Christmas Movie Challenge: Santa Clause 2 (2002)

Last week I was barely able to stay ahead of it all, and a rushed and hasty choice in movie resulted in a less than cheery mood. Nativity was a modestly festive film, but it did not belong on the big screen, if it had been shown as a Christmas special you could of cut the finished results a bit more slack. In need of a pick me up, I thought I’d play it safe and watch the sequel to The Santa Clause.

Throughout this Christmas Movie Challenge I have dabbled in horror, watched a few unconventional films and even attempted a Ben Affleck seasonal movie. I’ve lost more good cheer than I have gained, but I’m no worse off. Is this the result of watching over 25 Christmas movies? More importantly I was suffering from the midway slump, the thought of something yuletide was as off putting as watching all six Star Wars films back to back with a personal live commentary from Anthony Daniels.

A sequel is always a lazy choice, it’s lazy filmmaking in some cases as the follow up is merely a rehash of the original, the same goes for remakes. This isn’t to say all sequels should be tarred with the same brush, many do offer something new and exciting. Whilst some fans have disliked The Dark Knight Rises, it’s fair to call the movie a success in both quality and the all important box office. Not every sequel is as thought out and well put together as DKR, but our thirst for follow ups seem unquenchable.

Disney have built an empire on sequels, from big screen entries to entire franchises on DVD; the house of mouse know how to get their money’s worth out of a concept. Arriving eight years after the original, The Santa Clause 2 catches up with Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) and he’s loving his new life as the jolly giver of gifts. When he discovers his son Charlie is on the naughty list, he plans a visit back home. Before he goes he’s informed that there is another clause in his contract, he has until Christmas Day to find a wife or he’ll cease to be Santa Claus.

Plot wise that’s about it, given that this is a kids film first and foremost, there is little need for plot or character development but surprisingly this light hearted sequel has had some thought behind it. Well, they did have eight years.

Scott learns that Charlie has become a wayward teenager, in trouble at school he no longer holds the Christmas spirit in his heart. Determined to fix this, Scott leaves a toy Santa duplicate in charge of the North Pole so he can spend the holidays with his son and finding a wife. Tim Allen enjoys playing a good and bad (sort of) Santa, and it’s a cheerfully spirited movie but it’s no where near as much fun as the original. More or less everybody is back, Peter Boyle pops up again, although this time he’s playing the Counsel of Legendary Figures member Father Time. For me, Michael Dorn as The Sandman was a great little touch and I secretly hoped he would get a spin off movie… He didn’t.

Anybody over the aged of five and three quarters can work out how it’s going to end, but what works about these movies is that predictability is part of the charm. You know what you are getting from a Disney film (and 99% of all kids films), some laughs, valuable lessons learned and everything works out fine in the end.

The Santa Clause 2 is a light festive movie that will raise a few laughs, but younger viewers will get more out of it than the grown ups. As an added bonus Judge Reinhold wears some of the worst jumpers ever seen in a Christmas movie, or any other movie for that matter.