Disney/Franchises: The Santa Clause. The Santa Clause (1994)

The myth of Santa Claus wasn't blown open for me personally until I was around eleven, so for pretty much my entire childhood, I was able to maintain the sense of wonder that comes with it. And this movie, which came out when I was seven, was a big part of it. I didn't see it in the theater but, for a while there, I caught it a lot on both TV and video around Christmastime (I never owned a copy of it, but it was one of the movies I can remember the teachers at my elementary school putting on for us during one of the many times when they didn't feel like doing any teaching; in fact, that may have been when I first saw it). While I was way too young to understand the more adult jokes (including the title's play on words), as well as the mature aspects of the plot, like how Scott Calvin is a single father and eventually loses the right to see his son, it was still a movie that I loved and looked forward to each year, about as much as Christmas itself. In fact, because I still believed in Santa Claus, I thought this showed you how it all worked in reality: how he got into houses that don't have chimneys or fireplaces, how he managed to have everything that each individual kid wanted in that fairly small bag, how everything at the North Pole and the elves worked, and so on. And although I knew, even at that young age, that Tim Allen was a real person (to a degree, as I'll get into), I figured there really was someone out there who currently held the title of the actual Santa and would, at some point, pass the torch if something happened to him. Ah, the innocence of a child, huh? Well, eventually, the bubble burst for me when I was eleven (I happened to just crawl under my mother's bed and found presents that said, "From Santa," on them), as well as that I just grew up in general and life went on, and The Santa Clause became less and less meaningful to me. A lot of that has to do with my never getting it on VHS or DVD (to this day, I don't have a copy of it), as I probably would've continued watching it every year if I did, and while I would see bits of it on Disney Channel, ABC Family, and the like from time-to-time, I didn't think much about it for a while.

Then, in 2017 or so, I learned that we had Disney Plus, and since it happened to be Christmastime, as well as because I'd seen that episode of Biography Channel's Inside Story about the film, I decided to revisit The Santa Clause for the first time in years. For the most part, I still enjoyed it and thought it was a nice, sweet Christmas family flick, and was also able to appreciate the performance that Tim Allen gives, along with the other actors, as well as those more mature jokes and plot elements that went over my head when I was a kid. Speaking of the latter, while the movie never gets too heavy-handed with it, it doesn't sugarcoat the idea of divorced parents and the conflicts between them, with a child caught in the middle, and I thought the relationship between Scott and his son was handled nicely. However, as others have pointed out, I can't deny that there are some shockingly dark aspects to this story, namely in how Scott basically kills the previous Santa and then has to, and will, become the new one, whether he likes it or not. And late in the movie, he makes some seriously bad judgment calls that, upon this most recent viewing, had me facepalming. However, that doesn't take away from the nostalgia I still have for it and its many positives.

Before it was picked up and produced by Disney, The Santa Clause was a spec script written by Chicago-based standup comics Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. As they both said on Inside Story, after doing their act for a while and not making that much money with it, they just decided, for the heck of it, to write a screenplay, with Rudnick hitting on the idea of someone unintentionally killing Santa and having to take over for him. They wrote the first draft in 1989, and it was optioned by Outlaw Productions, the company behind Sex, Lies, and Videotape and other films like Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead,  in 1992, in hopes that it would bring them more mainstream attention and allow them to partner up with a major studio for distribution. After some polishing of the script and making it more family-oriented, it eventually caught the attention of Disney and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was then chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Katzenberg, along with Tim Allen himself and his management, felt it would be an idea vehicle for Allen to make the transition from TV to movies. But, once the deal was made, they had to wait until Allen finished filming the current season of Home Improvement to begin shooting, during which time the screenwriters tailored it more to his sensibilities, and also made it all the more family friendly. In addition, they brought in another writer, Janet Brownell, to help finesse the script and give it more heart and emotional stakes. Ultimately, while Disney initially thought about releasing the film through their Hollywood Pictures subsidiary, when they saw an early cut of it and realized what they had, they decided to pump more money into its post-production and release it under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.

Well-known directors like Ron Howard, Steve Rash (of The Buddy Holly Story and Can't Buy Me Love), and Chris Columbus (who instead did Mrs. Doubtfire, another family flick where divorce is a big part of the story) were considered, but the film ultimately went to John Pasquin, another TV veteran like Allen. In fact, Pasquin had directed the first season-and-a-half of Home Improvement, and before that, episodes of Growing Pains, Family Ties, and Roseanne, as well as a number of TV movies, and was looking to make the transition into features. Initially, he turned down The Santa Clause, as he wanted to do more adult work, but his wife, JoBeth Williams, convinced him to do it. Naturally, it paid off, as the movie went on to be a massive hit, making $190 million on a budget of just $22 million. However, Pasquin's feature directing career didn't quite pan out, as he went on to do two more movies with Allen, though neither of them were among the Santa Clause sequels; instead, they were Jungle 2 Jungle and Joe Somebody, neither of which did that well. His last feature was 2005's Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, which did do well but got pretty bad reviews all around. He's since gone back to television, directing episodes of shows like Rules of Engagement, the short-lived Roseanne revival, and, most notably, Last Man Standing, again with Allen.

As I alluded to in the introduction, Tim Allen was one of the first actors whom I knew by his real name, rather than simply thinking he had the same name as the character he played (like, for example, all of the people in one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid, Jurassic Park; I just thought Sam Neill really was named Alan Grant, Jeff Goldblum was Ian Malcolm, etc.). Granted, it helped that my parents watched Home Improvement a lot during that time and he kept his first name there, but then, the year after The Santa Clause, another childhood favorite of mine, Toy Story, came out and I understood that he was the voice of Buzz Lightyear. And yet, when I would watch The Santa Clause, I couldn't understand why everyone was calling him Scott Calvin, and it took a few more years for me to finally get the big picture when it came to actors playing roles. Regardless, at the beginning of the movie, Scott does feel a lot like Tim Taylor as a single, divorced father, with his smartass wisecracks, silly facial expressions, and his not being the best around the house, given how he completely fries the turkey he was cooking for his and Charlie's Christmas dinner. The major difference, besides the divorce, is that, while Tim was able to successfully split his time at work with his home and family life, Scott, a toy company marketing director, doesn't have the best relationship with his ex-wife, Laura, or their young son, Charlie. However, as much as Charlie doesn't like being forced to spend Christmas Eve with his dad, as there's a big gap between them, Scott does try his best. When he ends up burning the turkey, he tries to find a place for them to have Christmas dinner, though the only place they can find is Denny's. He later reads Charlie The Night Before Christmas, after which he tries to explain the finer points of how Santa Claus and the reindeer work. Speaking of which, Scott is not happy when he learns that Laura and her new husband, Neal, have been telling Charlie that Santa doesn't exist, even though he himself doesn't believe it.

It's interesting to ponder why exactly it's so important to Scott that Charlie continue believing in Santa. Unlike Laura and Neal, both of whom we later learn stopped believing when they were still quite young, and which is one of their motivations as to why they don't want Charlie to believe anymore, we never learn when or why Scott stopped believing. However it happened, though, it seems like Scott, rather than force his son to face the reality of it while he's still a kid, wants Charlie to hold onto that notion of

childhood wonder and fantasy for as long as he can, perhaps because he himself is no longer in a position where he can afford to. Thus, when Charlie questions aspects of The Night Before Christmas, like how Santa's reindeer fly and how Santa can get down chimneys with his big gut, Scott tries to explain it, then finally says, "Sometimes believin' in something means you... means you just believe in it. Santa uses reindeer to fly because that's how he has to get around." He also possibly sees it as a way of bonding with Charlie, which is why he's so adamant in making Charlie think that he still does believe.

