The Santa Clause (1994) Disney/Comedy-Fantasy RT: 87 minutes Rated PG (some mild language and crude humor, one indirect drug reference) Director: John Pasquin Screenplay: Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick Music: Michael Convertino Cinematography: Don Burgess Release date: November 11, 1994 (US) Cast: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd, David Krumholtz, Peter Boyle, Larry Brandenburg, Mary Gross, Paige Tamada. Box Office: $145.3M (US)/$190.3M (World)
Rating: *** ½
Who would have thought that a Christmas comedy starring Tim Allen from TV’s Home Improvement would turn out to be this good? I sure didn’t. That’s why The Santa Clause was such a pleasant surprise. It highlights the comedic talents of Allen making his feature film debut while giving audiences a clever and original premise. It’s a holiday movie the whole family can enjoy, but you probably already know that. Uh, it’s Disney.
Allen stars as Scott Calvin (check out the initials!), an advertising executive at a toy company who’s completely focused on his career. That’s probably why he’s divorced and his young son Charlie (Lloyd, Heart and Souls) doesn’t want to spend Christmas Eve with him. Scott’s ex-wife Laura (Crewson, Air Force One) is remarried to Dr. Neil Miller (Reinhold, Fast Times at Ridgemont High), a psychiatrist who told Charlie there’s no Santa Claus. Scott tries to convince Charlie that Santa is indeed real even though he hasn’t believed in him for many years. His disbelief is about to be challenged in a way he could never imagine in a million years.
That night, Charlie hears a loud clatter on the roof. Scott goes outside to investigate. Spotting a man in a familiar red suit on the roof, Scott yells “Hey, you!” and scares the man so badly that he falls off the house. Shortly thereafter, the body disappears and the red suit remains. Scott checks the pocket for ID and finds a business card that identifies the man as Santa Claus. It also says if something should happen to him, somebody should put on the suit and assume his duties. Scott puts the suit on and climbs into the sleigh. The reindeer take off and Scott delivers toys to all the children of the world.
When the sleigh takes Scott and Charlie back to the North Pole, head elf Bernard (Krumholtz, The Ice Storm) explains “The Santa Clause” to the very perplexed man. Apparently, Scott didn’t read the fine print that clearly states whoever puts on the suit becomes the new Santa Claus. Bernard further explains he has eleven months to get his affairs in order before he has to report back to the North Pole to assume his new duties.
Scott and Charlie magically wake up in their own beds. Scott wants to believe it was all a dream. His son couldn’t be more thrilled about their adventure. Of course, nobody believes his story. Stepdad Neil tries to reason with him to no avail.
Then Scott starts to change. He puts on a lot of weight. His hair turns white and he grows a long beard (also white). He begins to develop unusual abilities like instantly knowing the name of every child he encounters and remembering whether they’re on the nice or naughty list. Kids seem to know who he is as well. They just climb on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. People around Scott think he’s losing his mind. Ultimately, a judge terminates Scott’s visitation rights at the behest of his concerned ex. It’s going to take a miracle to convince everybody he really is Santa and it’s not some insane delusion.
Directed by John Pasquin, another TV guy making the leap to feature films, The Santa Clause is great on many levels. It has an intelligent screenplay that children will understand and adults will enjoy. It’s genuinely funny. It doesn’t force itself on you. It gives us a main character who undergoes a noticeable change in both appearance and attitude. Scott Calvin is the most unlikely candidate for such an important job, one that involves being selfless and filled with Christmas spirit. He drags Charlie to Denny’s (shameless product plug!) after burning Christmas dinner. He can barely get through a simple reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas. Worst of all, he kills Santa. Now he’s “the big guy” and has to accept his new role in life even though it might cost him his relationship with his son.
There are some really clever ideas in The Santa Clause. I like how Comet communicates through grunts and snorts. I also like the idea of elves hiding among us. The coolest thing is the rescue squad ELFS (Effective Liberating Flight Squad) that flies from the North Pole to help Scott/Santa out of a dicey situation. Writers Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick throw in a few jokes for the grownups like when an elf serving hot cocoa to Scott tells him it’s “shaken not stirred”. No kid is going to know where that’s from.
The production design by Carol Spier is awesome. Santa’s workshop is a magical wonderland where the elves work furiously to make toys for all the good children of the world. The funny thing about these elves is although they look like young children, many of them are hundreds of years old like the female elf Judy (Tamada). When Scott compliments her on her youthful appearance, she replies she’s already seeing somebody in wrapping.
Allen is perfect in the role. He convincingly takes Scott from sarcastic non-believer to jolly St. Nick. He mainly does it for Charlie who he loves. He gets off a lot of funny one-liners and insults directed at Neil. Lloyd is also quite good as a kid excited about being one of the only humans to see Santa’s workshop at the North Pole, conveniently hidden underground and accessible only by punching a code into the actual pole. He’s so into his dad’s new gig, he even helps the elf mechanics make a few modifications to the sleigh like the new CD (Cookie Dispenser) feature. Reinhold manages a few laughs as Charlie’s condescending stepdad whose idea of fatherly advice in psychoanalysis.
The Santa Clause doesn’t have a cynical or mean bone in its body. It doesn’t try to destroy the myth of Santa Claus. If anything, it affirms he is real. I think it’s nice that children believe in Santa Claus. I remember hearing a story about a man and a small child debating the existence of Santa Clause. He said to her if he’s real, explain how he delivers all those toys to every child in the world in one night. The child answered with a single word, “Magic!” Out of the mouths of babes, right? The movie doesn’t attempt to provide logical explanations for all the magical things that happen on Christmas Eve nor should it. Bernard puts it best when he says, “Seeing isn’t believing. Believing is seeing.”
How can anybody not love The Santa Clause? I get not loving the sequels or the Disney+ series, but this first movie is holiday gold. It’s a nice comedy that will hopefully help some kids believe in Santa a little longer. Is that really such a bad thing?
