The Santa Clause
“The Santa Clause” is one of the most inspired holiday film premises of all-time: a divorced father, and a business, has his son for Christmas Eve. He hears something on the roof, investigates, and sees Santa Claus, who is startled, slips, and dies. The father then becomes Santa Claus, helping him connect with his son in a way he hasn’t been able to in years. Yeah, that sounds grim, but the script by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick has a lot of fun with the idea. This is an example of a family film that doesn’t talk down to kids, and is smart enough to engage adults, as well.
Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is an executive at a toy company who’s just had a very big year. He’s just left the holiday party at his company, and is running late to meet his ex-wife to get his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) for Christmas Eve. After burning the turkey, they end up at Denny’s for dinner, and go home to get ready for Christmas, including a reading of ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas. Something wakes Scott and Charlie up in the middle of the night, and when Scott goes to investigate, he sees a man in a Santa suit heading for the chimney. Scott yells at him, and the man slips and falls off the roof, dying instantly. Scott finds a card on the man, saying that if he puts on the suit, the reindeer will know what to do; yes, there are reindeer and a sleigh on the roof. Scott and Charlie get whisked away to the North Pole, where Scott gets the lowdown from the head elf, Bernard (David Krumholtz). This is the real deal, and Scott needs to get ready for a new normal that involves a beard, adding some weight, and being to the North Pole by Thanksgiving. However, this new normal, and Charlie’s absolute belief in it, makes things difficult on the homefront for Scott, as his ex-wife (Wendy Crewson) and her new husband (Judge Reinhold), a psychiatrist, are troubled by Scott’s sudden changes.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen this movie before now, but one of the things that I came to remember about watching this movie is how honest this movie played the family tensions and issues that come with divorce. This was one of the first times in a while that Disney, in the live action realm, had really been able to blend sentimental family fun with deeper emotions successfully, although not too many filmmakers have been able to replicate it since. A big part of the reason the film works, of course, is thanks to Allen in the lead role. Famous for his family man role of TV’s “Home Improvement” at the time, he adapted that sort of persona well to the big screen here, and had a great rapport with all the actors on camera, especially with young Lloyd. This film hinted at what was to come from Allen with his iconic role in Pixar’s “Toy Story” the next year, both in terms of family-friendly comedy and grounded emotions when they are required by story. “The Santa Clause” is a great example of Disney at the peak of their powers as a studio capable of beloved family filmmaking that doesn’t forget that adults watch these movies, as well. It’s a winner, and I’m glad I reminded myself of it.
