In Search of Santa
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In Search of Santa is a 2004 CGI animated family film starring Hilary Duff and her older sister Haylie Duff in their first voice roles.
It was directed by William R. Kowalchuk and released on VHS and DVD by Miramax Family Films on November 23rd, 2004 and previously released in IMAX Theaters overseas (Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Canada) by Paramount Pictures on August 13th, 2004.
Plot
King Calvin and Queen Penelope have their eggs laid and as their daughters hatch, the parents name them Crystal and Lucinda. As the sisters grow, despite their differences, they compromise and head to the North Pole to find Santa Claus.
They want to save Christmas, which Crystal believes in earlier and all along. After saving the seal in the middle of their quest, both sisters meet the pirates: Capn' Cragg (a walrus), Bugkus Bill (a stork), and a pelican.
Why Didn't Search for Santa
- Lack of continuity: This is supposed to take place after the events of the first film, yet Rudolph still looks like a child.
- In fact the promo was made in cel animation, yet this garbage was made in CGI animation.
- The story is a great idea, but it is not well-executed, and how the result of the story is nonsensical and frustratingly idiotic.
- Animation errors such as clipping objects for example.
- False advertising: The North Pole is shown only a few times, and the penguins didn't even get the chance to go there and see Santa on Christmas Eve!
- Lucinda and Princess Crystal are bland and weak protagonists.
- Cheaply-made CGI animation, even for 2004 standards, to look like an old PS1/N64 video game and also looks similar to the early episodes of VeggieTales, Elroy's Toy and Imaginit.
- Annoying characters (most of the time).
- Weak humor.
- While the voice acting is good, it can be somewhat annoying at times.
- The origin story is a ripoff of Happy Feet and Surf's Up.
- A lot of useless filler that only exists to pad out the runtime.
Redeeming Qualities
- The ending is heartwarming, in which everyone loves Santa.
- The voice acting is decent. In fact, Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff does a great job at voicing Lucinda and Princess Crystal.
- The CGI animation does look nice in some parts.
- The character designs are okay.
- It does teach us some good morals about helping others and keeping a good attitude no matter how badly the things you wish worked out go.
- While most of the humor is weak, there are some hilarious moments here and there.
- It feels more true to the source material.
Reception
The film received generally negative reviews, with viewers heavily criticizing its poor and rigged CGI animation quality and the cheaply-made script. UltimateDisney wrote "the film has not succeeded in challenging, engaging, or even entertaining but it is colorful and somewhat lively" and that "the makers of In Search of Santa hope that the appeal of computer animation, Christmas, and the Duff sisters will encourage people to check their movie out."