The Dog Who Saved Christmas
Encyclopedia
The Dog Who Saved Christmas is a TV movie starring Dean Cain
, Gary Valentine
and the voice of Mario López
. It was written by childhood friends Michael Ciminera and Richard Gnolfo, and premiered on ABC Family
on November 29, 2009 during their Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas programming block. It was ranked as the number one cable program during its timeslot, and the number one cable film of the season with 4.0 million viewers. The film has been described as similar to Home Alone and Look Who's Talking
.
and a former police dog
, has lost his bark after his barking ended up blowing off a five-year investigation and his partner can't shoot straight again and ends up at the pound. He is adopted by George Bannister as both an early Christmas present and as a good guard dog
for the house, but the mom is hesitant and didn't want a dog. The dog is left alone on Christmas Eve
when the family head off to visit Grandma's house. A pair of burglars, Ted Stein and Stewey McMann break into the family home, and it is up to Zeus to save Christmas
for his new family.
It also features members of the production team in various supporting roles. Writers Richard Gnolfo and Michael Ciminera are credited as Policeman 1 & 2, while the director/producer Michael Feifer is credited as Police Officer 2.
's number one program during its time period of 8:00pm–10:00pm with 4.0 million viewers. It was also ranked number one in scripted telecasts on cable during that Sunday, and became the season's number one cable film of the season. Overall, it was a 14% increase in viewers from the same timeslot in the previous year.
Critics compared it to another Christmas dog themed TV movie of 2009, A Dog Named Christmas
and cited influences from Home Alone and Look Who's Talking
. A Dog Named Christmas was broadcast on the same night as The Dog Who Saved Christmas with the original timings overlapping by an hour. Overall, critics rated A Dog Named Christmas as the superior film over The Dog Who Saved Christmas, but praised the performances Adrienne Barbeau
and Mindy Sterling
.
The Dog Who Saved Christmas won several "Yulies" from the Popwatch column on Entertainment Weekly
's website. The categories it won included "MVP: Most Valuable Pooch" and "Best Use of Dean Cain".
It was given the "Family Approved" seal by The Dove Foundation. Commonsense Media graded it as appropriate for ages 6 and up.
, aired on ABC Family in 2010. A second sequel, entitled The Dog Who Saved Halloween was released directly to DVD in September 2011.
Dean Cain
Dean Cain is an American actor. He is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the popular American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.-Early life:...
, Gary Valentine
Gary Valentine
Gary Valentine is an American actor and comedian. He is the older brother of actor Kevin James.-Career:Gary was featured in the movie Comedian, and appeared as Doug Heffernan's cousin Danny on the television show The King of Queens. He's featured in the film Velocity Rules...
and the voice of Mario López
Mario López
Mario Michael Lopez, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is best known for his portrayal of the character A.C. Slater on Saved By The Bell, which he also portrayed as a regular on Saved by the Bell: The College Years...
. It was written by childhood friends Michael Ciminera and Richard Gnolfo, and premiered on ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
on November 29, 2009 during their Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas programming block. It was ranked as the number one cable program during its timeslot, and the number one cable film of the season with 4.0 million viewers. The film has been described as similar to Home Alone and Look Who's Talking
Look Who's Talking
Look Who's Talking is a 1989 romantic comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling and stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. Bruce Willis plays the voice of Mollie's son, Mikey. The film features George Segal as Albert, the illegitimate father of Mikey.-Plot:Mollie Jensen is an accountant...
.
Plot
Zeus, a Labrador RetrieverLabrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United...
and a former police dog
Police dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
, has lost his bark after his barking ended up blowing off a five-year investigation and his partner can't shoot straight again and ends up at the pound. He is adopted by George Bannister as both an early Christmas present and as a good guard dog
Guard dog
A guard dog, an attack dog or watch dog is a dog used to guard against, and watch for, unwanted or unexpected people or animals. The dog is discriminating so that it does not annoy or attack familiar people.-Barking:...
for the house, but the mom is hesitant and didn't want a dog. The dog is left alone on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
when the family head off to visit Grandma's house. A pair of burglars, Ted Stein and Stewey McMann break into the family home, and it is up to Zeus to save Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
for his new family.