This is put to the ultimate test when, that night, Scott causes the real Santa to fall off the roof. Despite Charlie's excitement about it actually being Santa and the possibility of his father taking over for him, as the man's business card says, Scott gets aggravated with his soon and tries to rationalize what's going on. Initially, he worries about being held liable for what happened to Santa, but then contemplates the reindeer and sleigh up on his roof, as well as the sudden appearance of a ladder leading up there. He tries to

convince Charlie that the reindeer and sleigh are a gift from the cable company because they're, "Getting the Disney Channel now," but then, finds himself roped into performing Santa's duties when the reindeer fly over to another roof. Initially, he plans for the two of them to just go back to their own house, saying the whole thing is stupid, but when he sees how hurt Charlie is about his suggesting that something he wants to do is "stupid," Scott, reluctantly, puts the suit on and goes about the task. He doesn't do it

enthusiastically, though, as he's rather snippy with Sarah, a little girl whose house he visits, and finds himself nearly eaten up by a Rottweiler, as well as has a gun fired at him, at another. But, as the night goes on, he kind of gets into it, especially due to Charlie's enthusiasm (although, when they fly off into the dawn once they're finished, he declares, "When I wake up, I'm getting a CAT scan!", alluding to his latter insistence that it was all a dream). Naturally, though, when the reindeer take him and Charlie to the North Pole rather than their home, Scott is first frustrated

and then overwhelmed when he finds himself in Santa's workshop and home, surrounded by elves who keep saying he's the new Santa. He especially butts heads with Bernard, the head elf, who tells him about the actual "Santa Clause" and that, by putting on the suit and finishing the job, he's accepted all of the duties and responsibilities that come with being Santa. Upon being told that he has eleven months to get all of his personal affairs in order, that he's due back on Thanksgiving, and Santa's naughty/nice list is going to be mailed to him, Scott reaches his limit and

asks, "What if I don't wanna do this?... What if don't buy any of this Santa Clause thing? What if I choose not to believe it?" Then, the place goes dead silent and all of the elves turn and stare at him, while Bernard says that he would be killing the spirit of Christmas, something Scott is, naturally, not entirely comfortable with considering.

While talking with the elf named Judy in Santa's bedroom, Scott still finds himself unable to reconcile what's going on, admitting to her that he stopped believing in Santa a long time ago. He begins insisting that this is all a dream and that he can't believe what he's seeing, with Judy then telling him, "Seeing isn't believing; believing is seeing." With that in mind, Scott goes to bed with Charlie and, the next morning, awakens back in his own home, in his own bed. This seems to confirm that the whole thing was a

dream but, much to his confusion, he's still wearing the bright red pajamas he was given at the North Pole. Regardless, he keeps insisting it was a dream, trying to rationalize it by saying he must've told Charlie all about it at some point, as well as because the waitress at Denny's was also named Judy. But then, Charlie continues insisting that they did go to the North Pole and Scott is the new Santa, which increases the friction between him, Laura, and Neal. They, as well as others like the school principal, urge Scott to get it

through the kid's head that the whole thing is a fantasy. Although he doesn't think it's that big of a deal, he does try, while Charlie feels his father is just in denial and will figure it out for himself. Things get more serious when Laura and Neal begin to wonder if being around Scott is healthy for Charlie, but even then, he can't bring himself to tell his son that Santa Claus doesn't exist. Instead, he asks him to simply keep everything that happened a "secret," even bribing him with $5 to do so, which Charlie agrees to. But just when Scott thinks that everything is fine, he

begins to literally turn into Santa over the course of the year, both physically and mentally, as he gets angry at the idea of a toy tank being advertised by having Santa riding in it, and is able to instantly tell if someone is naughty or nice. On top of the confusion and fear he feels over what's happening to him, and having to deal with the irritation of kids coming up to him and wanting to sit on his lap while he's at Charlie's soccer game, as well as the enormous list being delivered to his house, his entire world comes crashing down around him when Laura and Neal think he's doing this to indulge Charlie's fantasy and make him like Scott more. Thus, they have his visitation rights suspended until after the first of the year.

Completely and utterly lost, Scott violates the court order and goes to see Charlie on Thanksgiving. Charlie, upset that his father still doesn't realize that he's Santa and that kids all over the world are counting on him, shows him the magic snow globe that Bernard gave him up at the North Pole. Though Scott earlier dismissed it as nothing more than a toy, when he looks at it this time and sees the image of Santa and his reindeer flying over the houses inside, he realizes it's true and that he really is Santa.

Knowing and accepting what he has to do, he prepares to leave for the North Pole, with Bernard appearing to take him back. He also initially tells Charlie that he should stay there with his mother and Neal, but when Charlie, for the first time in a long time (perhaps ever) says he wants to be with him, Scott makes his first bad judgement call and lets him come, leading Laura and Neal to think he kidnapped him. In the month leading up to Christmas, Scott, now fully embracing his new life as Santa, gets ready for

it, as the elves show him some new equipment they've come up with to make his job easier. His biggest concern, though, is suffering his predecessor's fate and falling off a roof, so Comet the reindeer gifts him with a rope to keep that from happening. Come Christmas Eve, he and Charlie head out, with Charlie showing him all of the amazing gadgets and modern conveniences built into the sleigh and his suit. It's also nice to see Scott in full Santa mode, bringing presents to houses with both skill and joy for the job, best exemplified in the much nicer interaction he has with

Sarah this time. However, he then makes his second major screw-up and goes to Laura and Neal's house. He may go there because Charlie asks him to, as he wants to deliver something he made for them, but seriously, does it not occur to Scott that his having taken Charlie with him without their permission may cause a bit of an issue when he suddenly shows back up at their house a month later? Sure enough, the police are waiting for him, and he's arrested (much to his undeserved surprise), but eventually, Charlie and a squad of elves known as E.L.F.S. bust him out.

Despite the bad decision he made before, when Scott then returns to Laura and Neal with Charlie, he does show how much he's grown and changed, including just recently. Seeing how worried Laura and Neal were about Charlie, and the relief they feel to have him back, Scott, when it's time for him to go, tells Charlie to stay there with them. He explains to his son, "I can't be selfish. I can't be with you all the time. We're a family. You, me, your mom... and Neal. And they need to be with you too." It took me a few

watches as an adult to catch on to this but, now that I do, I think it's great just how much Scott has grown from someone who wasn't all that fond of Laura and Neal, and probably did want his son all to himself, which led into his making that rash decision at Thanksgiving, to realizing that they're a part of his life as much as Charlie and he can't put a wall between them. And when Charlie cries about this, as he knows he may not see his father again, the moment between them, where Scott explains to him that he can't disappoint all the children of the world, and

credits Charlie with helping him to fully become Santa, is genuinely heartfelt and moving. It's also enough to convince Laura that Scott really is Santa (Neal takes a little more convincing) and she, in turn, burns the papers suspending his visitation rights, telling him that he can visit Charlie whenever he can. And then. Bernard tells Charlie that he just needs to shake the snow globe whenever he wants to see his dad, which he does shortly after Scott leaves in the sleigh. Scott asks him if he wants to go for a quick ride in the sleigh, which Laura allows, although the way it ends, it seems as though it may be much more than a "quick" one.

