''The Santa Clause'' is a 1994 American

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick, and directed by

John Pasquin John Pasquin (born November 30, 1944) is an American director of film, television and theatre.
Film Refer ...

. The first installment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise, it stars

Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) and Mike Baxter on the ABC/Fo ...

as Scott Calvin, an ordinary man who accidentally causes

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

(played by Tim Allen's actual stunt double, Steve Lucescu) to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve. When he and his young son, Charlie, finish St. Nick's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole where Scott learns that he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed Santa Claus. The film was released on November 11, 1994, and grossed $190 million. It received positive reviews from critics and it has since become a Christmas-time staple among viewers. Its success led to two sequels, ''

The Santa Clause 2 ''The Santa Clause 2'' is a 2002 American Christmas comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck in his directorial debut. It is a sequel to '' The Santa Clause'' (1994) and the second installment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise. All of the princip ...

'' (2002) and '' The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'' (2006), which were both financially successful despite the former's mixed and the latter's negative reception. The franchise continues with a follow-up series ''

The Santa Clauses ''The Santa Clauses'' is an American Christmas comedy television series created by Jack Burditt for Disney+ and based on ''The Santa Clause'' film series. It serves as a sequel to '' The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'' (2006) and featur ...

'', which premiered November 16, 2022 on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

Plot

Scott Calvin is a marketing director for a toy company in Lakeside, Illinois. A divorced father, he prepares to spend

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

with his son Charlie. Scott wants Charlie to maintain his belief in

, despite not believing himself. Scott's ex-wife Laura and her psychiatrist husband Dr. Neil Miller both stopped believing in Santa at a young age, and they feel it is time for Charlie to do the same. Following an uneventful evening at

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a Diner, coffee shop un ...

, Scott and Charlie are awakened that night by a noise on the roof. In his investigation, Scott startles a man wearing a

Santa suit A Santa suit is a suit worn by a person portraying the legendary character Santa Claus. The modern American version of the suit can be attributed to the work of Thomas Nast for ''Harper's Weekly'' magazine, although it is often incorrectly thoug ...

standing on the roof, who slips and falls to his death. The man's body vanishes, leaving behind a red suit and business card stating that if anything were to happen to the man, the responsible party should don his suit and resume his mission. Scott and Charlie are surprised to find a sleigh and reindeer perched on the roof. At Charlie's request, Scott reluctantly dons the suit and spends the rest of the night delivering gifts before the reindeer take them to the North Pole. The head elf, Bernard, explains that by putting on the suit, Scott is subject to a legal technicality known as "The Santa Clause", and has accepted all of Santa's duties and responsibilities. Bernard gives Scott eleven months to get his affairs in order before reporting back to the North Pole on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

. Confused and overwhelmed, Scott changes into the pajamas provided to him and falls asleep. The next morning, Scott awakes in his own bed and believes the previous night's events were a dream, but realizes he is still wearing the pajamas given to him. Charlie, recalling what had happened, is convinced that his father is the new Santa Claus, and his proud expression of this arouses disbelief and concern in Laura, Neil, and the school staff. Scott, not wanting to destroy Charlie's newfound enthusiasm, asks him to keep their North Pole trip a secret. Over the next year, Scott undergoes a drastic and inexplicable transformation; he gains an extraordinary amount of weight and develops an increased fondness for sweets, particularly milk and cookies. He develops a thick white beard that instantly regrows after shaving, and his hair turns white in spite of attempts to dye it. During a meeting with his company, Scott is angered at a proposal to advertise a toy military tank by showing Santa riding it. He also begins to recount 'naughty' and 'nice' children by name when he sees them. After Laura and Neil witness children wanting to sit on Scott's lap at Charlie's soccer game, they assume Scott is deliberately misleading Charlie and decide to have a judge suspend Scott's visitation rights. On Christmas Eve, a devastated Scott goes to Laura and Neil's house to see Charlie one last time. Charlie, desperate to help Scott realize how important he is to the children of the world, shows Scott a magical snow globe that Bernard had given him, finally convincing Scott that he really is Santa. When Laura and Neil allow Scott a minute to talk to Charlie alone, Bernard appears and transports him and Charlie to the North Pole. Thinking Scott has kidnapped Charlie, Laura and Neil call the police. Scott sets out to deliver gifts with Charlie in tow. Upon arriving at Laura and Neil's home, Scott is arrested inside the house while Charlie waits for him in the sleigh. The elves send a team to break him out of jail. Scott returns Charlie to his house and insists he spend Christmas Eve with Laura and Neil. His heartfelt speech to Charlie about the importance of everyone in the family convinces Laura and Neil that he is Santa. Laura burns the court documents suspending Scott's visitation rights, and tells Scott he can visit anytime. Bernard appears and tells Charlie that any time he shakes his magical snow globe his father will appear. Before leaving, Scott gives Laura and Neil the two Christmas presents that they never got as children, which had caused their disbelief in Santa. Scott's takeoff from the roof proves his identity to the police and a crowd of witnesses outside the house. Shortly after Scott leaves, Charlie summons him back with the snow globe and Laura agrees to let Charlie go with Scott in the sleigh to finish delivering the presents.

