Happy Holidays Series – ‘Santa Claus’ is still cheerful and funny after 30 years – Wyoming County Examiner

It’s hard to believe that Tim Allen’s Christmas classic, The Santa Clause, turns 30 years old this year! “The Santa Clause” became a huge hit and eventually spawned two sequels and a current Disney Plus series.

For next year’s holiday recap series, I may go through the remaining follow-up reports. So let’s revisit this 1994 holiday classic!

Divorced father Scott Calvin has custody of his son on Christmas Eve. After he accidentally causes a man in a Santa Claus costume to fatally fall from the roof, they are magically transported to the North Pole, where an elf explains that Scott must take Santa’s place before the next Christmas comes.

Scott thinks he’s dreaming, but over the next few months he gains weight and inexplicably grows a white beard. Maybe that night at the North Pole wasn’t a dream after all – and maybe Scott still has a lot of work to do.

After all these years, Disney’s 1994 Christmas classic “Santa Claus” is still a lot of fun. This is the first time I’ve seen this movie in a long time and it’s still very amusing and even heartbreaking at times.

“Santa Claus” still has some amusing moments, especially when Scott (the new Santa Claus) and his son visit the North Pole for the first time. Tim Allen does what he does best to make people laugh in this film, and even his mockery of Judge Reinhold’s terrible sweaters becomes a humorous running gag.

Once we see Scott slowly become Santa Claus, the film becomes more heartfelt the closer he gets to Charlie. This film also has some memorable moments and a few one-liners that will really make you laugh.

Scott’s first night as Santa Claus (not long after old Santa fell from the roof) is still one of the funniest parts of the film. And just in case no one noticed, when Scott says “Ho Ho Ho” after his first Santa run at the beginning of the movie, he almost sounds like Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor from “Home Improvement.”

There is also some good character development for Tim Alen’s character as he goes from someone who mostly cares about business to someone who really cares about everything.

Among all the funny moments that “The Santa Clause” has to offer, there are some that can be a little emotional, like when Scott briefly loses custody of Charlie. It’s also a little bittersweet when Scott/Santa and Charlie get really close again. Sure, there are a few jokes that might go over the kids’ heads. But this Disney Christmas classic is a lot of fun and will give anyone who grew up with the film (myself included) a nice nostalgic feeling!

Cast: Tim Allen (Scott Calvin); Judge Reinhold (Neal); Wendy Crewson (Laura); Eric Lloyd (Charlie Calvin); Peter Boyle (Mr Whittle); Judith Scott (Susan); Larry Brandenberg (Detective Nunzio); David Krumholtz (Bernard)

Writer/Director: Leo Benvenuti (writer); Steve Rudnick (writer) (both writers also wrote Kicking & Screaming, The Santa Clause 2 and Space Jam); John Pasquin (director) (“Home Improvement”; “Last Man Standing”)

Fun fact: “The Santa Clause” is Tim Allen’s film debut and the character of Scott Calvin was written specifically for Bill Murray. The 1994 film eventually spawned a franchise: The Santa Clause 2 (2002), The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006), and The Santa Clauses (Disney Plus series). I don’t really remember the sequels and haven’t seen the Disney Plus series yet, so like I said, I might save it for the next Christmas series!

Where can I find the film? You can stream all the Santa Clause movies on Disney Plus!

I hope you enjoyed the holiday review series I’ve been working on throughout December! For the next few issues, I’ll be working on some new releases that the Dietrich Theater will show along with my annual list of the best films of the year. I’ll also be checking out a few recent releases that I haven’t seen yet, as well as a few retro comedy classics to get us through the cold January!

Originally published: December 25, 2024 at 4:00 am EST