Customer Reviews

Santa Clause, the

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There are some films that just have to be watched every Christmas and this is one of them. It is a feelgood film for a feelgood time of year.
The story is simple. Scott Calvin (note his initials) is a divorced father who frequently lets his young son down due to his busy working life. That is until he accidentally kills Santa Claus. To his disbelief and dismay, and his sons delight, he has to become the new Santa. The film follows his changing life and attitudes and shows the newly developing relationship between father and son.
There is nothing taxing or complex about this movie, just a heart-warming, funny story that is ideal for all the family. Watch and enjoy.

Me and my dad's favorite Christmas movie.
Story is imaginative and funny.
Good for kids and adults.
Tim Allen is awesome in it.

If you haven't seen it, GET IT!

(dont watch the sequels though, absolute trash)

I had so much fun watching this movie. There are so many little quiks and jokes that make it watchable prior to the Christmas Season. This movie is not just for kids, so enjoy. And Happy Tiddings.Santa Clause (Full Screen Special Edition)

i thought his movie was quite good.it's loaded with some great
laughs,it's heartwarming,and it's original.Tim Allen is in fine comedic
form here,way back in 1994.this is truly a movie the whole family can
enjoy.the jokes are appealing to both kids and adults.my sister and
both laughed quite hard more than a few times.the movie moves at a
quick pace,so you don't really get to know the characters that well.but
for this movie,that's OK.you get all the information you need for the
story.it's also nice to see a movie like this that isn't preachy.sure
there's a message,but it's subtle,and not the main focus of the
film.for me,the Santa Clause is a 4/5

Here we are once again! It's the usual time of the year when the holiday themed feature films are out in full force, flooding multiplexes across the country for the Thanksgiving holiday and going into December. And it seems work as usual for the Walt Disney Company with their release of The Santa Clause, but what makes this project unique is the concept it uses, one that has never fully been developed on the big screen before. The feature is also unique in that it stars Tim Allen, who is best known for his hit television show, Home Improvement, on ABC. Does that mean an automatic is lying in the waiting to flock to theaters for Allen's flick? Not necessarily. Granted there are people who are die hard fans who will love the actor/actress for whatever work they do but for others, they are pretty critical of television stars who believe they can easily make the jump to the big screen. Can Allen pull it off? Only the holiday box office will tell.

The story centers around a man who goes from being divorced, self-centered business man to possibly the most care-free, charitable man on the planet, Santa Claus. Scott Calvin works for a toy company, has recently divorced from his wife, and is stuck on Christmas Eve with his son, who is just as excited as his father is being together for the holidays. Once he tucks his kid into bed for the night, Scott hears a noise on the roof and goes to investigate. When he tries to confront the man on the roof, he falls off and when Scott encounters him, the mystery man is dressed like Santa Claus. He and his son enter the sleigh and the puts on the Santa suit, all thanks to the urging of his son. When the sleigh returns to the North Pole after a long Christmas Eve, Scott discovers that he is the new Santa, thanks to the Santa Clause, which is a contract stating who ever puts on the suit becomes the new Santa Claus. He notices physical changes like the color of his hair and his weight but soon he notices that he feels more and more like Santa on the inside. The story for The Santa Clause is quite possibly one of the most original holiday films in years, which is surprising considering the concept is such a simple one that it is hard to believe that it has never fully been attempted before. The feature does a wonderful job at mixing comedic elements with emotional values, which is hard to do at times. The Santa Clause defies that and presents how it can be done right.

The film revolves mostly around Tim Allen's character and generally that is all that really matters for the film but at the same time the character can be ruined if he doesn't interact with supporting cast members. Fortunately this doesn't happen here or at least not very often. Allen is marvelous in his role as Scott Calvin aka Santa Claus. He successfully translates the comedic magic he had on his television show and amplified it ten times. There is also a lot of emotion behind scenes that he has with his son, Charlie. David Krumholtz, who plays Bernard the head elf at Santa's workshop, is quite possibly the most enjoyable highlight of the film. He work extremely well with Allen as the two are able to play off each other in several moments within the film, that if they had been performed by anybody else would have been flat. The character of Charlie, Scott's son, is moderately played out by Eric Lloyd. Lloyd begins to get pretty annoying and whiny as the film progresses but then again what can you expect from a cute little kid?

Overall, The Santa Clause, just like the big man himself, spreads holiday magic to every boy and girl, nobody how young or old they are. It is such an original concept, one that hasn't been seen and may never be seen again for many years. Though there is much to praise the film on, there are also slight things to pick at. The messages that the film tries to convey, though meaningful and expressive, came off as being too forced. It would have been better if the filmmakers had slowly sunk the ideas in the heads of movie-goers rather then what they ended up doing. And, as was stated earlier, Eric Lloyd came as being too cute and annoying at times in the film but this is something that doesn't necessarily mean anything major, just a small squabble. Make sure to avoid the tacky holiday films like the remake of Miracle on 34th Street and make it your duty to catch The Santa Clause instead, which is sure to become a new holiday classic for the entire family.