Throughout the movie, especially the first two acts, Tim Allen brings the kind of humor you'd expect from him after watching Home Improvement. As I said, there is a lot of Tim Taylor in Scott, from his exaggerated facial expressions and reactions to his instances of clumsiness, like when he burns the turkey or when he walks into something, be it the side of the ladder that appears against the house or the doors at the North Pole that were meant for little elves. And then, there's his sarcastic sense of humor and

wisecracks, often directed at Laura and Neal, especially the latter. He's absolutely merciless towards Neal, kind of like how Al is often the brunt of Tim's jokes on Home Improvement. But the difference is there's some real contempt between Scott and Neal, with Scott telling Charlie, "You know... there's just somethin' about him that makes me wanna..." He never finishes his sentence, as Charlie suggests, "Lash out irrationally?", which he learned from Neal, of course, and Scott then jokes about Neal

charging Charlie for listening to him. In fact, Scott often dogs on Neal's profession as a psychiatrist, saying he's not a real doctor, and often throws barbs back at him when he gives him some analysis that he didn't ask for or want, at one point telling him, "You got more important things to worry about, you know? Like, where you're going to get more sweaters after the circus pulls out of town." And during their meeting with the principal, where Neal asks him what he and Charlie did on Christmas Eve, Scott, who's not

taking it seriously, answers, "We shared a bowl of sugar, did some shots of brown liquor, played with my shotguns, field-dressed a cat, looked for women..." He then honestly answers that he read Charlie a book, and when asked what book, answers, "Uh, Hollywood Wives," before, again, being honest and saying The Night Before Christmas.

My favorite bits of comedy from Allen come during the first Christmas Eve, when Scott is reacting to and trying to rationalize all the strange things he sees, like when he comments, "Yeah, right," upon reading Santa's card, and, seeing that Santa has disappeared, leaving only his suit behind, says, "He's naked somewhere." When Scott has to then take over for Santa, the stuff he has to deal with is quite funny, like when he asks Charlie, "You want me to take the toys down the chimney, into a strange house, in my

underwear?!", and then grumbles as he puts Santa's suit on, grumbling, "Freezing my nubs off out here, and you want me to get in a Santa costume. This is great. A Santa costume. Oh, this thing, you never know where it's been. A thousand malls!" Turning to Comet the reindeer, who was also pressing him to go down the chimney, he sneers, "Well, I hope you're happy, Comet." Turning back to Charlie, he says, "Hope you're happy. But, most importantly, I hope the guy that lives here..." motioning at how big the suit is

on him, "...is a tailor!" Then, he has to deal with Santa's bag floating up into the air and forcing him down the chimney, the first house's Rottweiler guard dog and the owner waking up and shooting at him, and little Sarah's questions when he visits her house next. The latter scene is one that I've always found funny, as he explains to her why he's thin and has no beard, and when she says he's supposed to drink the milk she left out, he growls, "Look, I am lactose intolerant. And I am just about this close to taking all those presents back up the chimney with me." The

way he mocks her, saying, "Supposed to drink the milk," made me laugh even when I was a kid. And when he finally gets to the North Pole, he cannot, for the life of him, get Bernard's name right, much to the head elf's already growing irritation with him.

One of the most amazing things about the movie is how the effects artists at Amalgamated Dynamics were able to take Allen, somebody who, at the time, was probably the last person you'd associate with Santa Claus, and believably turn him into a pretty quintessential image of good old St. Nick. The makeup that they used to create the illusion of him gradually becoming Santa is, for the most part, quite cool and realistic, starting when he looks at himself in the mirror one morning and sees that he has graying

beard growth, streaks of gray in his hair, and his belly is bigger. He doesn't look that much better after he shaves and is forced to rush to his job in sweat pants and a sweatshirt, both of which are very unforgiving to his waistline. After that is the scene where he's having a doctor examine him and he's even fatter, and his hair and beard grayer. While the belly that sticks out from under his shirt here looks really good, especially when he jiggles it, when he lifts up his shirt so that the doctor can listen to his heart, you can easily make out the fake torso that Allen is wearing.

The same also goes for the scene where the list is delivered to him, where his hair is now almost completely white and he's shaved, as you can make out the latex mask he's wearing. But when he really starts to look like Santa, with the white beard and hair, the makeup looks great, and the actual suit, hat, gloves, and boots complete it. 

It's also a credit to Allen that he was able to give the performance that he does while he was, by his own admission, suffering underneath all of that makeup. If you read or watch behind-the-scenes stories about the film, like in that Inside Story episode, you'll learn that the movie was shot up in Toronto during the late spring and summer, with the sets built in a warehouse that had no ventilation. Not only did Allen have to endure that on top of the makeup, fat-suits, and costume, which took hours to both put on and take

off, but he suffered from heat rashes, as well as scratches and scars. According to him, the scene where he's running on the treadmill at the doctor's office almost caused him and John Pasquin to get into a fistfight, as it was at the end of a particularly long day and they had to do numerous takes in order to get the belly jiggling, all while the suit's straps were digging into his shoulders. And yet, despite all of that misery, Allen not only managed to be funny, as he always is, but really poignant in scenes like where he loses his visitation rights, and heartfelt and sincere when he embraces being Santa Claus.

The real heart of the movie is young Charlie (Eric Lloyd), who never once wavers in his belief that his father is the new Santa. It also brings the two of them together, as they start out, not exactly estranged but distant, with Scott not being the most present father and Charlie having to deal with the fights Scott has with his mother, as well as his not being a big fan of Neal. Thus, he's not thrilled at the idea of having to spend Christmas Eve with Scott, asking his mother to pick him up the next day at dawn, basically. Moreover, Charlie has recently had to deal with the issue of whether or not Santa Claus exists, having been told by a mean kid at school that he doesn't, and his mother and Neal, who's a psychiatrist, all but confirming it, albeit in a well-meaning, nurturing manner..This growing cynicism, combined with that gap between them and Scott's disastrous attempts at Christmas dinner, make for an awkward night for father and son... until Santa Claus arrives and Scott causes him to fall off the roof. Though initially shocked at the idea that his dad killed Santa, Charlie, upon hearing the instructions from the card about putting on the suit, implores his dad to do it, absolutely ecstatic that it's all true. Despite Scott's aggravation while he's trying to figure out what's going on, causing him to get irritated with Charlie's excitement, his genuine love for his son does goad him into putting on the suit and taking gifts into the houses. While Scott has quite a bit of trouble with it, Charlie loves every minute of it, and his enthusiasm does rub off on his father a little bit. And when they arrive at the North Pole and see Santa's workshop and home, Charlie is over the moon with childhood awe and wonder, as he runs around the place, looking at everything, and makes friends with the elves, particularly Bernard, who gives him the magic snow globe. He's also very proud about the idea of his father being the new Santa (and apparently wasn't within earshot when Scott loudly declares that he may not be willing to take the job). However, he's exhausted from the night he's had, and when he and Scott are shown to Santa's bedroom, he falls asleep in the bed almost immediately. Still, he and his dad have a nice, subtle moment between them when Scott also gets in the bed, a clear sign of their more concrete bond.

