Our Holiday Favorites: The Santa Clause

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The Santa Clause

I was four years old when The Santa Clause first opened in theaters. I can't recall if I first saw the 1994 comedy in theaters or on VHS (remember those?) months later. My older (and favorite) cousin Andi and I would watch The Santa Clause on her annual holiday visit from Dallas to Seguin. 

The Santa Clause stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, a thirtysomething divorced father and toy company advertising executive. There's a hilarious scene where Scott is visiting his son Charlie's (Eric Lloyd) elementary school to discuss his job, when he is repeatedly forced to try to explain to another student his job description.

The plot rolls forward. 'Twas the night before Christmas ... and Santa Claus falls off Scott's roof. The end. Or, is it? Scott and Charlie realize the man who appears to be Santa Claus has mysteriously vanished, leaving behind his suit, in which they find a business card stating that if something should happen to him, someone should put on the suit and consult the eight moody reindeer waiting on the roof.

To please Charlie, Scott puts on the suit. They hop in the sleigh and deliver toys from house to house. Their final destination is the North Pole, where Scott mistakenly hits on a more than one-thousand-year-old elf.

Scott and Charlie wake up on Christmas Day to find themselves transported back to Scott's house. It must have been a dream. No, Scott is still wearing the silky monogrammed pajamas given to him by the elf he tried to seduce, and Charlie still has the snowglobe given to him by the late Santa's head elf (David Krumholtz). Mayhem and mischief ensue.

Judge Reinhold of Fast Times at Ridgemont High fame co-stars as Charlie's inadvertantly funny psychiatrist stepfather, who believes Scott is crazy. 

My cousin Andi and I were mesmerized by the idea that maybe we, too, could commit involuntary manslaughter and become the next Santa Claus. Hey, it could happen. I so longed for a snowglobe from Santa's head elf, not one with chubby Snowbabies in white jumpers, like the ones my mom would annually give me. 

When I would sing "Carol of the Bells" in middle and high school choir I'd continually think back to The Santa Clause's opening credits and the quick glimpses of elf ears on the childlike people peeking into holiday shop windows. 

I remember watching The Santa Clause in my 8th grade U.S. history class before being released early for those two precious weeks of winter break. My boredom from that day and class is literally written on a pair of oversized maroon Converse I still wear, never letting me forget the awful grades I made on the U.S. state names and capitals quizzes. Good times. 

Want to watch? The Santa Clause is available at both I Luv Video and Vulcan Video.