Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

My daughter was hoping for a cute film about puppies. I was hoping she'd see a film about people learning to get along, be tolerant and nice to each other. What we got was the most cynical, cliché'd piece of dog waste I think I may ever have seen out of the Disney marketing machine. It's like a 90 minute long toy commercial that sets out to teach kids that anyone who doesn't lie to their kids about Santa Claus is stupid, evil, wrong, has bad things happen to them, and that they deserve it. Every. Single. Character. So much for tolerance.The story, if it can be called that, hardly serves even as an excuse to string together the same tired old cliché's without bringing anything new or fun to them at all. The main title character, unable to move, nearly gets burned alive in an incinerator. This is by an evil, stupid 1 dimensional character who doesn't believe in Santa Claus and thus ends up being kicked out of her home and into the streets. This is despite the fact that she thought he was a toy and not alive. When she loses her job and home, we're obviously supposed to cheer at this point, reveling in "the Christmas Spirit".This film is what you would have gotten if a less competent Joseph Goebbells (Hitler's propaganda guy) had made a Christmas movie. I only wish it was possible to erase it from my daughters memory forever.Sickening.

I saw this movie for the first time last year and just finished watching it this evening for the second time. It was a very nice film which combined serious real-life issues with the fabric of reality and the true spirit of Christmas. It's also very heart felt to watch for the young-at-heart. I am however in agreement with some other reviewers who pointed out that certain parts of it can be very emotional for children, especially those very young. Before you watch it for the first time whether alone or with others just keep in mind that the video box cover can be misleading and cause you to think it will be a family holiday comedy all or mostly from a child's point of view. This is not the case as the main characters include people of all ages, and not all of them are shown as caring, sensible or even humane. This can be seen as positive though since it can show viewers what society is like outside of the media. So I enjoyed it all the way through but as I'm an adult I can't insure that the same feeling will be felt by children. Then again every living thing has his or her own personality no matter the age. Basically my whole point in outlining this movie for those who have yet to see it is that adults will all likely be taken back to their childhood in some way, and kids will learn valuable lessons, and may or may not feel a powerful surge of magic depending on their own points of view and what their lives have consisted of so far. Merry Christmas to everyone and may the spirit of life in the universe profoundly enrich you!!

I absolutely loved this movie. It does have sort of an "Annie" feel to it with the orphanage and the singing orphans! And of course the mean lady in charge of the orphanage was just as mean if not meaner than Miss. Hannigan. The puppy named Paws was just adorable! I would recommend this to everyone who wants to feel good at Christmas and all year long. Be careful though. Some younger children might be frightened by the mean lady. She is very mean. She doesn't allow the little girls to have any toys and no Christmas decorations. The DVD has extra features after the movie that are just too cute! My 8 1/2 year old son watched it and fell in love with it! Enjoy!

I watched this movie with my daughters, ages 6 and 3, and personally enjoyed many aspects of it, but my children were pretty scared. As mentioned by another reviewer, the images of children being yelled at and having their special toys burned in the furnace were very disturbing, especially for my 6-year-old. The movie presents some important themes, such as the healing power of love and kindness. But, unfortunately, I'm not sure the target audience (young children) will be able to see past the scary parts to catch the messages.I also agree with the reviewer who said the Santa was a little scary-looking. His character is wonderful, but he has so much make-up on, he does look a bit strange.Overall, I would not recommend it for kids younger than 7--and I'm not sure if it would hold the interest of kids older than that, unless they really love puppies and Santa.