{"id":32840,"date":"2022-01-19T15:43:49","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T22:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/?p=32840"},"modified":"2022-01-19T15:57:59","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T22:57:59","slug":"the-santa-clause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/the-santa-clause\/","title":{"rendered":"Do We Really Want The Santa Clause Back?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tim Allen is returning to his role as Santa<\/a> years after anchoring the Disney Christmas<\/a> franchise, The Santa<\/a> Clause<\/em>. Disney has announced a new \u201climited series\u201d of The Santa<\/a> Clause<\/em> that will run on Disney+.<\/p>\n

You know Disney+. That is where Christmas-that-sucks resides. It is home to the now shamed remake of Home Alone<\/em>, which was universally torched by critics and viewers alike when recently released.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s just forget for a second that Disney+ is behind this project.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk instead about what happened with The Santa<\/a> Clause<\/em>. The problem, you see, isn\u2019t just Disney+.<\/p>\n

It could be Tim Allen.<\/p>\n

~ The Story of The Santa<\/a> Clause ~<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1994 The Santa<\/a> Clause<\/em> was released in November and went on to gross $189 million at the box office, a huge sum then (and now).<\/p>\n

It was an original story, written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick, of a man who startles Santa<\/a> on Christmas<\/a> Eve while on the roof. Santa<\/a> came tumbling down and in the ensuing chaos the man \u2013 played by Tim Allen \u2013 becomes the \u201cnew Santa\u201d by reading the card and putting on the suit.<\/p>\n

Since it\u2019s successful run in theaters The Santa<\/a> Clause<\/em> has achieved cult Christmas<\/a> status with subsequent home video releases and it remains a seasonal streaming favorite.<\/p>\n

Eight years after the original release Disney brought out The Santa<\/a> Clause 2<\/em>, also starring Tim Allen.<\/p>\n

The new film was written by a different team of writers.<\/p>\n

The thin plot showed the necessity of Santa<\/a> getting married, an addendum to The Santa<\/a> Clause<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The sequel was predictably panned by critics but viewers flocked to the movie anyway, giving it a nearly-as-good return as the original at $172 million in box office receipts.<\/p>\n

Of course, all that was too much money, even for a dead horse. They had to take what was bad by making it worse, just to make a buck.<\/p>\n

The Santa<\/a> Clause 3<\/em> came just four years later \u2013 again with Tim Allen \u2013 with Santa<\/a> reversing a curse by the most annoying villain ever, Jack Frost.<\/p>\n

Where does The Santa<\/a> Clause<\/em> go on Disney+?<\/p>\n

According to multiple sources Tim Allen will return to play Santa<\/a> nearing retirement and needing to find a replacement.<\/p>\n

And, oh yeah, there\u2019s something about his 2 children, who grew up at the North Pole<\/a>, adjusting to some new adventure \u201cin a life south of the pole\u201d.<\/p>\n

Whatever.<\/p>\n

~ Tim Allen is Not The Problem ~<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tim Allen is a winner.<\/p>\n

People just love<\/a> him. And that is likely the big reason Disney+ wants him back as Santa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Allen has had a prolific career.<\/p>\n

He anchored the top-rated series Home Improvement<\/em> for ABC as Tim-the-Tool-Man Taylor, which won him several awards, including a Golden Globe and 8 straight years as a People\u2019s Choice Award winner.<\/p>\n

He followed that up with a nine-year run on the hit series, Last Man Standing<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And all this came after a great film called Galaxy Quest<\/em>, immortality as Buzz Lightyear, and several stints as a New York Time best selling author.<\/p>\n

So, Tim Allen cannot be the problem with a return to the role of Santa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No, the whole problem here is Scott Calvin.<\/p>\n

~ Scott Calvin is a Dork ~<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott Calvin was never supposed to be Santa<\/a> Claus.<\/p>\n

That little plot device, combined with Tim Allen\u2019s snark, is part of what made the original Santa<\/a> Clause movie so entertaining.<\/p>\n

Scott Calvin adjusting to his new job as Santa<\/a> was funny. It was also transformative: Scott Calvin would become a better person by becoming Santa<\/a>, too. (\u201cYou made me Santa<\/a>, Charlie\u2026\u201d)<\/p>\n

None of that followed in the subsequent films, however.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n