- In this heartwarming sequel to the holiday classic, Emma (Danielle Chuchran) rallies her friends new and old to save a beloved puppy orphanage by putting on a musical holiday extravaganza.
- In this sequel, it is 1937 and Emma O'Connor is returning to Doverville for the funeral of Mrs. Stevens, the woman who took in so many dogs that needed homes. There is a problem with the train and Emma doesn't have time to wait for it to be solved, so she gets out and hitchhikes. The cars look so much older than 1937, but a document shown late in the movie does have this date. A mysterious woman named Zoe who looks like Kristen Wiig picks her up. She has never seen this woman before, and yet the woman knows everything about her.
It turns out Zoe is a fortune teller and former actress who has appeared onscreen with Bing Crosby. Zoe admits that while she has psychic powers (which are critical to one incident where the dogs must be rescued) , she must rely primarily on her acting skills.
Emma is late for the funeral but she does meet with Mikey, who no longer wants to be called that. Mikey intends to keep his mother's "dog orphanage" but his mother owed a lot of money to the bank. And local villain Finneas, who owns everything in town, wants to turn the property into a dog racing track. And use whatever methods are necessary to make sure certain dogs win races.
Emma returns to her old school where her best friend is so happy to see her. Also happy to see Emma are the little girls who appeared in the "12 Dogs of Christmas" production from this first movie.
In addition to all his other problems, Mike gets in a terrible accident, which gives Finneas and dogcatcher Pluto the opportunity to close down the orphanage claiming Mrs. Stevens was bitten by a rabid dog and all the dogs must be quarantined. Dr. Splinter goes along, for a while. He ends up not being as evil as he was to begin with.
Emma decides not to return home but vows to save the orphanage. The banker doesn't realize until it is too late that he has agreed to give her until Christmas to raise the money.
The answer: another even better musical production, to be held in the local theater, run by Edgar, a ventriloquist who is no longer popular. Or is he just not popular yet? Because his name sounds a lot like Bergen, and his dummy is Charles.
And Edgar (if he is indeed that Edgar) is not the only celebrity who will appear in this movie. Zoe can get someone even more famous to help with the production. He actually has a pretty big role.
Emma tries to put together a new show, and Zoe acts as music director, but there are many obstacles. For one thing, boys are needed. The basketball team is not that good but Emma and her friends can help the win. Wearing cute cheerleader outfits that in 1937 would have been scandalous, the girls inspire the boys to play their best. The other team's cheerleaders, by contrast, look like they belong at a Christian school in the 21st century.
One more obstacle: the basketball team's star, and the one boy they need the most to make the show work, is Finneas' stepson Walker. He seems to want a romantic relationship with Emma, and he's appealing enough.
And Finneas is not about to let anything get in the way of his plans. He creates one obstacle after another.
And yet the show must go on. It is a very professional production involving kids and adults of all ages, even kids so little all they can do is look like they were asleep and are annoyed someone woke them up.
With an amazing lead singer, the new production once again has dog-themed variations on the gifts of the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas". After each gift is introduced, another song or two gets added, along with dance numbers. Rap in 1937? The high school band appears to be providing most of the musical accompaniment but "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is quite professional. It must have been recorded because the viewer doesn't see the musicians and it sounds like a top-tier orchestra.
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By what name was 12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue (2012) officially released in India in English?
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