The next day, while Scott is trying to convince himself, as well as Laura and Neal, that it was all a dream, Charlie excitedly tells his mother and stepfather everything that happened, and proudly proclaims his dad to be the new Santa. While this already causes more discord between them and Scott, Charlie, unknowingly, makes things worse when, during Parents Day at school, he tells the class, "My dad is Santa Claus!" After the kids laugh and his dad tries to explain that he's "like" Santa in his actual job,

Charlie continues insisting that it's true, telling them about what happened and showing them the snow globe. Later, when Scott tries to, again, convince Charlie that it was all a dream, Charlie tells him that he's in denial, adding, "I know who you are, Dad. You'll figure it out soon enough. There are a lot of kids that believe in you. You can't let them down." Scott tells him that he's wrong, but when Charlie looks behind them and sees a bunch of reindeer from the zoo following them, he just smiles. He continues

obsessing with it, which leads Laura and Neal to, again, press Scott into explaining to him that it's just fantasy. But Scott can't bring himself to say it, and simply asks Charlie to stop telling people about his being Santa. Though Charlie doesn't understand why his dad wants him to keep it a secret, he agrees to it. But then, Scott starts physically changing into Santa and Laura and Neal begin restricting the time Charlie can spend with him, culminating in the visitation hearing. Before Scott arrives, the judge talks with Charlie alone, and when he comes out just as his dad

gets there, he tells him, "It's all okay. I told the judge everything. About you and the North Pole." Like before, Charlie is too innocent and naive to realize that he just ensured that Scott won't be able to see him again until, at least, after the new year. It makes the sight of him leaving with Laura and Neal, while Scott looks on forlornly from the window sill, all the more sad, especially since Charlie can be heard crying as he goes.

But when Scott shows up at their home on Thanksgiving, Charlie is more concerned with how he still hasn't realized that he actually is Santa, telling him that he can't let the children of the world down. He also stands firm against his mother and Neal when they try to tell him once and for all that Scott isn't Santa. Most significantly, he tosses Scott the snow globe, leading him to realize that he actually is Santa. And then, when Scott opts to leave for the North Pole, Charlie is eager to come with him, which both he and

Bernard the elf allow. Like before, Charlie doesn't understand that Laura and Neal are worried to death about him, thinking that Scott has abducted him. Instead, he has a lot of fun during his time up there, as he helps the elves devise new methods of keeping Scott safe on Christmas Eve, and happily tells his mother and Neal as much as when he talks to them on the phone. And when Scott heads out to make his deliveries, Charlie goes with him, showing him all of the gadgets and gizmos in the new, high-tech sleigh

he helped to build. But then, things go awry when he has Scott head to his house so he can leave Laura and Neal some presents he made for them, as it leads to Scott getting arrested. Fortunately for both him and Charlie, the E.L.F.S. squad comes and gets Charlie off the house's roof, while also breaking Scott out of jail. Once Laura and Neal are reunited with him, Scott makes the decision for Charlie to stay with them. Charlie isn't at all happy about this, as he knows it means he'll probably never see his father again, but Scott makes him understand that the children of the

world are counting on him. What's more, Scott thanks him for having a big hand in making him Santa in the first place. And this, combined with just how much Scott has truly changed, leads to him being allowed to see Charlie whenever he can, while Bernard tells him that all he has to do in order to see his dad is shake the snow globe. Charlie finds that this works at the end of the movie, and joins his dad in delivering the presents.

While Scott and Charlie, as I said, aren't exactly estranged at the beginning of the movie, there's definite friction between him and his ex-wife, Laura (Wendy Crewsom), mostly due to Scott being an absent father and his constant picking on Neal. Further friction arouses when Scott learns that Charlie is now doubting that Santa Claus exists and it's partly due to them. Laura says that she and Neal are just making sure that Charlie has a firm grasp on reality, and it's obvious that she means well and wants the best for him, but Scott accuses her of not letting him be a kid and use his imagination. So, when she and Neal come back to Scott's home on Christmas morning to pick Charlie up, Laura isn't thrilled with her son's claims that they went to the North Pole and Scott is the new Santa. It only gets worse when Charlie goes on about it, and Laura is frustrated with Scott not taking it seriously. And then, when he starts to look like Santa, and she sees kids lining up to sit on his lap at Charlie's soccer game, Laura becomes concerned to the point of being scared. Thinking Scott has changed his appearance to indulge Charlie's fantasies and coerce him into liking him, she makes a vague threat about what she'll do if he doesn't shape up. That said, Neal is the one who comes up with the idea of suspending Scott's visitation rights, and while the judge is talking with Charlie in private, Laura wonders if they're possibly going too far. She also wonders if there was anything wrong with Charlie believing in Santa, but then remembers that she was his age when she stopped believing, as she wrote Santa numerous letters that year but didn't get what she wanted. Obviously, she simply doesn't want Charlie to be disappointed the same way that she was. Still, after the decision is made, she's still conflicted about it, and when Scott shows up at their home at Thanksgiving, she's willing to allow him a moment alone with Charlie, which Neal is wholly against. What's really bad is that, when she comes back in to find both of them gone, it seemed like she was about to say something to suggest she was willing to come to a compromise with Scott. But once they're reunited on Christmas Eve, Scott's heartfelt moment with Charlie, talking about how they're a family and he needs to be with his mother and Neal too, convinces Laura that he really is Santa Claus. Thus, she burns the custody papers, allowing him to come see Charlie whenever he can. At the end of the movie, Laura gets the present she wanted years before when Scott departs, and also allows Charlie to join him in the sleigh... although Scott seems to take advantage of the opportunity.

Judge Reinhold has a very memorable supporting role as Charlie's stepdad, Neal. Normally, a character like him would come off as something of an antagonist, but Reinhold manages to portray Neal as a likable, well-meaning, but dorky guy who, because he's a psychiatrist, thinks that there's a rational, clinical explanation for everything. His tone when he's trying to get to the bottom of why Charlie believes the story about the North Pole and his dad being Santa Claus, be it when he's talking with Scott in their meeting with the principal or trying to make Charlie understand why a being like Santa couldn't exist, comes off as patronizing because of just how light-hearted and airy it is, but I think it's just his way of trying to put people at ease. One thing's for sure: he and Scott have a very adversarial relationship, with Scott, as I said, making fun of everything from Neal's profession to the ugly sweaters he tends to wear and his head, which he says comes to a point, and Neal, in turn, claps back at him with a smarmy tone. That said, when Scott beings to look like Santa, Neal is genuinely concerned that he's a very deluded man and, rather than doing it simply out of meanness, feels that suspending his visitation rights is the only way to get through to him. Through it all, it's clear that Neal is rather insecure, and at the heart of his insecurity when it comes to the issue of Santa is that he stopped believing when he was just three, as he didn't get an Oscar Mayer weenie whistle that he wanted. As ridiculous as that is, it makes you understand why, like Laura, he thinks Charlie is a little old to still be believing, let alone think that his dad is Santa. Thus, at the end of the movie, it takes a little more than a heartfelt speech for him to believe it's true. Even when Bernard shows up out of nowhere, Neal thinks it's another ploy by Scott to make his "delusions" seem true. It's only when he sees Scott fly off in the sleigh with the reindeer that he finally believes and sincerely apologizes to Charlie. And for the finishing touch, Neal gets the weenie whistle he wanted.

Bernard the head elf (David Krumholtz) is the kind of character who doesn't have a lot of overall screentime but whom you definitely remember. Street-smart and short-tempered, all that concerns him is that everything at the North Pole runs smoothly and is on schedule. Thus, he not only keeps the other elves' noses to the grindstone and can be rather harsh about it, with even Scott calling him out on it when they first meet, but he has no patience in dealing with Scott and his confusion over the Santa Clause. In fact, he's downright insensitive about it, telling Scott that he automatically became the new Santa the minute he read the card and put on the suit, and gets aggravated when he still doesn't understand it, even though the exact details of the clause are spelled out in print so small that it takes a large magnifying glass to read it. Bernard only continues to get all the more irritated when Scott further presses the issue, telling him that he has to come back on Thanksgiving and that the naughty/nice list is going to be shipped to his house (the way he tries to specify what list he's talking about without the other elves singing the song, only to groan when he fails, suggests that he's been at this job for way too long). But, as all business as he seems, Bernard takes things very seriously when Scott suggests that he may not be up for being Santa. And when Scott asks what would happen if he chose not to believe it, Bernard, after literally everything stops and the place grows quiet, tells him, "Then there would be millions of disappointed children around the world. You see, children hold the spirit of Christmas within their hearts. You wouldn't wanna be responsible for killing the spirit of Christmas, now would you... Santa?" Speaking of children, he's very gentle and friendly towards Charlie from the moment he meets him, calling him "sport" like Scott and giving him the magic snow globe, saying it might come in handy. 

