Tom Arnold and Michael Madsen play two neighborhood thieves who get mistaken for babysitters. The theives end up babysitting and reading stories to the kids which are played out in animated sequences. I think the animated characters or sequences are taken from another film but their actions are told and narrated by Arnold, the Kids and to a lesser extend Madsen (Madsen's character instead provides the bulk of the live action comedy relief during the story sequence cuts).
It's not awful. It's not great. For the most part just a typical holiday movie more geared to kids. Tom Arnold is too soft feeling in family movies to really come across as a convincing thief. Madsen is so laughably sleazy looking in a "Santa's Helper" costume I can't help but laugh seeing it.