The Santa Clause


The Santa Clause is a 1994 American Christmas fantasy family comedy-drama film written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick, and directed by John Pasquin. The first film in the Santa Clause film series, it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordinary man who accidentally causes Santa Claus 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 followed by two sequels, The Santa Clause 2 and . Both sequels were financially successful but had a less favorable critical response than the original.

Plot

Scott Calvin, a successful toy salesman, prepares to spend Christmas Eve with his son Charlie. Scott wants Charlie to maintain his belief in Santa Claus, despite not believing himself. Scott's former wife, Laura and her psychiatrist husband Dr. Neal Miller both stopped believing in Santa at a young age and feel that Charlie needs to do so as well. On Christmas night, Scott and Charlie are awakened by a noise on the roof. Scott investigates and finds a man standing on the roof, whom Scott startles into slipping and falling to the ground. The dead man's body disappears and leaves behind a red suit and business card stating that if anything were to happen to Santa Claus, whoever is responsible would have to put on the suit and continue from where Santa left off. Ensured by the card that "the Reindeer will know what to do" and to please Charlie, Scott dons the suit and spends the rest of the night delivering gifts before the reindeer take them to the North Pole. Once they arrive, Bernard, the head elf, explains to Scott that because he put on the suit, he is subjected to a legal technicality known as "The Santa Clause", meaning that he has agreed to accept all of Santa's duties and responsibilities, and gives him eleven months to get his affairs in order before reporting back to the North Pole on Thanksgiving. 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 that the events of the prior night were a dream until he sees that he is still wearing the pajamas that were given to him. Over the course of the following year, Scott undergoes a drastic transformation; he begins to gain a large amount of weight, especially a round, pudgy, jiggly belly. He also develops a thick beard that grows on his face in spite of attempts to shave it, and his hair whitens and proves immune to dyeing. Scott's altered state brings Laura and Neal to the assumption that Scott is deliberately attempting to confuse Charlie, and they successfully petition a judge to suspend Scott's visitation rights. Devastated, Scott goes to Laura and Neal's house on Thanksgiving. Desperate to help his father realize how important he is, Charlie shows Scott a magical snow globe that Bernard had given him, finally convincing Scott that he is Santa. After Scott asks Laura and Neal a minute to talk to Charlie alone, Bernard appears and transports him and Charlie to the North Pole. Believing that Scott has kidnapped Charlie, Laura and Neal contact the police.
On Christmas Eve, Scott sets out to deliver the gifts with Charlie in tow. However, upon arriving at Laura and Neal's home, Scott is arrested. The elves send a rescue team to help him escape from jail. Scott returns to Laura and Neal's house and manages to convince them that he is Santa, and asks Charlie to spend Christmas with them as they are his family too. Laura burns the court papers banning Scott's visitation rights and tells him that he can visit anytime. Bernard then appears and tells Charlie that if he shakes his snow globe at any time, his father will appear. Before leaving, Scott gives Laura and Neal two Christmas presents that they never got as children. Shortly after he leaves, Charlie summons Scott back home with the snow globe. Laura agrees to let Charlie go with Scott for a short ride in the sleigh. Scott embraces his new role as Santa and leaves with Charlie to deliver the presents.

Cast

This film was entirely shot in the Greater Toronto Area. Oakville served as the city of Lakeside, Illinois. The reindeer used in the film were all from the Toronto Zoo. The trains used in the North Pole scene and the start of the film are all LGB.

Reception

Box office

The Santa Clause grossed over US$144 million in the United States and Canada, and over $189 million worldwide, making it a box-office hit. The film has since gone on to become a Christmas classic. Freeform and AMC have played the film during the holiday season with record ratings.

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews from the critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 71% based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 5.86/10. The consensus from the site is "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 the film has a score of 57% based on reviews from 13 critics.
Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A- on scale of A to F.

Year-end lists

Towards the beginning 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 starting with the 1999 DVD release after a 1996 incident in which a child from Steilacoom, Washington called the number and incurred a phone bill of. The line is also removed from the Disney+ print. On television broadcasts, the number is changed to 1-800-POUND.