Movie Review: The Santa Clause Trilogy

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Three fun Christmas movies for the entire family

Cons: Some don't like them all, full screen in this set

The Bottom Line:

Christmas magic?  Check!

Comedy all will enjoy

I keep watching them

Quite Possibly My Favorite Modern Christmas Movies

Back when Tim Allen was making tons of movies, he starred in a Christmas movie.  Years later, it spawned two sequels.  And all three of those movies have made it into The Santa Clause Holiday Collection for your enjoyment.

The trilogy started with 1994's The Santa Clause.  It introduces us to Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) as a workaholic divorced father who has no time for his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd).  One Christmas Eve, the two awake to a clatter outside, and Scott finds Santa dead in his front yard.  At Charlie's insistence, Scott puts on Santa's suit and finds himself under the Santa Clause.  He has now agreed to become the next Santa.  While he tries to deny it, his life keeps changing.  Will he accept his new job?

This is easily the best in the series.  The laughs are plenty as they take a pretty realistic look at what would happen if a real man found himself becoming a legendary figure no one believes in.  The characters are pretty real, and the acting is great.  You can't knock the special effects either, as some of what happens to Scott is pretty unbelievable.

It was eight years before we got The Santa Clause 2.  And this 2002 release actually does acknowledge the passing of time.  Scott has now settled into his new life in the North Pole and loves being Santa.  That's why when his magic starts to fade, he panics. It's only then that he finds out about the Mrs. Clause.  Seems that Santa must get married by Christmas Eve or he will cease being Santa.  Can Scott find a wife by the deadline?

Yes, this is another in the popular Christmas romantic comedies.  It works pretty well, especially as Scott starts out on the dating scene again.  All the original actors return to their roles, giving us a nice sense of continuity, although I can't get over how much Eric Lloyd has grown.  This one adds Elizabeth Mitchell of Lost and the recent V remake to the franchise.

I seem to be one of the few who enjoys 2006's installment, The Santa Clause 3.  This time around, a harried Santa agrees to supervise Jack Frost (Martin Short) who has been causing trouble for the legendary figures counsel as he tries to get his own holiday.  Santa already has his hands full with a baby on the way, visiting in-laws (who don't know who he really is), and the Christmas Eve deadline.  Will it be enough to get Jack Frost to trick Scott into invoking the Escape Clause?

This one is much more slapstick and over the top than the previous entries in the series.  But I still find it plenty of fun.  The first time I saw it, I laughs so hard at all the antics.  True, I didn't laugh as hard the next few times around, but it was still pretty fun.  Again, the main cast returns with one exception.  And boy do I miss David Krumholtz as Bernard, the head elf.  At least they wrote his character out of the movie and didn't try to recast him.

To be perfectly honest, all three of these movies are fairly predictable.  Oh, there may be a side trip or plot complication you don't see coming, but the main plot flows along predictable lines.  But that doesn't dampen the fun for me.  The characters are endearing, so you want to spend time with them.  And all three movies have great laughs and that magical Christmas spirit that puts me in the mood for the holiday.  (Not that it takes much.)  The special effects continue to be good, making us believe all the magic we see on screen.

If you want to get all three movies, this set is a great way to do it.  It combines all three individual DVD releases in a cardboard cover.  Unfortunately, the DVDs aren't the best.  The movies were released in separate full screen and wide screen versions.  Guess which one we get here.  Yep, it's full screen.  The sound is full surround, and it sounds great.  The extras are aimed at kids.  You don't get much in the way of behind the scenes info.  Instead, it's all games and cute little featurettes.

There are no special extras for buying these movies as a set.  So if you prefer wide screen (like I do), or already have one and want the others, there is no incentive except a lower price to get them bundled together.

I definitely recommend the films in The Santa Clause Holiday Collection.  This set is fine for people who don't have the films and don't care about the format.  If you want widescreen or already have one of the titles, you'd be better off skipping this set and getting the films individually.