The original Santa Clause was cute. I happen to like Tim Allen as an actor, and there’s just something about Christmas that adds a rose-colored bias to my perception of things. I was, however, very skeptical of going to see this movie’s sequel, The Santa Clause 2. Something about children’s movies, sequels, and Disney just screams corny to me, and I’ve been conditioned to avoid that pain in general.
But I found myself at Crossgates looking for a movie to see, and there just wasn’t anything playing that grabbed me. Somehow, I found myself going to see The Santa Clause 2—it probably had something to do with peer pressure.
The theater was filled with children and their parents that they dragged along with them. Somehow I always find myself attracted to films that appeal to a younger audience. My advice, as always, to those who want to see this film is to avoid the daytime showings.
The story was filled with warm goodness about family values and support, love, and not letting evil Santa replicas run the North Pole the month before Christmas. It all starts off innocently enough, with fun, games, and good wholesome toy-making.
But then the trouble begins—Santa’s son ends up on the “Naughty List,” and, even worse, Santa needs to find a wife (in 27 days no less). Without a wife, Santa will become “de-Santa-fied,” ending Christmas for children everywhere. Even with Christmas 28 days away, it becomes apparent that Santa needs to go home to deal with the problem.
To deal with the absence of Santa, a toy replica of Santa was made to handle the day-to-day rigors of the North Pole. How bad could it be? The head elves were there to help, after all.
So Santa goes home, does some bonding with his son, tries to develop a meaningful relationship in a mere 27 days, and uses what little magic he has left, risking his Santa-dom, to spread a little Christmas cheer.
Meanwhile, back at the North Pole, the replica of Santa was running amuck, threatening to destroy Christmas for everyone with excessive application of rules. Slowly the Santa replica starts becoming more and more autonomous, claiming the North Pole as his own.
The rest is a little predictable, a là Disney. There are some rather exciting guest appearances by Cupid, Mother Nature, Father Time, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy (or the “Molinator”).
The movie definitely appeals to the younger generation, but it has something in it for adults as well. Despite some extremely corny and sappy moments, it roughly achieves the level of greatness of its predecessor, and will fill you with a warm feeling to kick off your Christmas season. As long as Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets isn’t in the theater, it’s probably one of the safest bets for your evening.
