Customer Reviews

Santa Clause 2

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This doesn't deserve a whole lot of time, so here are the basics. The character of Bernard changes from a strong-willed, lovable supervisor to a wimpy, whiny dweeb. The reindeer actually talk (or mumble, actually), a horribly contrived tool that doesn't work at all. We're asked to believe that elves that are over 1,000 years old can't handle things at the North Pole without a stupid toy copy of Santa around to be in charge. The extent of Charlie's misdeeds are terribly downplayed (spray-painting an entire wall of a gym and spray-painting lockers on school property would probably get him jail time, yet his dad begs the principal not to suspend his son). There are many more, but again, this doesn't deserve the time.

All in all, this movie misses the magic of the first. There are none of the magic, tender moments such as "You said you were lactose intolerant," or great moments as when Bernard tells Santa about the list, and all of the elves sing the third line of the song. I have to say that if you like this one, you're very easily satisfied with a very poor movie. They should have burned this script and found another director.

Any film that regards The Toothfairy as The Moleinator is in serious trouble. But that's not the only problem with "The Santa Clause 2" -- the problem is its lack of freshness and enjoyability. The first film was a real Christmas treat; funny, ocassionally rather surprisingly witty, and always with a tender side and a refreshing Holiday spirit.

The second vehicle -- though filmed eight years apart from the first -- seems like a cash-in, and nothing more. Santa (Tim Allen), a.k.a. Scott Calvin (look at the initials), is as happy as can be. He's been Santa Claus for the past eight years, and the children have been happier since he became Santa. (Who takes these polls?) But as Christmas draws closer, Scott realizes that not only is his son, Charlie, on the Naughty List, there's a second clause in the contract that states he must become married to "The Mrs. Claus" in 27 days, or he'll be history.

The head elf, Bernard, along with the help of another fellow elf (Specer Breslin, "The Cat in the Hat"), duplicates a fake Santa to watch over things as the real Scott goes home to tend to family matters. But the new Santa Claus is an evil dictator who comes to work in Hitler's outfit and demands that all children be given coal. It's the funniest part of the movie, apart from when Evil Santa says to Good Santa, "You are a sad, strange little man," which is of course a little Disney in-joke. (Tim is mimicking his own Buzz Lightyear character from Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story.")

"The Santa Clause 2" got a lot of good reviews that called it an enjoyable and charming little movie, but I missed something. The first film was something both kids and adults alike could equally enjoy. Allen was funnier, the film was funnier, and it was much more charming than this. And for a film made eight years earlier, its special effects are superior. (At the end of "2," Scott hangs off the back of Evil Santa's flying sleigh and...it simply has to be seen to be appalled by.)

There's a major plot hole in the entire idea of Santa Claus existing in our world that need not be pointed out by me -- and I won't, in case there are children reading this. But whereas the first film had fun with the notion of Santa Claus being real, "The Santa Clause 2" bashes it all over the head. Charlie cries at one point because his dad has "the best job in the world" but he is unable to tell all his friends. Boo-hoo. The thing is, "The Santa Clause 2" takes the idea of Santa Claus too far. It's not fun anymore. Just watch the first -- and far superior -- film instead.

Another thing: The first film seemed very down to earth, very simple and fun. This movie is all over the place. A television show director made "The Santa Clause 2," and it's very evident that this is so. The movie is too sporadically daffy and serious and not at all inspired. I still remember seeing the first film and being delighted by its sheer heart. This movie doesn't really have one.

I like Tim Allen's dry ironic humor because I think he knows how to make good use of it. He used it to perfection in "Home Improvement," used it even better in "The Santa Clause," voiced the witty Buzz Lightyears, and then appeared in a string of flops, including "Big Trouble" and "Who is Cletis Tout?" Here's to "Toy Story 3" -- if Pixar ever manages to break away from Disney and its stupid no-more-sequels contract.

this sequel lacks the heart and soul of the first one.it's not very
funny.in fact,i found it mean spirited and depressing.it also has none
of the magic of the first one.if you don't like feeling like you are
being preached to,you probably won't like this movie.i also felt a bit
creeped out by certain parts of it.it's much too dark to be enjoyable
in the same way as the first one.i also felt it strayed into sappiness
territory.actually forget strayed into.it went straight into sappiness
territory.this movie also has a lot of predictability to it.it's
formulaic at times.but the biggest downfall for this movie,in my
opinion,is it's sombre atmosphere.i don't think it's a horrible
movie,but it sure is a few steps down in quality from the original.not
quite painful to watch,but not enjoyable,either.and although i may be
out to lunch here,i think parents should use discretion about letting
their children watch this,because it is so dark.but that's just my
opinion.my vote for the Santa Clause 2 is a 2.5/5

This remake in my opinon is not as good as the original. The reindeer are some fake retards, and the elves and story line all together is horrible. Watch it at a friends house first, rather then buying it first.

I enjoyed Santa Clause 2, I really did but there were some parts that messed up to be the same or has better than the first one.No boring parts, but cheesy part.28 Days before Christmas he finds out that if he dont get married before Christmas he wont be Santa Clause ever again.The part that I thought was stupid that magical thing that Benard gave him but he did do some cool stuff with it.But a sequel that should of been better. *****/***** 88/100

A nice return to form for Tim Allen. Nit that his other movies were bad (I liked them all), but they were missing something. In the Santa Clause 2, it is back.