Cast

as Scott Calvin /

Eric Lloyd Eric Lloyd (born David Eric Lloyd Morelli; May 19, 1986) is an American actor, musician, and producer. Lloyd is best known for work as a child actor in such roles as Charlie Calvin in Disney's ''The Santa Clause'' film trilogy and the follow-u ...

as Charlie Calvin *

Wendy Crewson Wendy Jane Crewson (born May 9, 1956) is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film ''The Doctor (1991 film), The Doctor''. Crewson has appeared in ma ...

as Laura Miller *

Judge Reinhold Edward Ernest "Judge" Reinhold Jr. (born May 21, 1957) is an American actor who has starred in several Hollywood movies, such as ''Ruthless People'', ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', ''Stripes'' and ''Gremlins'', and co-starred in all of the fil ...

as Dr. Neil Miller *

David Krumholtz David Krumholtz (born May 15, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He played Mr. Universe in '' Serenity'', Charlie Eppes in the CBS drama series ''Numb3rs'', and starred in the ''Harold & Kumar'' and ''The Santa Clause'' film franchises. Ear ...

as Bernard The Head Elf * Paige Tamada as Judy The Elf *

Peter Boyle Peter Lawrence Boyle (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American actor. Known as a character actor, he played Frank Barone on the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' and the comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof ''Young Fra ...

as Mr. Whittle *

Larry Brandenburg Larry Brandenburg (born May 3, 1948) is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous television shows and films such as ''The Shawshank Redemption'', '' Fargo'', ''The Santa Clause'' and ''The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may ...

as Detective Nunzio *

Jayne Eastwood Jayne Eastwood (born December 17, 1946), also credited as Jane Easton or Jane Eastwood, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles as Anna-Marie Biddlecoff in the comedy film ''Finders Keepers'' (1984), Judy the Wai ...

as Judy the Waitress *

Kenny Vadas Ken "Kenny" Vadas (born July 25, 1981) is a Canadian actor best known for his role in ''The Santa Clause'' and several television shows. Career Vadas began his career by acting in several commercials. He was a regular on the ''Eric's World'' ...

as the E.L.F.S. Leader * Chris Benson as Fireman O'Hara *

Mary Gross Mary Martha Gross is an American voice actress, comedian, and actress known for her four-year stint on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1981 to 1985. Her credits also include minor roles on ''Animaniacs'', ''Boston Legal'', ''That's So Raven'', '' ...

as Ms. Daniels * Joyce Guy as Principal Compton * Judith Scott as Susan Perry *

Steve Vinovich Steve Vinovich (born January 22, 1945) is an American actor. Biography Vinovich was born in Peoria, Illinois, the son of Jennie J. (née Kuhel), a secretary, and Stephen J. Vinovich, an insurance salesman. His paternal grandparents are Croatian. ...

as Dr. Pete Novos *

Tabitha Lupien Tabitha Lupien (born February 4, 1988) is a Canadian actress and competitive dancer trained in ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, hip hop, and acrobatics. She trains with her sisters Lindsay and Samantha and her brother Isaac at the Canadian Dance Com ...

as Ballet Girl * Lachlan Murdoch as Fax Kid *

John Pasquin John Pasquin (born November 30, 1944) is an American director of film, television and theatre.
Film Refer ...

as Santa #6 *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

as Reindeer (voice) *

Kerrigan Mahan Kerrigan Patrick Mahan (born January 27, 1955) is an American voice actor. He has had voice roles in ''Lensman'', ''Zillion'', ''Vampire Hunter D'' and ''Crying Freeman'', as Goldar in ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' and ''Power Rangers Zeo'', ...

as Reindeer (voice) *

Bob Dermer Bob Dermer (born 1946) is a Canadian actor who first made his contributions to Canadian television in 1965 as an actor in Ottawa on a late night serial called ''Milk and Honey'' which ran for 200 episodes. Prior to '' Readalong'', Dermer was also ...

