A few year’s ago, I wrote about “The Santa Clause,” the movie staring Tim Allen as a man who lost sight of what was really important until he became Santa Claus. It has since become a Christmas classic. But it took some time for the movie to get a sequel. (I think Tim Allen’s legal troubles probably played a large role in the hiatus). So, how’s the sequel? Let’s take a look.
You better not pout, you better not cry, you better not shout, I’m telling you why—SPOILERS are coming to town!
Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) has settled in as Santa Claus. He still has Bernard (David Krumholz). And he has a new elf named Curtis (Spencer Broslin), who is training to be Bernard’s second. Everything is running smoothly…until it is revealed that Scott’s son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) is on the naughty list. Scott wants to head down to talk to him.
But wait! There’s more! There are strange things happening to Scott—like the fact he’s losing weight and his beard isn’t as bushy. Scott didn’t read the fine print on the card that made him Santa Claus. Turns out athat he has to have a Mrs. Claus in order to keep doing the job. Scott needs to get married by Christmas to keep his job! How come no one decided to tell him this in…I dunno, July? You know, not DAYS TO CHRISTMAS?
Sorry. Rule of drama. I know. Carry on.
Scott confers with the council of legendary figures, which includes Mother Nature (Aisha Tyler), Father Time (Peter Boyle), the Sandman (Michael Dorn), Cupid (Kevin Pollack), the Easter Bunny (Jay Thomas) and the Tooth Fairy (Art LaFleur).
So, with Christmas days away, Scott needs to go see why his son is on the naughty list and find a wife. But what about the North Pole? Who’s going to run it? Bernard? No, that would make sense. Instead, Curtis creates a plastic Santa that will carry on the work. Because telling the elves Santa has to go visit his family is obviously out of the question. There’s no way this can backfire!
Please note the sarcasm.
With plastic Santa running the North Pole, Scott takes Comet down to visit his family. Laura and Neil (Wendy Crewson and Judge Reinhold) consider him family and their daughter Lucy (Liliana Mumy) calls him “Uncle Scott.” She also believes he’s Santa, though he keeps denying it. Lucy cites the reindeer has a really big clue and challenges him to name five other reindeer owners. He replies that they are all Norwegian and he can’t pronounce them. Lucy still isn’t convinced.
But Scott has bigger concerns: Charlie and his sudden teenage rebellion. He goes with Laura and Neil to meet with Charlie’s principal, Carol Newman (Elizabeth Mitchell). She’s a strict administrator who doesn’t seem to have much fun. Nor does she like Christmas. Needless to say, she and Scott don’t quite like each other at first. Can you sense the romantic subplot yet?
Up in the North Pole, Plastic!Santa isn’t fooling anyone. Or at least that’s what I tell myself. That and the other elves are just humoring Bernard and Curtis. Plastic!Santa needs a crash course in being Santa and starts reading up on his job. This is going to backfire. Big time.
Laura and Neil help Scott with the Mrs. problem. Namely, they set him up on blind dates. There are a few, but the most memorable is with Molly Shannon’s character. She’s really into Christmas. And a bit too much. Scott fears he’ll never find Mrs. Claus in time.
But then Scott and Carol start spending more time together. He starts to get past her cold, stern exterior. She starts to see him as a kind if eccentric man. After all, kids are just drawn to him. Which is a major plus. Because even though she’s strict, Carol likes children. Scott also brings out her softer side.
Back at Santa Central, Plastic!Santa has gone tyrannical. He’s gone over the list again and decided everyone’s been naughty. Plastic!Santa orders the elves to stop making toys and just make coal instead. Bernard and Curtis try to rein him in but he locks them up instead. All the other elves must really hate them at this point. It is their fault.
Scott has problems of his own. Charlie is still acting up, Comet’s getting fat and he’s running out of magic. Thankfully, Carol isn’t questioning how fast he’s losing weight or getting rid of his beard. She’s just enjoying being with him. He goes with her to the faculty Christmas party and livens it up by giving them the gifts they never got as children. Even Carol.
But she also gets suspicious. After all, she had just told him about the doll she had always wanted. So Scott comes clean—he’s Santa Claus. Carol, naturally, doesn’t believe him and throws him out, believing he’s mocking her. Dejected, Scott heads home.
There, he still has to deal with Charlie. At last, he finds out what’s wrong with his son—Charlie is getting fed up with keeping his dad’s secret. He wants to tell the world his dad is Santa Claus but can’t because people will think he’s nuts. Scott and Charlie bond over this though Scott realizes he may not get to be Santa much longer.
Neil and Laura go out for a Christmas party while Scott agrees to watch Lucy. As he does, Curtis shows up and reveals that Plastic!Santa’s gone off the deep end. Scott puts Lucy to bed and tries to get back to the North Pole. Comet, though, is too fat to get off the ground. So they decide to use the Tooth Fairy. Cue the montage of them trying to pull one of Scott’s teeth, Laura and Neil getting involved and it all ending with Lucy loses one of her baby teeth.
Scott captures the Tooth Fairy and then has to convince him he’s the real Santa. The Tooth Fairy gets him back to the North Pole, where Scott has to free Bernard and wage war against Plastic!Santa. Especially as Christmas Eve dawns.
Scott and Curtis free Bernard and try to take back the workshop but Plastic!Santa is one step ahead of them. He has made giant toy soldiers to serve as his patrols. Scott and his supporters are captured and it looks like Christmas is doomed.
Charlie meanwhile goes to talk to Carol, saying he’s ready to tell her why he’s so angry all the time. Even though she’s a bit busy cleaning snow off her car and is probably like “It’s Christmas, kid. The time I don’t have to deal with student problems,” she listens to him. He tells her that his dad is really Santa and Carol naturally thinks Scott is putting his son up to it. Charlie reveals his dad doesn’t know he’s there and shows her the snow globe Bernard gave him in the first movie. She looks at it and believes.
Meanwhile, Scott and the elves manage to burst loose. It’s time for them to take back the North Pole. You know what that means, right? Time for Home Alone style hijinks! While those go on, the Tooth Fairy brings Charlie and Carol to help. The other legendary figures also show up to help as well.
The toy soldiers are easily taken care of, especially by Carol’s dark look (which I would’ve loved for the Once writers to have referenced with Mitchell’s Snow Queen). But there’s still Plastic!Santa to deal with. Scott needs to stop him from getting out and delivering all that coal. He has to take Chet, a baby reindeer who is a bit…uncoordinated. But Chet comes through and Scott manages to stop the sleigh. Christmas is saved!
Except Scott still needs to find a Mrs. Claus. So he proposes to Carol, who excepts. Mother Nature marries them and Scott’s off to deliver presents. Along the way, he brings Charlie home and reveals to Lucy that he is Santa. She promises to keep his secret…as long as she keeps getting presents. Scott agrees.
And they all live happily ever after. Yay!
So that’s “The Santa Claus 2.” It’s a decent follow up to the first film. If the first film was about Scott accepting his destiny and becoming a better father for it, this one was about Scott trying to balance family and being Santa. All hidden by that Plastic!Santa plot. But it’s a good Christmas film. And Elizabeth Mitchell is great in it.
Next month: Happily Ever After: Fairytales for Every Child
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