Though this early scene is where he has the most screentime, Bernard does pop back up later on, notably appearing at Thanksgiving to collect Scott at Laura and Neal's home, and reappearing there on Christmas Eve after Scott has been busted out of jail. Both times, he's helping himself to their cooking, and the first time, he comments about the Thanksgiving turkey, "Boy, this bird is dry. Haven't you people heard about basting?" When he shows up the second time, following the emotional scene with Scott,

Charlie, and Laura, he walks in with his mouthful, asking, "What's all this boo-hooin' goin' on here?", and nonchalantly asks a very surprised Neal, "Hey, how are you doin'?" He then proceeds to tell Charlie that his dad can visit him whenever he shakes the snow globe and, upon noticing Neal's sweater, inspects it, wondering, "Hey, did we make this?" That's when Neal takes the food he's chomping on, accusing him of being part of Scott's scheme to make his delusion seem real. When he's not looking, Bernard disappears, and Neal is utterly baffled as to where he went.

In stark contrast to Bernard, Judy (Paige Tamada) is a much more nurturing and calm soul, as well as a little dry-witted. When she and Scott first meet, he expectantly asks, "Judy?", to which she counters, "Santa?", with a knowing expression on her face. Also, when she brings him some hot cocoa, saying it's her own recipe that she spent 1,200 years perfecting, Scott remarks, "You know, I must say, you look pretty good for your age," and she sincerely responds, "Thanks, but I'm seeing someone in wrapping." But,

unlike Bernard, when Scott, during his first night at the North Pole, talks about how he's overwhelmed by everything that he's seeing, Judy is compassionate and listens to him. She tells him that most adults can't believe in magic, as they just grow out of it, and when Scott says that he just doesn't believe what he's seeing, she sees, "You're missing the point... Seeing isn't believing; believing is seeing. Kids don't have to see this place to know that it's here. They just... know." (Ironically, it's similar to what Scott earlier told Charlie about how Santa's reindeer work.) That's Judy's only major scene, but later on, she informs Bernard that they've lost contact with Santa, prompting him to deploy E.L.F.S. Speaking of which, the team's leader (Kenny Vadas) comes off as really cool, calm, and badass. When they arrive on the Miller house roof to pick up Charlie, he calmly assures him, "We're the good guys," and when Charlie says that the police are watching the house, the leader tells him, "Yeah, they probably are. But, you see, we weren't figuring on walking out the front door. We find that we can get around a lot faster if we fly." He then has Charlie hold onto him while they fly off on his jetpack, about which he tells Charlie, "Don't ever try this without elf supervision." But his best moment comes when they go to the jail and they confront the desk sergeant. Upon being told that visiting hours are over, the leader says, "We're not kids, and we're not visiting," and before the others tie the guy up, tells him, "We're your worst nightmare: elves with attitude." And when they break Scott out using a kind of tinsel that removes half of the cell door, the leader coolly comments, "Not just for decoration."

Peter Boyle, who would appear in the sequels as the character of Father Time, appears briefly here as Mr. Whittle, Scott's boss. Of his two scenes, his most memorable is during the board meeting in the middle of the movie, where he's shocked at Scott's appearance and becomes further concerned when he has his outburst over the marketing that involves Santa Claus in a tank. Afterward, he tells Scott, "You should get some help. You know, see a doctor, a shrink, a dietician, anything. Just get some help."

Speaking of which, one guy who tries way too hard to rationally explain what's happening to Scott is the doctor he sees, Pete (Steve Vivovinch). He makes the excuse, "Weight can... fluctuate from year to year," and tells Scott to lay off the sweets he admits he's had a hankering for lately. He also says that his hair being gray is just due to his getting older, but when Scott tells him that, even though he shaves in the morning, he has a full beard by the afternoon, Pete says, "Well... it could be a hormonal imbalance." However,

he has no way of explaining how Scott's heart beats to the rhythm of Jingle Bells. Among the kids who appear in the movie, little Sarah (Melissa King) is the most memorable because of the two moments she has with Scott: first when he's roped into playing Santa and isn't thrilled about it, and the other when he's truly become Santa, which is a much nicer interaction. What's nice is that, as put off as she is by Scott's attitude the first time, she's nice enough to lay out soy milk for him the following year, as he said he

was lactose intolerant. Detective Nunzio (Larry Brandenburg), the one heading up the search for Scott during the third act, has a memorable scene where he's interrogating him, trying to make him admit that he's Scott Calvin, only for Scott to name off a number of different monikers for Santa Claus. In another nod to Home Improvement, Jimmy Labriola, who had a recurring role as Benny there, appears as a man driving a truck whom Scott and Charlie pass when they first take off in the sleigh. And when Laura looks at a number of Santas in a police lineup, one of them is John Pasquin in a cameo.

Speaking of which, while Pasquin can hardly be considered a truly great or innovative filmmaker, he does some interesting things with the cinematography and editing, often to amp up the comedy. One of the most clever is when, after Laura leaves Charlie with Scott, who's preparing to cook them a Christmas dinner, it cuts to a pan across an immaculately set table... which is actually an advertisement on the TV, as it continues panning away from the screen to show Scott extinguishing the fire he caused while the turkey was in the oven. There's another cut just a few

minutes later that may be considered racially insensitive nowadays but I think is just ironically funny: Scott and Charlie arrive at Denny's, Scott encourages his forlorn son proclaiming Denny's to be, "An American institution!", and it cuts to a bunch of Japanese businessmen having a dinner party inside. There are also times where Pasquin uses editing to enhance the mood of a given scene. When Scott's visitation rights are suspended, the judge's ruling is heard over a sad montage of the aftermath, where

Scott is sitting on the window sill, completely devastated, as Laura and Neal walk out with a crying Charlie, and it then cuts to that shot of Scott as he walks the streets in the snow, depressed about the state of his life at the moment. And at the end of the movie, when Scott and the reindeer fly off as Charlie, Laura, Neal, and a bunch of people from the neighborhood watch, it shows a high angle shot of the neighborhood, dissolves to a shot of it completely empty, and pulls back as the scene morphs into the inside of Charlie's snow globe, as he's tried to summon his dad.

While the sequels and the Disney Plus series got very fantastical, bringing in different mythical characters and a lot more magic overall, this first film is actually very grounded, for the most part. About 85% of it takes place in everyday locations, like the suburbs of Lakeside, Illinois (actually Oakville in Ontario), where Scott, as well as Laura, Neal, and Charlie, live; the interiors of the houses that Scott delivers presents to; Charlie's school; the zoo where Scott and Charlie visit the polar bear exhibit (that looked so freaking cool, by the way); the interiors of the toy company

headquarters where Scott works; the doctor's office that he goes to; the law offices where his visitation rights are suspended; and the police station where he's briefly held during the third act. Going back to Scott and Charlie's homes, it's obvious that they're very well-to-do people, as they live in big, multi-floor houses, with well-furnished rooms and lots of modern comforts and conveniences. As for the neighborhood itself, one of the challenges the filmmakers faced was making it look as though much of the story is taking

place in a cold, snowy December near Chicago, even though they shot in late spring and summer. For my money, they pulled it off, especially during the nighttime scenes, where it really does look snowy and cold. And during the opening montage of Scott driving home from work, you totally buy that it is Christmas Eve, with people on the streets caroling and a guy dressed as Santa taking charity donations.