Cast
- Dean CainDean CainDean Cain is an American actor. He is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the popular American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.-Early life:...
as Ted Stein - Elisa DonovanElisa DonovanElisa Donovan is an American actress.-Early life:Donovan was born Lisa Adaline Donovan in Poughkeepsie, New York, the daughter of Charlotte and Jack Donovan, who was a business executive. She later changed her first name to "Elisa" when she had to join the stage union, Actor's Equity, because...
as Belinda Bannister - Mario LópezMario LópezMario Michael Lopez, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is best known for his portrayal of the character A.C. Slater on Saved By The Bell, which he also portrayed as a regular on Saved by the Bell: The College Years...
as Zeus (voice) - Adrienne BarbeauAdrienne BarbeauAdrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude...
as Cat Lady - Gary ValentineGary ValentineGary Valentine is an American actor and comedian. He is the older brother of actor Kevin James.-Career:Gary was featured in the movie Comedian, and appeared as Doug Heffernan's cousin Danny on the television show The King of Queens. He's featured in the film Velocity Rules...
as George Bannister - Mindy SterlingMindy SterlingMindy Lee Sterling is an American actress. Although she had worked in film for over 30 years, she only began to garner attention after playing Frau Farbissina, the diminutive and domineering Germanic cohort of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, and has a recurring role as Ms...
as Grandma Bannister - Sierra McCormick as Kara Bannister
- Joey DiazJoey DiazJoey "CoCo" Diaz is a Cuban-American stand-up comedian and actor best known for his recurring role as Jhoey on the TV series My Name is Earl, as well as in movies such as The Longest Yard and Taxi.-Early life:...
as Stewey McMann
It also features members of the production team in various supporting roles. Writers Richard Gnolfo and Michael Ciminera are credited as Policeman 1 & 2, while the director/producer Michael Feifer is credited as Police Officer 2.
Reception
The Dog Who Saved Christmas was broadcast on Sunday, November 29, 2009 and was cableCable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
's number one program during its time period of 8:00pm–10:00pm with 4.0 million viewers. It was also ranked number one in scripted telecasts on cable during that Sunday, and became the season's number one cable film of the season. Overall, it was a 14% increase in viewers from the same timeslot in the previous year.
Critics compared it to another Christmas dog themed TV movie of 2009, A Dog Named Christmas
A Dog Named Christmas
A Dog Named Christmas is a 2009 American television film that debuted on CBS as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on November 29, 2009. The film was produced by Brent Shields, directed by Peter Werner and written by Jenny Wingfield, who based the script from a novel of the same name by Greg...
and cited influences from Home Alone and Look Who's Talking
Look Who's Talking
Look Who's Talking is a 1989 romantic comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling and stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. Bruce Willis plays the voice of Mollie's son, Mikey. The film features George Segal as Albert, the illegitimate father of Mikey.-Plot:Mollie Jensen is an accountant...
. A Dog Named Christmas was broadcast on the same night as The Dog Who Saved Christmas with the original timings overlapping by an hour. Overall, critics rated A Dog Named Christmas as the superior film over The Dog Who Saved Christmas, but praised the performances Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude...
and Mindy Sterling
Mindy Sterling
Mindy Lee Sterling is an American actress. Although she had worked in film for over 30 years, she only began to garner attention after playing Frau Farbissina, the diminutive and domineering Germanic cohort of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, and has a recurring role as Ms...
.
The Dog Who Saved Christmas won several "Yulies" from the Popwatch column on Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
's website. The categories it won included "MVP: Most Valuable Pooch" and "Best Use of Dean Cain".
It was given the "Family Approved" seal by The Dove Foundation. Commonsense Media graded it as appropriate for ages 6 and up.
Sequels
A sequel, The Dog Who Saved Christmas VacationThe Dog who Saved Christmas Vacation
The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation is a 2010 sequel to the ABC Family 2009 movie The Dog Who Saved Christmas. The movie stars Paris Hilton and Mario Lopez. It premiered on ABC Family on November 28, 2010 during the Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas programming block.-Plot:The movie starts off...
, aired on ABC Family in 2010. A second sequel, entitled The Dog Who Saved Halloween was released directly to DVD in September 2011.