Image used under Fair Use per the commentary on it in this article…
P.S. this poster for the film is fantastic—it feels warm, wholesome, and joyful. Whoever was responsible for creating this poster did a wonderful job.
The Santa Clause 2 is a 2002 American fantasy comedy by The Walt Disney Company, starring Tim Allen reprising his role as Scott Calvin (AKA Santa Claus) from The Santa Clause (1994). Filled with comedy, whimsy, and action, this family-friendly movie is sure to delight!
SPOILER-FREE Summary & Review:
Enjoying his life as Santa Claus and in the routine, Scott Calvin is stunned to find out that if he doesn’t find a lady to marry and become his Mrs. Claus by Christmas Eve, he will lose his title as Santa. In a race against time, Scott returns to his home state in the USA to find love, all while managing conflicts with his son and leaving the North Pole managed by a toy clone of Santa! Will Scott find his Mrs. Claus in time for Christmas Eve? Will the mechanical toy Santa do a good job managing while Scott’s away? Only time will tell!
This movie was a blast. I really expected it to be cringe-worthy and bad, but I was surprised! Tim Allen’s swagger as an established Santa Claus is great and his goofy humor shines through playing the toy clone Santa, and the staff behind the movie from the writers to the camera-men were on top with creating a sense of fun, whimsy, and child-like wonder in this movie. There were plenty of times that I cracked a smile, felt bursting with joy or excitement, or winced in suspense while I watched—I was utterly invested in Scott’s quest to find his Mrs. Claus.
The film’s joy is even expressed through its theatrical poster—a decent visual communication of some of the movie’s feeling.
Sprinkled throughout the movie were some more juvenile jokes like fart jokes or reindeer burping, but crude jokes aside, it was a pretty good movie, enjoyable for the whole family!
Any Trigger Warnings? (SPOILERS AHEAD):
I have a trigger warnings section for sensitive viewers, from little kids to adults with PTSD and more. I try my best to share what I know could be upsetting for a variety of audiences so that people, parents, or caretakers can make informed decisions. That said, please keep in mind that I’m only human, so there may be times I miss the mark or forget something.
In the movie, toy Santa becomes mean, rule-obsessed, and eventually a dictator who forcefully takes over the North Pole with not-so-friendly looking toy soldiers, and it causes the elves to scream and become visibly scared or worried. After the fear passes, everyone is very unhappy for a while being forced by Toy Santa and the toy soldiers to do work that they don’t want to do.
Later, there’s a battle between the elves and Scott vs. the toy soldiers and toy Santa that includes the toy soldiers breaking apart, and Scott being in peril and at risk of falling as he wrestles for control of his sleigh from the toy Santa in the sky.
There is also family conflict with Scott’s son being cold and angry at him for having to keep a secret about who his dad is. His son lashes out often by spray-painting school property and snapping at his dad or brushing off his dad.
There is a scene where Scott’s family and step-family try to pull one of Scott’s teeth so that the Tooth Fairy will visit and help them out with Scott’s quest, which may be wince-worthy for squeamish viewers.
Finally, there’s a brief scene that focuses on a joke and criticism about weight and food that includes a visual element of a reindeer looking physically exaggerated.
My Unfiltered Thoughts (SPOILERS):
This movie really surprised me in a good way. I’m happy that the original cast reprised their roles instead of having recasts—I think the original cast coupled with the writing and overall style of the movie helped make the movie feel more authentic and belonging in the same fictional universe as the first Santa Clause.
This movie was happier than the first one in my opinion, as it was focused more on love and whimsy, plus repairing a relationship on the side as opposed to the main conflict being a family being threatened to be torn apart thanks to a heavy secret. The stakes are high in the sequel since it’s Santa’s title on the line and clone Santa becoming a dictator, but I guess from the adult perspective it didn’t feel as heavy since that conflict is very whimsical as opposed to the first Santa Clause being a very heavy, realistic conflict. I’d say this sequel is a breath of fresh air from the original.
Some of the things I enjoyed the best were Neil’s character development, Tim Allen’s goofy humor as the toy Santa, and a scene where Scott and Carol go to a school staff Christmas party.
Neil was an absolute jerk in the first film. In The Santa Clause, he was understandably concerned about his step-son Charlie, but he acted condescending and insufferable the whole time. In The Santa Clause 2, Neil brightened up significantly, but it didn’t feel out of character. Neil still had moments of being serious and contemplative, but he was now a friend to Scott and even wanted to help him on legs of his journey to find a Mrs. Claus from letting Scott borrow some of his clothes to go on a date, to helping Scott try to loosen a tooth so he can capture the Tooth Fairy and hitch a ride back to the North Pole! Neil was likeable and down-to-earth. Honestly, I think he became one of my favorite characters!
Tim Allen’s goofiness shines with him playing Toy Santa. Plastic-y and awkward, Toy Santa is trying to learn how to be Santa, but Tim Allen plays it goofily, with seemingly contextless (yes, I’m making up a word here) moments of bearing his teeth in open-mouth smiles, and hilariously shouting in social situations where it’s uncalled for. I love humor that derives from pure unexpected, inappropriate or exaggerated responses to social situations.
Finally, a scene that brought me pure joy was when Scott and Carol (his son’s school principal) go to the school’s staff Christmas party. The lighting in this scene is dull and cold, the party is boring and nobody seems to be enjoying themselves, so Scott decides to use his magic to make a Christmas tree appear and to give everyone the Christmas toy they treasured receiving the most as kids. The dull gymnasium soon turns into a lively, wholesome atmosphere of people getting back in touch with their inner child. Joy radiates from the TV screen to the viewer in this scene, and I certainly felt this second-hand joy: the gym had warmer, brighter lighting, and the adults were spread over the ground in groups playing with their childhood-favorite toys with joy and child-like excitement.
In Sum (SPOILER-FREE):
The Santa Clause 2 is a funny, heartwarming sequel to The Santa Clause that some audiences may find as a breath of fresh air compared to the heavy tones of the first film. It’s family friendly, without neglecting appeal to adult viewers. It is filled with fun, whimsy, romance, action, and conflict. I rate it an 8 out 10 stars.
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