Naturally, where the art direction gets fanciful is at the North Pole. When Scott and Charlie first arrive there, they're left sitting in the sleigh on an expansive snowfield, with the actual North Pole, which is a literal small pole with a candy-cane pattern on it and glowing ball on top, rising out of the ground when an elf seemingly wills it to. While it doesn't look impressive, a keypad deploys from its side and when the elf puts in the code, the sleigh is lowered down into a massive, underground chamber, with multiple levels and enormous rooms. When they reach the

bottom, Scott and Charlie find themselves in the stable area for the reindeer (which they just magically appear in). While that place is kind of drab in terms of its color palette, the hallway leading away from it is another story, as it has a purple-colored floor, light green walls, big candy canes at the head of one corridor, and on the wall across from that, a door marked "Ballroom." We never get to see said it, though, or many of the place's areas, for that matter, like one door that's labeled "Candy Room" or the cafeteria that's mentioned, as the budget during actual

production was a little tight. The one big room we do get to see is the toy room, which has a couple of levels and is filled with elves walking around, performing all kinds of tasks, with a train big enough for them to ride on running through the top level and heading into different parts of the place. Even Scott when he's following after Bernard, complaining about what's happened to him, can't help but stop and be amazed at what he sees (there's one point where you see him acting as though he's about to put on a tool-

belt, then decides not to, another obvious nod to Home Improvement). Santa's bedroom is pretty interesting, as the bed is huge and made to look like a sleigh, although I'm not sure if I could sleep in a room with a toy train circling around the floor, a bunch of kind of creepy dolls lying everywhere, and a random Punch and Judy puppet show going on off to the side. When Scott heads back to the North Pole the following year, we see a little bit more of the place, like this Q-Branch-like testing area for new gadgets and gear for Santa, like a flame retardant jumpsuit for him to wear beneath his costume.

The look and feel of the North Pole was, according to production designer Carol Spier (who's worked on just about every one of David Cronenberg's movies since the late 70's), John Pasquin's way of making the myth of Santa Claus his own, and that's another of the movie's highlights: how it's able to stay true to the familiar traditions and tropes of Santa, yet also do something unique with it. For instance, while Pasquin and Tim Allen decided that Santa himself should be in that classic image from those old Coca-Cola Christmas advertisements, they decided to do

something different with just about everything else, making the elves look like kids with pointy ears instead of little people, and giving both the North Pole and Santa's sleigh and suit some high-tech functions. Besides how the sleigh is lowered down into the place's lowest floor on a large platform, which is activated by a keypad on the North Pole itself, Scott is, again, given a fire retardant under-suit so fireplaces will no longer be a potential hazard, and Comet gifts him with a rope to alleviate his fears of

falling off the roof. He also learns that his hat has a two-way radio built into it that connects him to Judy at the North Pole. After Charlie and the elf known as Quintin (a British-accented elf who specializes in gadgets and technology; again, an obvious James Bond reference) get done with the sleigh, it's outfitted with stuff like bells that jam radar, a snow screen, and DC-10 alert, as well as personal accommodations like air freshener and a CD: cookie/cocoa dispenser. And the E.L.F.S. team are not only a group of elves with jetpacks but also come with gadgets of their own, like a device they use to wrap the desk sergeant up in colorful string and that tinsel they use to break Scott out of prison. It all makes for an interesting fusion of magic and technology.

The movie also addresses aspects of the Santa myth that people have always wondered about, such as how he's able to get into houses with no chimney or fireplace; it turn outs that he just magically squeezes through any such object atop a roof and a fireplace appears out of nowhere in the living room, then disappears when he leaves. What's more, his bag always has the specific gifts for each household, and Santa himself is able to sense who's naughty and who's nice (which makes you wonder why he would even need that enormous list that gets mailed to him).

Significantly, when Neal is trying to make Charlie understand how hard it is to believe that one man can visit every house in the world in one night, Charlie explains that away easily: he doesn't, as not everyone in the world celebrates Christmas. He also adds that there's a time continuum breakdown that occurs within the sleigh itself. And when Neal says he's never seen a reindeer fly, Charlie asks him if he's ever seen $1 million; he says no, and Charlie says, "Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist." I'll admit, that last part is something of a whimsical cop-out, but still, I've always liked how they do try to make sense of everything.

Going back to the elves, I like how, even though they're children, they're each actually hundreds of years old, and the ones who talk have the attitudes and personalities of adults, like the first one whom Scott talks to at the North Pole, who tells him, "And I'm not a kid. I have pointy shoes that are older than you. I'm an elf," and Judy, among others. And if the ones who look like kids are already hundreds of years old (remember, Judy says she spent 1,200 years just perfecting her cocoa recipe), imagine how old Bernard must be. And there's one who looks like a

baby and seems like he's about to cry when Scott suggests he may not want to be Santa; I wonder how old he is? What's also interesting is that, throughout the film, elves can be seen amongst people in the "real world." As a kid, my mom and I noticed the ones that show up at the end when Scott heads off in his sleigh, but it wasn't until recent re-watches that I realized there are elves at the very beginning, among some kids looking in a store window, and even in Charlie's classroom. There's a light-haired kid sitting

behind Charlie in that scene who, if you look closely, has pointy ears (he's the only one who doesn't laugh when Charlie proclaims that his dad is Santa Claus). The reason why they're there is never explained, and none of the main characters, including Scott and Charlie, ever notice them, but regardless of whatever their actual function is (keeping tabs on whoever the current Santa is, figuring out what various kids want for Christmas, what the hot toy is in a given year, etc.), they show that there is indeed some magic to be found in Scott and his family's normal life.

Among Santa's reindeer, the only one who has any kind of character is Comet. Even though he doesn't speak, instead making low growling and grunting noises (courtesy of Frank Welker), he makes his thoughts very clear. He grunts when Scott initially calls him Rudolph, making him check the name card on his side and address him correctly, and when Charlie is imploring his dad to put on the Santa suit and go down the first house's chimney, Comet nods. Moreover, when Scott unintentionally hurts his son's feelings by saying the whole thing is stupid, Comet

seems to kind of cringe from the tension. His most significant moment comes when they go to the next house and Scott makes excuses as to why he can't deliver any gifts there. Comet frowns and growls at him, and when the bag, like before, lifts Scott up into the air by itself, he smiles at the sight of it. And during the third act, when Scott is now fully Santa, Comet, in a very sweet gesture, gifts him with a rope to keep him from falling off a roof, as well as makes a card to go with it. As for the animatronic effects used

to create the reindeer, which were also the work of Amalgamated Dynamics, they're something of a mixed bag. In the close-ups of Comet's face, as well as on some of the other reindeer, while they are very expressive, they're not quite 100% lifelike (even as a kid, I thought they looked a bit off; although that could also be because I didn't understand that reindeer look very different from the type of deer I was used to). However, in the wide shots with all of them, it's amazing how much they do come off as real animals, given how limited their movements are, aside from their heads bobbing around and swaying back and forth.

