Actors: Dean Cain, Gary Valentine, Elisa Donovan, Joey Lawrence, Michael Gross, Shelley Long
Directors: Michael Feifer
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: ANCHOR BAY
DVD Release Date: December 4, 2012
Run Time: 87 minutes
Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Believe it or not “The Dog Who Saved The Holidays” is the fourth film in this franchise following: “The Dog Who Saved Christmas”, “The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation” and “The Dog Who Saved Halloween”. Mario Lopez was the voice of Zeus for the first two with Joey Lawrence taking over for his starting with “Halloween” and now this film as well. The combination of Dean Cain and Joey Diaz are hysterical together and have been through this series. Gary Valentine and Elisa Donovan are also very funny together. This installment wraps up the cast with Michael Gross and Shelley Long. A must for all families looking to get in the holiday mood.
Official Premise: It’s a sun-soaked holiday season for the Bannister family as they travel to Southern California to stay with Aunt Barbara (Shelley Long), who surprises them with a new puppy named Eve (voiced by Peyton List). Everyone is smitten with Eve — except for the Bannister’s dog, Zeus (voiced by Joey Lawrence), who sees what a mischievous animal she is when no one else is around. After deciding to run away, Zeus sees Ted and Stewey, two thrifty thieves, trying to break into the family home while the Bannisters are at church. It’s up to Zeus and his newest sister Eve to join together to save the holidays for their family!
There is only one special feature included on this DVD. It is a very busy commentary track with director Michael Feifer, co-producer Peter Sullivam, executive producers Barry Barholtz and Jeffrey Schenck and lastly sound designer Andres Boulton. To be honest, when I think about cheesy family Christmas movies, I do not think about listening to a commentary track. It is definitely not for the kids specifically and I do not see parents re-watching this just for the commentary either. Either way, this series has always been a pleasure to watch during the holidays and I look forward to future installments of the adventures of the Bannister family.