''Santa Hunters'' is a 2014 made-for-television film created for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

. It was directed by

Savage Steve Holland Savage Steve Holland (born April 29, 1958) is an American writer, cartoonist, producer, voice actor, animator, and film director who wrote and directed the films '' Better Off Dead'' (1985) and ''One Crazy Summer'' (1986), starring John Cusack. ...

, based on a script written by Jamie Nash and produced by Amy Sydorick. The film stars

Benjamin Flores Jr. Benjamin Christopher Flores Jr. (born July 24, 2002), also known as Lil' P-Nut, is an American child actor and rapper. In music, he is known for his song "You Might Be the One". In acting, Flores starred as Louie Preston on the Nickelodeon telev ...

Breanna Yde Breanna Nicole Yde (born June 11, 2003) is an American child actress. She portrayed Frankie Hathaway on the television series ''The Haunted Hathaways'', Tomika on ''School of Rock (TV series), School of Rock'', Zoey in the television film ''San ...

, Laya DeLeon Hayes, and Mace Coronel as a group of children trying to find evidence to prove the existence of

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

Plot summary

All Alex wants to do is prove to the world that Santa exists. He has managed to convince his sister Elizabeth and their cousins Zoey and Richard to setting up cameras throughout their house to capture footage of Santa. Their attempt is successful, but to their horror, they discover that Santa loses a bit of his magic every time he's seen. As Christmas starts to vanish before their eyes, it's up to the children to find and destroy the evidence of Santa. However, they must first contend with their Uncle Charlie's girlfriend Natasha, who is determined to sell the footage of Santa for her own selfish gains.

Cast

as Alex *

as Zoey *

Mace Coronel ''Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn'' is an American comedy television series developed by Michael Feldman and created by Matt Fleckenstein that premiered on Nickelodeon on September 13, 2014. It ran for four seasons and 82 episodes, with the final epi ...

as Richard * Laya DeLeon Hayes as Elizabeth *

Donavon Stinson Donavon Stinson (born August 25, 1976 in Rivers, Manitoba) is an actor in motion capture, film and television. Career Moving to Vancouver in 1997, Donavon auditioned for a motion capture role in Mainframe Entertainment’s, Heavy Gear. He got t ...

Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

April Telek April Amber Telek (born April 29, 1975) is a Canadian actress. Early life and career Telek was born and raised on the North Shore of Vancouver, British Columbia. In Japan, she pursued her modeling career and won a Shiseido Cosmetics contract fo ...

as Natasha *

Kelly Perine Kelly Perine (born March 23, 1969) is an American television actor, writer, director, producer, and comedian. Perine attended Lake Forest Academy near Chicago, Illinois, where he studied stage acting. He spent his undergraduate years at Pomona Co ...

as Uncle Charlie * Brenda Crichlow (credited as Brenda M. Chrichlow) as Mom *

Viv Leacock VIV or Viv may refer to: People * Viv (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Viv., the standard author abbreviation of Domenico Viviani (1772–1840), Italian botanist and naturalist Places * 2558 Viv, a main belt asteroid * VI ...

as Dad * BJ Harrison as Grandma *

Alvin Sanders Alvin Sanders is an American-Canadian voice actor and voice director. He currently sits on the Union of BC Performers executive board. Filmography Animated Anime roles *''Dragon Ball Z'' – Mr Popo, Additional Voices (1996–1997) * '' Dragon B ...

as Grandpa *

Serge Houde Serge Houde (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian film and television character actor. He is best known for his role in Jon Cassar's Emmy-nominated miniseries '' The Kennedys'' playing the notorious Chicago mafia boss Sam Giancana opposite Tom ...

as Principal Welch * Sewit Haile as Leader Girl * Eric Fell as Cop * Rachel Prosch as Tweener Girl *

Bill Kurtis Bill Kurtis (born William Horton Kuretich; September 21, 1940), is an American television journalist, television producer, narrator, and news anchor. Kurtis was studying to become a lawyer in the 1960s, when he was asked to fill in on a tempora ...

as Santa Hunters V.O. Narrator (voice)

Production

TBA

Reception

Commonsensemedia Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the film two stars, as they felt that it was "a fairly mundane addition to a holiday movie repertoire packed with classics and traditional favorites." ''

Media Life Magazine ''Media Life Magazine'' was an online publication that was started in May 1999 by Gene Ely. The publication covered all aspects of the media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or da ...

'' panned ''Santa Hunters'', criticizing it for its focus on commercialism, stating that "The show’s writer, Jamie Nash, and director, Savage Steve Holland, must never have read or seen “''

How the Grinch Stole Christmas ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...

'',” because then they would know that Christmas isn’t just about getting presents and that it means a little bit more." In contrast, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' gave a more favorable opinion of the movie.

Awards

* Leo Award for Best Youth or Children's Program or Series (2015, won)

References

External links

* {{Savage Steve Holland 2014 television films 2014 films English-language Canadian films 2010s Christmas films American Christmas films Nickelodeon original films Films shot in Vancouver American fantasy films Canadian Christmas films Canadian fantasy films Canadian television films Films directed by Savage Steve Holland 2010s Canadian films 2010s American films Santa Claus in film