As I said earlier, it's ironic that Chris Columbus passed on directing The Santa Clause in favor of Mrs. Doubtfire, seeing as how both movies deal with the subject of divorce. Granted, Mrs. Doubtfire delves into it far more, as the entire story revolves around it, whereas it's just a subplot here (albeit a major one), but they still don't sugarcoat it. As I've already described, we see that Scott isn't on the best terms with his ex-wife and her new husband, and Charlie, at the beginning, is clearly sick of their constant fighting. Then, things only get more strained due to

the Santa Claus dilemma, with Laura and Neal thinking that being with Scott could be a potential danger to Charlie's mental stability, and his visitation rights are suspended. In fact, in an earlier version of the script, Neal was going to be more of an antagonist who kept repeatedly preventing Scott from seeing Charlie, and at the end, Laura was going to divorce him and remarry Scott, but they changed that in the rewrites and made Neal the more likable character he is now (interesting how, in Mrs. Doubtfire, Daniel and

Miranda were also originally meant to get back together at the end but the filmmakers decided against it). However, while it's something I can appreciate now, I didn't get it when I was a kid, as I was fortunate enough to have parents with a stable relationship who never divorced (and still haven't, thankfully).

Since it didn't start out as a Disney movie, and despite the year's worth of rewrites it went through before shooting began, there's some adult and even dark humor to be found here. The darkest, by far, is how Scott accidentally kills Santa Claus by causing him to slip and fall off a roof, then looks over his body as lays there in the snow and later puts his clothes on. And during the Parents Day scene at Charlie's school, Charlie makes it worse when he, for some reason, says that Scott pushed Santa off the roof! That scene also starts with a fireman telling the class, "So,

remember, kids, there is nothing more painful than third-degree burns." It then cuts to the students, who have these horrified looks on their faces, and the teacher, Ms. Daniels, says, "Well, thank you, Fireman O'Hara. And I think the whole class will join me in saying... sorry about your partner." O'Hara walks off and Ms. Daniels says, "Well, perhaps this is a good time to bring up the psychiatrist," referring to Neal. Some of the more adult jokes include, when Santa's bag lifts Scott up into the air and Charlie exclaims, "Whoa, Dad! You're flying!", Scott says, "It's okay,

I'm used to it. I lived through the '60s." Then, Christmas morning, when Scott is insisting that what he and Charlie experienced was just a dream, he goes as far as to yell at them as they drive off, "Stuff like that doesn't happen! It was a dream! Come on! I don't even wear pajamas! Normally I sleep naked! Buck naked! Ha!" And, at that moment, a woman walks by with her daughter, embarrassing him and prompting him to backpedal with, "Sometimes, boxer shorts. You know." Later, when he gains the ability to know

who's naughty or nice by looking at them, a sexy woman walks by and he remarks, "Veronica, very nice," to which she retorts, "In your dreams, sleigh boy." And finally, there was the joke that got removed from later home media and streaming versions of the film because it ended up causing a scandal: Laura gives Scott the number for Neal's mother, whom they'll be visiting, and Scott remarks, "1-800-SPANK-ME. I know that number." (When it was shown on ABC Family, they changed it to 1-800-POUND, which sounds even more suggestive to me.) That scene has recently been reinserted on certain streaming sites, but it's still missing on Disney Plus, DVD, and Blu-Ray.

Okay, I think it's time we address the big pink elephant room, which is the unsettling manner in which Scott becomes the new Santa Claus. First off, consider this: this is a Christmas-oriented Disney movie where, less than fifteen minutes in, the original Santa is basically dead. The way this happens isn't as dark as it was in the original script, where Scott actually shot him off the roof, but still, it basically starts with Scott startling Santa, causing him to slip and fall off the roof, and apparently die. Moreover, shortly after Scott reads the card, telling him to put on

his suit and let the reindeer do the rest, Santa's body disappears, leaving the suit behind. He even waves when Scott and Charlie aren't looking, meaning he knows what's about to happen and that it's up to Scott now. That's eerie in and of itself, and the very existence of the "Santa Clause" (for years, I didn't get the play on words with that title and thought you spelled Santa's last name with an "e"), Bernard immediately knowing what happened when Scott arrives at the North Pole, and the portraits on the wall in Santa's bedroom there, suggests that this has indeed

happened many times before. The elves even seem so used to it that they're not at all sad when they realize that the old Santa is gone (something Tim Allen himself always had a problem with and thus, he had them address it in the Disney Plus show, The Santa Clauses). On the one hand, it is interesting and inspiring to think that it's not just one man who's been doing this for thousands of years and that the torch has been passed from person to person, but the exact way in which the torch is passed is morally dubious, to say the least. The card simply says, "If something

should happen to me, put on my suit. The reindeer will know what to do," and Scott, naturally, doesn't take it seriously and only finally does so when Charlie implores him to. But then, at the North Pole, Bernard tells him that doing so meant he accepted the "contract," the fine details of which are in tiny print on the front of the card that can only be read with a big magnifying glass and which, at first glance, look like it's just a red border around the print that says, "SANTA CLAUS. NORTH POLE." Moreover, this fine print says that anyone who enters into it, whether

or not they realized it, "Waives any and all rights to any previous identity, real or implied, and fully accepts the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus in perpetuity until such time that the wearer becomes unable to do so by either accident or design." In other words, the way this contract is set up basically tricks an unwitting person into becoming Father Christmas, a position they must hold basically for all eternity until something happens to them. And not to be morbid but that last part suggests that one of the ways to get out of it is by suicide, which makes you wonder how many past Santas have done so because they couldn't deal with it. This all makes Bernard's frustration with Scott's confusion come off as insensitive and even cruel.

As if that wasn't enough, once the contract is sealed, the person, over the following year, slowly starts to literally turn into Santa in every possible way. It's kind of fitting that one of David Cronenberg's major collaborators was involved with the film, as we do get into some body horror here, as Scott slowly gains weight, along with an appetite for sweets that keeps him from being able to lose it; develops a graying beard and hair color that get to the point where they instantly come back even if he shaves or gives himself a dye job; and his heartbeat will occasionally

beat to the rhythm of Jingle Bells. The change is also mental, as during that boardroom meeting, Scott is unable to keep himself from voicing his disdain for an advertisement that involves Santa in a tank, exclaiming, "Well, isn't that a pretty picture: Santa rollin' down the block in a Panzer! 'Well kids, I... I certainly hope you've been good this year, 'cause it looks like Santa just took out the Pearson home. Incoming!'" Then, he gets up and takes over the presentation, getting all whimsical about what he feels they should do. Granted, his idea is a lot better

than their initial concept for this tank toy, but it's another sign of the rather frightening change he's going through. Also, while I suggested that some of the past Santas might've killed themselves, this mental effect of the change makes me wonder if they could even if they wanted to. I've even read some suggestions that it's affecting Scott even before he began to physically change, as the reason why he didn't tell Charlie that Santa Claus doesn't exist is because he literally couldn't. And then, on top of the

mental anguish he goes through, both through fear of what's happening to him and how it causes his personal life to fall apart, he has to deal with the enormous naughty/nice list, with Bernard reminding him to check it twice. Thus, while the moment does make me smile, I also think that Scott is a tad too accepting of the truth that he is Santa, and should've had a moment where he lays into Bernard about the turmoil it's caused him, with Bernard maybe apologizing for how callous he was before and

convincing him to do it by making him understand that this is something bigger than him. One of the reasons why I don't mind the sequels, as inferior as they are, is because it's nice seeing how Scott has now embraced and loves being Santa, and is determined to keep the mantle whenever something comes along that threatens it, but that could've been even more satisfying if he didn't accept all the changes and trouble it's caused him here so easily.

