Somewhere between a traditional holiday special (giving equal time to Hanukah and Christmas -- well more to the former) and "South Park," this animated feature goes for a laugh and a tear and to some extent it succeeds.

Like its irresponsible good-for-nothing main character Davey Stone (Sandler), the film starts out nearly worthless. Despite my appreciation for Sandler, I did not enjoy this film at all until about 15-20 minutes in, just after a perky two on two basketball sequence. The lovable Whitey (Sandler) with his ear-piercingly awful high-pitched voice quips, "My fingers in your mouth kitty, but you ain't got no teeth." From here we spring board into a song that actually has some emotional content and the visuals don't just mechanically echo the lyric gags. In fact, the entertainment value of each song increases one after the other. Starting at near rock bottom, but finishing strongly. In fact, I'd say the film gives very good climax.

But besides a stale first act, this modern day Scrooge of a story gives in to product placement advertising so blatantly that one wonders who conceived the film -- Sandler or some mall association of merchants?

Lastly, I am not normally put off by a good fart joke, but the flatulence here is just stupid. And some gags are a bit too mean or simply adult for young kids. However, If you're a mean guy who likes to steal and disrespect people -- go see this film. You might learn something.

Note: Unlike the screechingly unpleasant voicing of Whitey, Sandler's speak for Eleanor is actually quite funny and he does a fine job as himself/Davey.

That said, the film manages to hit some emotional notes squarely, finding a caring heart in the end.