Over the years, he has become the best Santa Clause ever. But they stumble upon another Clause that one of the elves overlooked: The Missus Clause. It states that to continue being Santa, he must get married before X-mas day. As each day passes, his beard gets smaller and continue to lose weight. To top it all off, his son Charlie ends up on the Naughty List.

As he tries to find a wife, deal with the fake Santa who is taking over the North Pole, and figure out what is bothering his son, the movie fills up with excellent comedy and fun while delivering a good message. It's not as good as the first, but it soon to be a X-mas classic.

Now, I'm a full blooded Christmas fan (my birthday is Dec. 20th) So I know first hand what I like to see in a X-mas movie. The first Santa Clause was wonderfully charming, the elves were cute and held a certain air about them that screamed "Holidays!! Whoo!..Now get back to work!!" and I simply adored Tim Allen as Santa Clause he gave a fun air to the film that made me rush out and buy it asap.

So of course many ayear later when I heard about a 2nd one you can bet your bottom dollar I was that teenager in the front row giggling at Clone-clause, as soon as the movie started
I found myself amused (well...most of the time.) by the movie.
It had funny and touching moments, it had a few good new characters. I.e. the tooth fairy, Father time, mother nature and clone-clause. And a few not so good ones. I.e. Cupit, Cutis, the easter bunny, Comet...

But what I found myself most disapointed in was the old characters themselfs!! They seem've changed so much within what ohh, 6-8 years? Charlie was a reble? Laura and Neil were bland worring parents and the elves?!

Oh god don't get me started on the elves! I missed Judy! and the old costumes and set and I hated Curtis' mood swings!
As for Bernard? where did my gruff, protective big brother elf go? Now he's winny, pensive and unsure of hiself? Come on!
Now...I understand that David K. (Bernard) Was only 16 when he played the role in the first movie and that he was 24 in the 2nd but come on!! Why did the director have them change so much? Oooohh yeah a little birdy told me about him (Check out interviews with him on google for yourselfs) and that birdy told me he had a meeting with Tim Allen and had him change the other actors view points on their characters, you know, make them a little disney-er? Not sure if its true, watch the DVD for yourselfs and tell me if you like him on the set I sure didn't.

Over all:
I WAS disapointed in the 2nd movie, I held more hope that the characters and movie world/set would stay the same but it didn't, and I was highly upset by the new Comet, but over all. If your a fan of the first, check out the 2nd and see for yourselfs. As for me? I hold hope tight in my heart that the third and forth will be golden, after all, its the same crew/director that did the first and I'm hoping that somewhere out there Tim Allen and David K. along with the rest of the crew will find it in their hearts to dig out the old Santa Clause characters they played in the first one.
For I sure do miss em.

For more on Santa Clause 3, 4 the movie check out Google with the keywords:
"Santa Clause the movie 3 4"
Happy Holidays.

It is a pleasure to see a movie that makes you laugh. I always look forward to Tim Allen movies.

This is a great family movie. NO sex, swearing, or violence. So the reindeer farts,doesn't everybody. My kids love it. They have watched this movie everyday since before it was released (payperview). They love the movie and so do I.

In Brief

8 years ago Scott Calvin became Santa Clause due to a clause in the contract that he discovered on the previous Santa who fell from his roof. Since then he has enjoyed bringing joy to the world, but life is tough when he has a son and broken marriage back in the States. Now a new clause has been found in the small print of the contract card: he has to find a Mrs Clause to marry by Christmas Eve or else he will no longer be Santa. With this weight on his shoulders he returns home to sort out the problems with his troubled son leaving a toy Santa in his place who is a stickler for the rules and decides that maybe not that many children in the world have been good after all! Chaos ensues, will Santa find his wife, will he sort out the mess at the North Pole, and will he sort out his son, all before Christmas Eve is over!!!

Review

The Santa Clause was in my mind the definitive Santa movie, it appealed to both adults and kids alike and didn't have Dudley Moore in it nor was it so overfilled with sugary sweetness that I wanted to puke. Well may he rest in peace but thankfully Moore isn't in this film, so the alcohol content may be low but the sugar content is definitely high. So high in fact that a warning should be placed on the poster "This film is rated U and may contain some scenes that could cause tooth decay in viewers of a sensitive nature."

As a rule of thumb, Hollywood film-makers see a sequel and either add kids or animals to the mix, don't believe me check out Robocop 3 or Mad Max 3 to name two. The Santa Clause 2 has elves, who are either sleeping in the summer or are very busy at Christmas so are conveniently played here by children for the sake of the film. However this is not a bad movie, my rating of two stars acts as a guide to those that remembered the first film when the were young and thought they might get in the Christmas spirit and see the second, don't! Watch the first on TV and save some money, however if you do have kids or want to borrow a neighbours so you can see it anyway you can double the rating to four stars as any child under 10 will love it.

Tim Allen is always a pleasure to see, and the movie from an adult's perspective takes a good 20 minutes to kick in, as he then returns to his former state, Scott Calvin leaving behind a dictator Toy Santa (Allen in toy makeup and full Buzz Lightyear mode) to hold the North Pole fort. Out of the main role of the main man, Allen excels and the humour from an adult perspective is apparent and funny, while the romance shared between Calvin and Carol (Mitchell) is genuine and touching.

The Verdict

All in all, this piece of Christmas cheer is well worth the effort if you have children that you'd like to take. Its inoffensive and joyous and from that perspective is a rare treat at the cinema today, but it has little to offer anyone in their teens or older, which is a shame as based on the first film that's an opportunity that has been missed.