It was the weekend before the end of the year, and I was in the mood for some light-hearted movie fun. I had my niece over and, as luck would have it, she brought with her a Disney movie that a little eight year-old girl and a SEALs junkie like me could enjoy.

The Pacifier is about SEAL Lt. Shane Wolfe (played by Vin Diesel) who is assigned to rescue a scientist being held by Serb rebels. Unfortunately, the mission fails and the scientist is killed.

A few months later, the scientist’s widow Julie Plummer (played by Faith Ford) is escorted by Wolfe’s commanding officer to Zurich to look at a safety-deposit box. Wolfe is assigned to search for a secret project called GHOST that may still be in the Plummer residence while Julie is away – in the guise of caring for the Plummers’ five children.

This is where the chaos and mishaps start, as the discipline and order that Wolfe is used to is hardly applicable to a houseful of kids who range from awkward teenagers to little girls peddling girl scout cookies to toddlers in diapers. He gets some assistance from the pretty principal of the kids’ school, Claire Fletcher (played by Lauren Graham).

Wolfe gets some action when the house is suddenly attacked by two ninjas, who turn out to be the Plummers’ Korean neighbors who are also searching for GHOST. It is at this point when he earns the kids’ admiration.

In Zurich, Julie guesses the password to the safety-deposit box, which reveals a key. While she is on her way home, Wolfe discovers a secret vault under the garage. It turns out that this is where the secret project is stored.

When they all meet in the Plummer residence, it is revealed that the commanding officer is actually a double agent who forces Julie and Shane to open the vault. However, the vault is protected by a security system that can only be avoided through a special dance used by Howard Plummer to put little Peter to sleep. Wolfe opens the vault through the “Peter Panda dance”, and with Fletcher’s assistance brings the “bad guys” to justice.

The Pacifier was released in 2005, and is a feel-good movie for those who want to share family fun with the kids.