Movie Review # 568: The Santa Clause (1994)

Well, everyone, hope you all are ready, or close to ready, for the Christmas season, with it being close to that holiday. Well, today, we are going to be reviewing a Christmas-themed film that will be reading it’s 30th anniversary come November 2024, but turned at least 28 years old as of November 11th of this year. Not only that, but it stars well-known actor Tim Allen, and spawned not only a couple sequels, but a series on Disney+ as of recently. It is the one, and only, The Santa Clause, from 1994. So let’s go sleigh riding with Scott Calvin/Santa Clause, his son, Charlie, and the gang, shall we?

Plot: When an incident causes Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) to become Santa Clause, his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) becomes thrilled to do stuff like go to the North Pole with him, and things like that. However, due to Scott’s ex-wife, Laura Miller (Wendy Crewson), and her new husband Neil Miller (Judge Reinhold) being skeptical of the idea of the existence of Santa Clause, will this cause a rift between Scott, Charlie, and Charlie’s mom, and stepdad, or will Charlie’s mom, and stepdad come to the realization of the existence of Santa Clause? Also, will Scott Calvin remain Santa Clause to the end?

Now, after being absent from this Christmas classic , from Disney, does it hold up? Well, for the most part, absolutely! Granted, The Santa may have one, or two weaknesses. But more on those a little later. For now, what does make The Santa Clause a fun film to watch especially around Thanksgiving, or Christmas time? Well, for one, there’s the star of this film, Tim Allen. I mean how can you go wrong with putting him in a film especially like this one? First off, the fact that Tim Allen is a Christian, yeah, we need more of them with the negative direction that Hollywood has been going in recent years. Second, Tim Allen has done phenomenal in nearly everything he’s done, from shows like Home Improvement, and Last Man Standing, to films like Jungle 2 Jungle, and Wild Hogs, for example. The Santa Clause is no exception. The film is also creative with how they make Santa go down chimneys by having certain places that don’t have fireplaces turn into fireplaces for a few moments. Honestly, when I was a kid, and believed in the existence of Santa in real life, I actually believed that even any home that didn’t have a fireplace would actually turn into a one temporarily when Santa needed to deliver presents. It wasn’t until I was around teenager, or maybe even pre-teenager, that I realized that that was just a fake thing that they put in a film like this one. Wow, the crazy things that some of us believe as kids. First, I believed that, and believed in the existence of Looney Tunes, and other cartoon characters living underground? Darn, I still can’t believe that I originally believed either to be the case, when they weren’t, you know? Happens! Anyway, how was the rest of the cast? Well, they were great too, from Wendy Crewson as Scott’s ex-wife, and Charlie’s mom, Laura Miller, to Judge Reinhold as Laura Miller’s newer husband, Dr. Neil Miller, and, oh yes, David Krumholtz as the Head Elf of the North Pole, Bernard. Man, let me tell you, while all the elves are really fun, Bernard is the one that stands out of them all because, well, for one, he’s of course Santa’s second-in-command. The other reason he stands out is that he knows how to treat kids really well. I mean this guy is probably in his teen, or adult years, and he knows how to treat others well, especially children. I mean the fact that he doesn’t pick on him, but does nice things like call him sport, or things like that, that’s really cool. I would say that especially more teenagers should have, or should take notes from this character so that they don’t get caught up in acting cool, or stuck up in their own ways, you know? So yeah, Bernard serves as a great example of humbleness, and treating others as equals. The other characters are also great, and seem to surprisingly be well thought out. It’s great how memorable most of them are. Not to mention that you get a good understanding of where they’re coming from, whether those characters are in the right, or in the wrong. In addition to all of this, The Santa Clause could serve as a potential fable for real life in terms of there being those people who choose to believe in, and follow God, and those who don’t. As a result, people, especially Christians, could most likely draw parallels between the movie The Santa Clause, and real life. Additionally, even if this film does have fantasy elements in it, there still ends up being a really good sense of realism as well. Truthfully, this is one of those films, that takes place in modern times (especially the 1990s back then), and does well with balancing the fantasy elements, and the realistic ones very well. Another thing to mention is that the film ends up doing well with being parallel to life, despite the fantasy elements that occur. Oh and finally, you’d like the arcs that some of the characters go through in the process.

But are there any negative aspects of this movie? Well, for one, there were one, or two times where the humor seemed to be a little crude at times. And another thing! Charlie seemed to act a little too impulsive with his choices from time to time. Yes, I understand that he’s only a child. Still, when he’s asked not to do certain things, and he sometimes goes against those rules, not the best idea. Maybe we might be missing something, but still.

And that’s my review for The Santa Clause. If you want a really great comedy, with a mostly well-written story, fun characters that are memorable, and some good morals, and messages, along with good parallels to real life, then all the more reason to see The Santa Clause. Also, again, how could you go wrong with Tim Allen? Well, definitely see The Santa Clause if you’ve never seen it, or have yet to rewatch it after being absent from the film for years.

Final Grade: A-