I've addressed this issue in other reviews but here, it's especially relevant as, even as a kid, I found this confusing: the passage of time in this movie. Even though the story spans from one Christmas Eve to the very next, we don't get a sense of just how much time passes from one scene to another. In fact, it starts right at the beginning, with Scott and Charlie leaving for the North Pole come Christmas morning, and spending the night there, only for it to still be Christmas morning when they wake up back in Scott's house. Granted, that could just be due to some kind of

magical, time travel, teleportation concept, but then, the Parents Day scene at Charlie's school and the scenes where Scott is pressed to set Charlie straight look as though they're taking place just a week or so after Christmas Eve. Okay, the second scene like this seems to be in very early spring, but it's still hard to pinpoint, and we have no clue how much time passes between that and when Scott begins to look like Santa Claus. (I assume that scene where he's at Charlie's soccer game is supposed to be in the fall, but it still

looks like spring to me.) And once he does start to look like Santa, it's like we accelerate towards the next Christmas Eve, and as a result, it doesn't feel like that much time passes between when Charlie goes with Scott to the North Pole and the climactic night, when, in reality, a month passes, as the former happens on Thanksgiving (unless you remember Bernard telling Scott he was due back to the North Pole then, you might not know that). Moreover, nobody really changes their clothes to match with the

supposedly changing seasons, nor do any of the characters, aside from Scott, change over the course of the year. Yeah, for most, there wouldn't that much of a change in such a short amount of time, but Charlie isn't any taller and whatnot, and little Sarah is still missing her front teeth the next Christmas! I thought that maybe while re-watching the movie as an adult, the year time-span would be more apparent, but no, it still isn't.

There are also a few instances of humor that I just don't find funny. For one, Comet lets one rip when Scott and Charlie first come upon the sleigh, and when Scott gets out of bed before seeing how he's changing in the mirror, he farts as well. I'm not the type of person who turns his nose up towards fart humor, mind you (I mean, for God's sake, I live in the South), but those were moments where I felt it wasn't necessary and was undignified for somebody who's turning into Santa Claus. Another one is when Scott

asks Charlie if he knows the number for 9-1-1 and Charlie says, "9-1-1," leading to a brief moment of awkwardness. But the cringiest joke is set up before that, when Scott is reading Charlie The Night Before Christmas and he mishears the line, "Arose such a clatter," as, "A Rose Suchak ladder." Later, when Scott is trying to explain what's happening after the original Santa disappears and there's a sleigh with reindeer on his roof, he walks into a ladder that suddenly appears out of nowhere and said ladder has the label, "THE ROSE SUCHAK LADDER COMPANY," on one of its rungs. I didn't notice that until this most recent viewing but, my God, was that a bad joke!

For such a modestly-budgeted movie, there are a lot of visuals effects shots to be found here (over a hundred, according to the Inside Story episode). A lot of these shots involve the reindeer and the sleigh flying through the air and the sky, and it's another mixed bag. Some of it is a combination of very rough early digital and blue screen work (the digital/composited reindeer and sleigh don't have any shadows), and there are some shots in the sleigh where you can tell they're in front of a painted backdrop that's not moving, but there are others, like

those shots of them flying off into the horizon on Christmas morning and at the very end of the movie, that don't look too bad. Other effects, like when Scott is squeezed through the chimney and the small pipe on those various rooftops, and the fireplace suddenly appears in the homes' living rooms, are clear examples of very dated, stretchy sort of CGI, and the digital snow in some scenes is clearly fake; on the other hand, the shots of the E.L.F.S. squad flying through the air and Bernard's magical disappearance

when Neal isn't looking (which is a repeat of an effect used when the reindeer magically appear in the North Pole stable) don't look too bad. The best special effect, though, is when Scott is looking at himself in the mirror after he's shaved and dyed his hair, only for the beard to instantly grow back and his hair to turn white again. Very simple and quick effect, but it still looks good.

The music score was the work of Michael Convertino, who'd previously done the music for the sci-fi/action flick, The Hidden (awesome movie, by the way), the Kevin Costner film, Bull Durham, and Milk Money. Like director John Pasquin, he wouldn't return for the Santa Clause sequels, but he would score Pasquin's next film as director, Jungle 2 Jungle. His music for the movie is about what you would expect for something like this: whimsical and magical, without ever getting really silly, and has a memorable main theme that you first hear when Scott is delivering the presents, and which becomes big and wondrous when he and Charlie fly off into the sunrise when they're done. It's also the piece that the movie ends on and one I always remembered when I was a kid. Upon re-watching the movie, it does still give me that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. The music that plays after Scott's visitation rights are suspended is effectively sad and touching, and some of the more exciting moments, like when the reindeer first take off with Scott and Charlie, are scored in a fast-paced but still traditional, yuletide-sounding manner. Of course, there are also plenty of Christmas songs on the soundtrack, as the film opens with Oh, Christmas Tree being played on a piano, Carol of the Bells plays as Scott drives home during the opening credits, White Christmas by the Drifters is heard several times, like when it's revealed that Scott burned the turkey and when he and Charlie are having to eat out, and Jingle Bell Ride by Johnny Hawksworth when the kids are lining up to sit on Scott's lap. Also, in the scene where Charlie is pretending like he's driving the sleigh, he's listening to the Chipmunks sing Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town. One of the funniest choices of music is the Final Jeopardy! theme, which plays during the boardroom scene when Scott finishes eating his numerous desserts, ending with two loud drumbeats as he takes his last bite. And when Scott and Charlie head out on Christmas Eve during the third act, Gimme All Your Lovin' by ZZ Top plays on the soundtrack, most memorably when the two of them, Bernard, Judy, Quintin, and some other elves, head down this hallway while dancing to it.

There are two other memorable songs on the soundtrack. One is The Bells of Christmas by Loreena McKennitt, which Michael Convertino had a hand in arranging, and plays when Scott and Charlie first arrive in the North Pole and are lowered down into the underground base. It starts out very soft and ethereal, but grows into a big chorus when the two of them look and see how big the chamber is beneath them. The other is Christmas Will Return, by Brenda Russell and Howard Hewett, which plays over the ending credits. It's a nice, upbeat song, with an awesome electric guitar riff during its back half, about keeping the Christmas spirit with you throughout the year and is the kind of song that leaves you with a good feeling.

Looking back on it as an adult, The Santa Clause is a film that I still find to be very entertaining and heartwarming, for the most part. Tim Allen gives a great performance all around, as do the other actors; the central relationship between Scott and Charlie is very nicely portrayed; the filmmakers managed to create the look and feel of Christmastime while shooting in a Toronto spring and summer; the production design and concept of the North Pole, as well as the elves, are quite cool; it's interesting just how grounded the film is, especially when compared to the sequels and show; it has some interesting takes on the myth of Santa; the music score and soundtrack really help to get you into the spirit of the season; and it manages to tackle some adult subject matter, along with some mature and even dark instances of humor, while keeping that family friendly feel you'd expect from a Disney Christmas movie. However, the makeup and visual effects are a mixed bag, ranging from pretty good to not so much, there are instances of humor that I don't find funny, not to mention bad instances of screenwriting, and, despite the story's year-long time-span, it's so vague about it that it can be hard to keep track of what season it is. And finally, when you think about it, there are some unsettling and morally questionable aspects to this story, specifically pertaining to the nature of the Santa Clause itself and how Scott finds himself caught up in it. But, overall, if you put those more troubling aspects aside, it is indeed a sweet and well-made movie that won't challenge you too much and which is perfect family viewing for the season. I know that for me personally, it's among those many pieces of media from my childhood that'll always have very warm memories of.