The Santa Clauses: Season 1

   

Based on: Continuation of the 2006 The Santa Clause movie and its sequels, written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick

Created by: Jack Burditt

Starring: Tim Allen (Scott Calvin/Santa Claus), Elizabeth Mitchell (Mrs. Claus), Austin Kane ("Cal"), Elizabeth Allen-Dick (Sandra), Matilda Lawler (Betty), Devin Bright (Noel), Rupali Redd (Grace), Kal Penn (Simon)

The Santa Clauses season 1 trailer: 

The Santa Clause has significance in my mind as being the only Christmas movie I truly enjoy. 

The franchise has mostly kept this status; I enjoyed the sequel even more, in no small part due to the inclusion of Elizabeth Mitchell, an actor I also associate with Lost. Unlike many other Christmas movies, it isn't hollow silliness made for kids, raunchy, absurd comedy for adults, or a feel-good message with a story manufactured around it. Instead, I found the first movie to be a genuinely interesting story concept with a fantastical world cleverly built around it. The second movie continued to cleverly build this world (adding Mitchell's charms, which can't go wrong), and while the third was a bit more reaching, it was still an interesting idea and continued the good worldbuilding. 

This series continued building this world in the right direction, if a little dumbed down (or overly silly) for kids. Zooming in on Scott's Santa Claus who's been decades in the game, he's finally getting past his prime and beginning to reach his limitations of age. At the same time, his family--Mrs. Claus and two teens--are feeling stunted as humans in a North Pole that's designed for elves. As Mrs. Claus begins to realize the most, the family is craving and needing human society to have community and, you know, normal human interactions. Thus, Scott's Santa begins interviewing other Santas for the position and the family moves back to the real world. But when the new replacement Santa begins unrolling reforms that are so innovative they lack Christmas spirit, the North Pole begins losing its magic, and Scott's family has to intervene once again. 

Santa Claus & family in their lives at the North Pole

I think the over-silliness kept me from ever fully loving the show, even though it was largely a success in my book. It seemed to undercut any true serious moments with Scott or the elves cracking some sort of witty line or childish joke. For Scott, it may have actually been in character: part of his story arc was being blind to serious issues--like his family's increasing discomfort in the North Pole--in favor of relishing his career and skill in being Santa. Keeping on a pair of rose-colored glasses, if you will. I also felt that some character developments were a bit cringey, like Scott's teenage son, who falls in love with and begins a relationship with the literal first girl he meets in the real world. And this is the teenager who's grown up surrounded by magic and elves, I'll remind you. 

Carol as Mrs. Claus, whom she realizes as early as the first ep is too stifling and one-dimensional for her

The family decides to move back to the real world, which they collectively realize they're unprepared for

Everything else about the series was pretty great. It increased the worldbuilding of the North Pole, which was already a pretty fascinating place. I loved how the original movies combined fantasy magic with superior technology, having a sled equipped with automatic cocoa dispensers, elves who manned radio centers to track and communicate with Santa while he's en route, and impressive manufacturing systems for toys. The series continues this trend with drone technology, crystal balls for measuring magic, and expands the lore by diving into the history of past Santas. 

Plus, I definitely need to mention the other references the show slipped in. Sandra refers to one of the reindeer as "Airbender" at one later point in the series and Carol looks at a cloud of magical smoke at mutters "Where have I seen this before?" Which is a reference to the Smoke Monster in Lost and her character in that series, Juliet. Both moments definitely made me squeal. 

I also think this series succeeded where other similar adaptations have failed with two crucial concepts: returning cast and maintaining the tone. Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell were the faces of the original movies and they returned as the faces of this series. Additionally, the movies had a light-hearted, cheerful and cute tone with a core of deep and serious story--this series revived those same tones. Disney+'s other attempts at revivals, Willow and National Treasure: Edge of History, both of which I've reviewed previously, both changed most if not all of the main cast and completely changed the tone. While I feel that both of those shows were much more deserving of renewals than The Santa Clauses, I think that's why things turned out the way they did. 

Don't get me wrong, though. The Santa Caluses kept my attention the whole way, and I'm excited to see more of the North Pole and especially excited to see where Scott and Carol are taken next!