Santa's Little Helper for "The Tampa Tribune" listed Santa's Little Helper at number six, writing: "We admire his upbeat nature even after having his legs broken by Mr. Burns and being abandoned by Bart for another dog, Laddie." He also ranked 75th on Retrocrush author Robert Berry's list of "The 100 Greatest Dogs of Pop Culture History" in 2006. The character has attracted some criticism too, though. While reviewing the episode "Bart's Dog Gets an F" in 2010, Nathan Rabin of "The A.V. Club" wrote: "As cartoon dogs go, Santa’s Little Helper is spectacularly unspectacular. In a realm of aggressively anthropomorphic canines, some
Satan's Little Helper chubby little shoulders of a 9-year old. Still, horror buffs will delight in ingenious twists, perverse satire and gleefully off-kilter Amanda Plummer/Katheryn Winnick mother-daughter team." The website JoBlo.com gave the film a 8/10 rating, writing, "if you like your horror with a heaping dose of the blackest of black comedy, then "Satan’s Little Helper" will be quite the treat! The flick is a prime example of horror on a low budget done right. Characters are actually developed, jokes are skillfully executed, and the scares are delivered with flair." Dread Central called the film "Irreverent, subversive and deliciously caustic [...] a