Release Date: 11/25/2008
Label/Distributor: Vanguard International Cinema
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Retail Price: $19.95
Genre: Kids & Family Cast: Jones,Cronyn,Alexander
Running Time: 99
DVD Video Options: Color,DVD-Video,NTSC
DVD Audio Options: English;Original Language
UPC Code: 658769840636
Santa and Pete
By Ed Grant -- Video Business, 10/20/2008
VANGUARDStreet: Nov. 25
Prebook: Oct. 22
> Holiday tale of Santa’s sidekick.
Jolly St. Nick has a sidekick in this whimsical and pleasant bit of holiday family fare. James Earl Jones stars as a granddad who tells his inquisitive grandson the story of Pete (Flex Alexander), a Moor who traveled with Santa (Hume Cronyn) to the “new world” of America. This 1999 TV movie has its share of treacle, especially when Santa and Pete help a lost girl, but old pros Jones and Cronyn sell their cutesy parts with the proper amount of conviction.
Shelf Talk: Tykes might prefer the Rankin-Bass Christmas cartoons, but adults will be pleased to find a holiday movie that boasts quality acting and a message of racial harmony—Santa and Pete befriend Native-Americans.
Family drama, color, NR (nothing offensive), 99 min., DVD $19.95Extras: none
Director: Duwayne Dunham
First Run: CBS-TV, 1999