as Puppet Punch *

Nina Keogh Nina Keogh ( ) is a Canadian puppet builder, voice actress and puppeteer. She is a former member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Canadian Actors' Equity Association, UDA, and is an ACTRA member since 1968. She was on the board of ...

as Puppet Judy * Melissa King as Sara

Production

The script was written on spec by Steve Rudnick and Leo Benvenuti. In November 1992, it was announced

Hollywood Pictures Hollywood Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Established on February 1, 1989, by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then-studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood ...

had acquired the script as a potential starring vehicle for

. The film was shot at

Raleigh Studios Raleigh Studios is a studio facility located in Hollywood, Los Angeles and has been under the ownership of Raleigh Enterprises since 1979. The location has been active since 1915. Before Raleigh, the studio was run by Famous Players Film Company, C ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, and on location in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

, with Oakville serving as the city of Lakeside, Illinois. The reindeer used in the film were all from the

Toronto Zoo The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Encompassing , the Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada. It is divided into seven zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, Americas, Tundra Trek, Australasia, Eurasia, and the ...

. The trains used in the North Pole scene and the start of the film were all made by LGB.

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

and

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

were offered the role of Scott Calvin, but both turned it down; Chase declined due to scheduling conflicts, and Murray did not want to do another holiday-themed movie after doing ''

Scrooged ''Scrooged'' is a 1988 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Based on the 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens, ''Scrooged'' is a modern retelling ...

''.

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

, and

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

were also considered for the role.

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...

Stanley Tucci Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's '' Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in fil ...

and

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he w ...

were considered for the role of Neil Miller.

Patricia Richardson Patricia Castle Richardson (born February 23, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'', for which she was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Le ...

Patricia Clarkson Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades incl ...

Patricia Heaton Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work on sitcoms, having played Debra Barone on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005) as well as Frances "Frankie" Heck on '' The Middl ...

, and Kate Burton were considered for the role of Laura Miller.

Reception

Box office

''The Santa Clause'' grossed $145.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $45 million in other territories, for a worldwide, total of $190.3 million. The film grossed $19.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the US box office behind ''

Interview with the Vampire ''Interview with the Vampire'' is a gothic horror and vampire novel by American author Anne Rice, published in 1976. It was her debut novel. Based on a short story Rice wrote around 1968, the novel centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac ...

'' which opened with $36 million. In its second weekend it grossed $17.1 million, finishing third. Over the three-day Thanksgiving frame it then made $20.4 million. In November 2020, with the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

limiting new releases, ''The Santa Clause'' was re-released into 1,581 theaters and grossed $711,000. Freeform and

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

have played the film on television during the holiday season with record ratings.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "''The Santa Clause'' is utterly undemanding, but it's firmly rooted in the sort of good old-fashioned holiday spirit missing from too many modern yuletide films." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade "A−" on scale of A+ to F. Sandi Davis of ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larges ...

'' ended up placing the film sixth overall on her list of the best films of 1994.

Home media

At one point of the film, a brief exchange between Scott and Laura takes place in which Laura hands Scott a piece of paper with Neal's mother's phone number on it. Scott then says "1-800-SPANK-ME. I know that number." In the United States, the exchange was removed from all home media releases of the film (except for the VHS and

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

releases) and most digital downloads starting with the 1999

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

release after a 1996 incident in which a child from

Steilacoom, Washington Steilacoom () is a town in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 6,727 at the 2020 census. Steilacoom incorporated in 1854 and became the first incorporated town in what is now the state of Washington. It has also become a ...

called the number (which turned out to be an actual, working sex line number) and incurred a phone bill of . The line is also removed from the

print. On television broadcasts, the number is changed to 1-800-POUND. ''The Santa Clause'' was released on DVD on October 29, 2002, and was presented in widescreen and fullscreen versions.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Clause 1, The 1994 films 1994 comedy films 1994 directorial debut films 1990s children's comedy films 1990s children's fantasy films 1990s Christmas comedy films 1990s fantasy comedy films American children's comedy films American children's fantasy films American Christmas films American Christmas comedy films American fantasy comedy films American slapstick comedy films 1990s English-language films Films directed by John Pasquin Puppet films Films adapted into television shows Films scored by Michael Convertino Films set in Chicago Films shot in Toronto Santa Claus in film Hollywood Pictures films Walt Disney Pictures films Films about father–son relationships 1990s American films The Santa Clause (franchise)