There are a lot of dog-related Christmas movies. And a lot of them are bad. Either they dogs are barely in the movie or the script is completely awful. So let’s see if Netflix’s A Dog’s Perfect Christmas belongs under the tree or in the fireplace.
Winstead (voiced by Thomas Haden Church) is a basset hound that lives with the Goss family. His human mom, Barbara (Rebecca Staab), passed away two years ago, leaving his human dad, Sander (Dennis Quaid), in a deep depression. Now Sander and Winstead live with Sander’s son, Hunter (Milo Ventimiglia), and his family: wife Juliana (Kathleen Rose Perkins), teenage daughter Ello (Brooke Lena Johnson), and twin toddlers Garrett and Ewan. When Juliana goes to the ER with a kidney infection that turns into sepsis, Sander and Ello are left to run the household. With some help from Winstead and new puppy Ruby, of course.
First thing to keep in mind: this is a sad, sad movie. There is a lot of death and almost death and trauma. If you aren’t in a mindset to handle any sort of death-related plotlines (and, yes, this includes suicide attempts), please don’t watch this movie. The dogs are great but I’m not sure they are enough to really make up for the amount of sadness we’re given.
If you are able to handle topics of death and depression, this was a really good movie. Most of that is because Winstead is a great dog. He tries to do everything he can to make the family, his pack, feel better and direct them back to each other. There are a few other great characters here. Ello takes on the burden of caring for her twin brothers and the household while her mother is in a coma and her father is both at work and at the hospital with his wife. Sean (Ethan Loomis) is a friend/love interest for Ello that actually asks her how she is doing and actually listens to her and actually does what he can to help. And once Sander is able to recognize that his family is hurting as much as he is and brings himself out of his deep depression, he does try his best to step into the adult role needed in the house.
Thanks to the very emotional plot of the movie, I’m not sure that this is something I will watch again. But I am glad that I watched it once.
Rating: They are all good dogs