I heard about The Santa Claus movie a long time ago, but was never motivated to see it until after purchasing the sequel, which appeared even more family friendly than the first. You will definitely want to see them in order, but there are a few slight moments of objectionable content in this first movie, while I'll mention in a second.

PLOT: Scott Calvin is a divorced father, an executive of an advertising company, and getting set for a Christmas time visit from his son. Little Charlie isn't thrilled to be with his *other* dad for Christmas, especially when Christmas dinner equals Denny's. Charlie awakens Scott in the middle of the night when hearing thumping noises on the roof. Scott steps outside and hollers at the perpetrator on his roof - and looks on in stunned disbelief as a red-suited figure comes tumbling down. Scott finds a card in the fellow's pocket saying "If something should happen to me, put on my suit, the reindeer will know what to do." Climbing up on a magic ladder, Scott finds himself face-to-face with eight not-so-tiny reindeer...and one long night's work. He finds himself at the North Pole at the end of his journey, where head-elf Bernard irritably informs Scott that, according to the Santa Clause (the clause in the contract, as stated in microscopic text on the card he removed from Santa's pocket) he's the new Big Guy himself. Scott is returned home in disbelief, and must decide whether or not to accept the job ... all the while in trouble with Charlie's parents when Charlie tells them the tall tale of the North Pole visit.

GOOD POINTS: With a few exceptions, most of the humor in the movie is clean and humorous. And, again with a few exceptions, the whole movie is family-friendly, and a great holiday classic for everyone to sit down and watch.

BAD POINTS: There's a lot of discussion about whether or not Santa Claus is real. Charlie doesn't believe at first, and when he does after visiting the North Pole, his other father Neil attempts to dissuade him by raising numerous objections as to how Santa could do that. Neil and Charlie's mother Laura discuss the times they stopped believing in Santa. There's also some potty humor found in such things as Scott passing gas early one morning. Scott also hollers at a neighbor that he usually sleeps "butt-naked". During his first night taking over for Santa, he isn't very nice to one young girl who wakes up to see him, and grumbles about passing out the other gifts. There's also several "Oh my god" exclamations. Most of these "bad points" are minor, but might raise objections for those searching for a thoroughly clean family film.

THOUGHTS: The question of Big Red's validity will probably be raised again by this movie, even though he is proven by Scott's North Pole visit. But if you don't mind that, and a few other parts like those listed above, then you'll want to buy this movie. Six and a half out of ten stars.

DVD BONUSES: Minimal. I'm guessing this was among the first few to enter DVD-dom because of the small extras. There's an interactive game you can play (keep Santa airborne by ducking flocks of geese, and chimneys) a Make Santa Snacks with some Chef you've never heard of but are supposed to have, and a "So You Wanna Be An Elf?" feature, which is an early attempt at a behind-the-scenes feature, but didn't quite make it.

about halfway through this film i started to wonder if the scriptwriter gave their pages over to a stand-in...what starts out as perfectly good story with plenty of adventure and comedy soon gives way to inconsistency and jumpy scenes...
ever notice how some sequels artifically play up to the original? this movie does it to itself...
i loved the first half, but the rest is just trite...

I don't think this movie really ever will be, despite the BBC's determination to show it every Xmas eve. It's just too wholesome and safe. I like Xmas movies with some edge like Scrooged or Xmas Vacation. That's not to say The Santa Clause isn't fun.

It is a perfect vehicle for Tim Allen's sarcastic sense of humor and it does generate enough of that Xmas atmosphere to make it suitable viewing on Xmas eve. But, as with ALL Xmas movies, it just doesn't work for the other 11 months of the year. Maybe, given time, The Santa Clause will join the ranks of classic Xmas movie but for the moment it is simply distracting fun.

This new DVD is an improvement on the last one (while not drastically) with an anamorphic 1.85:1 picture and Dolby 5.1 sound. There are a few mediocre extras.

We borrowed this movie from a friend. We kept it for 2 weeks and watched it every day!! I loved it as much as my children did and they're only 3 and 4 years old!! Even multiple times, this movie is as enjoyable as the first time we viewed it!! I highly recommend it for everyone from 2 to 92!! We have to go buy it now!

I first watched this movie on tv with my parents and younger sister. I thought it was very appriate and more enjoyable then some of the other movies (about christmas) aimed at younger kids. This movie was enjoyable to my whole family, some parts were at times generated toward the younger auidiances, but overall it held your attention. Tim allen does an excellent job portraying his character and it is really worth your time. I suggest renting or buying it around the holidays, watch it with your children, and you wont be dissapointed.