. This triggers a series of events, which leads to Christmas spirit beginning to plummet all around and the North Pole starting to melt.



The dog catcher Stan Cruge (played by Christopher Lloyd) represents Scrooge for both the people and the dogs. As the story progresses, Puppy Paws realizes how important believing in Christmas really is. Then his pack of new canine friends, plus a couple of old ones from the North Pole, help Puppy Paws to save Christmas and simultaneously warming the heart and renewing the Christmas spirit in Cruge.


Although I thought this movie could have ended in several different places, I still think it is an enjoyable movie for children and all dog-lovers. It answers some questions about Christmas for your children, such as who are those elves and Santas really, who have been spotted at the mall and around town?

You should be able to find Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws on Blu-ray/DVD at the Disney Store and most places where Disney movies are sold both locally and online.