The Santa Clause

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For the Christmas character, see Santa Claus

The Santa Clause
Image:The Santa Clause DVD cover.jpg DVD cover
Directed by	John Pasquin
Produced by	(as Robert Newmyer) Brian Reilly Jeffrey Silver
Written by	Leo Benvenuti Steve Rudnick
Starring	Tim Allen Eric Lloyd Wendy Crewson Judge Reinhold David Krumholtz Peter Boyle
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s)	November 11, 1994
Running time	97 min
Language	English
Followed by	The Santa Clause 2
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Santa Clause (1994) is a Christmas film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Hollywood Pictures, starring Tim Allen as a father who finds himself literally wearing the mantle of Santa Claus after the Christmas figure's tragic death, and contractually bound to become Santa Claus himself by so doing (hence the "clause" in the title, as in a provision of a contract).

Tagline: This Christmas, the snow hits the fan.

Plot

Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is an undependable, somewhat obnoxiously arrogant divorced father with a poor reputation of spending quality time with his son, Charlie (Eric Lloyd). On Christmas Eve, when Charlie is spending the night at his father's house, they are awakened by a noise on the roof. Going outside to investigate, Scott can see someone on the roof. He yells at the trespasser, startling him, and he falls off the roof to the snowy ground below, apparently dying from the twenty-foot fall.

Investigating, Scott and Charlie find the trespasser appears to be Santa Claus. In moments, the man disappears, but his suit remains behind. Climbing a ladder, the pair inspect the roof and find a sleigh and eight reindeer perched atop. The pair get into the sleigh and the reindeer soon liftoff with them aboard. Although he is not happy about the whole situation, Scott puts on the Santa suit to appease his son and begins delivering toys as the deer go from rooftop to rooftop.

The last stop is a seemingly deserted spot in an icy landscape (the North Pole). There Scott is informed (indirectly) that he is the new Santa Claus. While Scott is being argumentative and peevish about the responsibilities he seems to have inherited, the head elf, Bernard (David Krumholtz), shows him a microscopic inscription on a card found in the suit which says whoever dons the suit, upon the death of the previous occupant, assumes the identity of Santa Claus and all the responsibilities that go with it, giving up his previous identity in the process. This is, in fact, the "Santa Clause," as summarized by Bernard: "You put on the suit, you're the big guy." [1]

He is informed he has 11 months to get his affairs in order before assuming the role of Claus full time, which he tries to refuse. Although Scott is testing his patience with his persistent arguments and protests, Bernard still will not take "no" for an answer, and ends the discussion by having a little elf named Judy (Paige Tamada) show him to Santa's bedchamber, so he and Charlie can get some sleep. So, he and Charlie spend the night at the incredible factory.

Scott and Charlie awake in Scott's home, where the only indication of their previous night's adventure is Scott's new silk pajamas with "SC" monogrammed on them. Scott dismisses the whole adventure as being a strange dream and goes on with his life.

Eventually, however, Scott starts to notice changes. He starts gaining weight without any effort on his part. He tries to make excuses to everyone around him to cover up the embarrassing situation that he's facing as best as he can, which never works. He starts craving sweets, and just sweets, which is also why he can't easily cover up the situation of him suddenly getting heavy. Eventually, he grows a long gray beard. Shaving it off has no effect—it regrows immediately. His hair also rapidly grays, even with attempts to dye it. He especially tries to hide the gray hair when he knows that a hearing is coming up to determine his visitation rights with Charlie. His ex-wife, Charlie's mother, Laura (Wendy Crewson) and her new husband, Dr. Neal Miller (Judge Reinhold) are trying to keep him away from Charlie because of his apparent transformation. Passing strangers on the street, he knows who's been "naughty" and "nice".

Eventually he comes to grip with the fact that he is Santa Claus and must make amends with his ex-wife, Laura. All along, she and her new husband, Neal, have been trying to convince Charlie that Santa Claus is fictional and doesn't exist, believing that Scott's transformation is simply a deliberate attempt to make his son like him.

Eventually, Scott is arrested while delivering presents to his son's home, and is accused of kidnapping Charlie (Charlie was actually helping Scott and the elves upgrade his Santa operation). While incarcerated on Christmas Eve, he is freed by a team of rescue Elves ("ELFS"—"Effective Liberating Flight Squad"). Charlie is returned home to his mother and step-father, where they finally realize they have been wrong about Scott the entire time. Scott, now Santa Claus, flies around the world to deliver presents. Charlie joins him for part of the trip.

Trivia

• A throw-away line in which Scott talks about dialing 1-800-SPANK-ME sparked a complaint by a woman in a Seattle suburb whose 11-year-old son called the number after hearing it on the video. Irma Sterling of Steilacom, WA said that anyone dialing the number is asked to call a pay-to-hear 900 telephone number. Her son did, she said, and promptly built up a $400 phone bill.[2]

• In the scene where Scott and Charlie first begin riding in the sleigh, they are hovering above the road and Scott asks a man about directions. The driver is actor Jimmy Labriola, who played Benny Veroni on Tim Allen's show Home Improvement.

• The ladder that appears to help Scott and Charlie get to the roof was made by the "Rose Suchak Ladder Co.", a reference to a question Charlie had asked about the line "There arose such a clatter" from the famous poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (The Night Before Christmas).

• Text of "The Santa Clause": In putting on the suit and entering the sleigh, the wearer waives any and all right to any previous identity, real or implied, and fully accepts the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus, in perpetuity, until such time as the wearer becomes unable to do so, by either accident or design.

• Among the individuals seen on the first page of Santa's List are Andre Agassi and Armand Assante.

• Select scenes from this movie, including the one in which the trespasser falls off the roof, are replayed in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

• The scene inside the police station where the police are mapping out their plan, the donut shop is drawn on the chalk board.

• Peter Boyle appears in this film as Scott's boss. He later appeared in the sequels The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause as Father Time.

• When Bernard is explaining to Scott Calvin (the new Santa) that he would disappoint a lot of children in the world, Bernard's wig is apparent because Krumholtz's real hair is sticking out slightly.

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