The best James Gaisford’s family movies

Set high atop snow-capped mountains in the adrenaline-fueled world of competitive snowboarding, the Disney Channel Original Movie “Cloud 9″ tells the inspiring story of two snowboarders who must overcome self-doubt to learn that achieving their dreams is possible.

Alex Pearson has a lot to learn about teamwork. As the star of the Lemon Oaks hockey team, Alex almost always has his way on and off the ice. That ism until he pulls a stunt so outrageous not even his own coach can give him a pass. His punishment? Suspension from the team, a never-ending list of chores and a job watching his little sister Emily after school.

Medieval Europe: Father Christmas is a fading memory, after Christmas hasn't come for several years. A young orphan girl, Ayden, receives a magic crystal from a dying elf, with a warning that the North has lost its magic, and that she alone can save Christmas. Ayden and her orphan friends begin a perilous journey and must escape dragons, goblins, bandits, ogres, and other fantasy creatures as they team up with Airk, the wayward son of Father Christmas, to return a stolen Christmas orb to the North. When Santa's magic cannot overpower the growing Snarl (an evil forest with tentacle branches), Ayden and Airk must deliver Christmas on a sleigh pulled by a young dragon, fulfilling Christmas wishes for children to restore Santa's magic and save Christmas.

The dogs of Doverville are in trouble again... but Emma O'Conner is back to save them in a song-filled, seasonal extravaganza. Mean-spirited mogul Finneas James plots to shut down the local puppy orphanage, unless Emma can come up with the money to save it. With the help of some friends, she races against time to put together a musical holiday event that just might save the day.

America is in the midst of the Depression, and the Kamp family is struggling to get by, especially after Mrs. Kamp's untimely death. Now little Ruthie, with her mother gone and her father overwhelmed by doctor bills resulting from her brother's polio, expects another Christmas without presents or festivities. But when her father brings home one dollar in change and lets the children use it to buy special gifts for each other, the Kamps come to find that money isn't what fills Christmas with joy, love, and miracles.

When a teenager receives a mysterious letter in the mail, she sets out to find the author. It's a journey that will change her life forever.