My Bonnie Bride and I watched The Santa Clauses, the Disney+ series follow-on to the three Tim Allen moves – the Santa Claus 1/2/3. Both Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell returned to their roles for the run of the series, and several of the original cast members from the movies made brief, yet important, appearances in the film. Yes, including David Krumholz as Bernard, with a good explanation as to why an immortal Elf has aged since we last saw him, and still sporting the best set of threads in the franchise.
Santa Clauses promo - IMDB
The story opens with Santa (Tim Allen, of course) feeling like he is losing that magic feeling, er, touch, and that the magic of Christmas, that which powers the North Pole and gives Santa his incredible powers to travel around the world and go down chimneys is starting to fade. Santa becomes convinced it is time for him to retire and return to a “normal” life in Chicago as Scott, with his wife, carol, and their two teenage kids, Buddy “Cal” (Austin Kane) and Sandra (Elizabeth Allen-Dick). Cal is excited about the move, Sandra much less so.
Before they can move back to “the real world”, Scott must first find a suitable successor to take on the role of Santa. He settles on Simon (Kal Penn), a single father (widowed), along with his daughter Grace (Rupali Redd). Kal Penn and Tim Allen - IMDB After the hand-off, we have Betty (Matilda Lawler), the current Head Elf, trying to maintain a bit of sanity at the North Pole, while Santa’s main Elf sidekick, Noel (Devin Bright), provides whiny comedy relief in the first half of the series, but then matures greatly in the second half of the series, becoming a very likable character. As a character, Noel probably shows the most growth in the series.
Devin Bright and Tim Allen - IMDB
All of the young actors in The Santa Clauses performed admirably throughout the run of the series, many of them holding their own with the adults in the film. Of course, sometimes I think Tim Allen is an overgrown kid, at least at heart.
Missing in action are The Council of Legendary Figures (Yay!), although it would have been cool if Worf, I mean Michael Dorn, had returned as Sandman, or perhaps in a different role. Yeah, I like Dorn, and he’s Trek!
Added into the lineup is La Befana, the Christmas Witch, played by Laura San Giacomo (Quigley Down Under). This character plays a pivotal role in the climax of the story, San Giacomo is such a good actress to watch perform.
Overall, we found The Santa Clauses to be a fun series to watch, and a great way to finish the entire story-line that started with the first film back in 1994. Or is it the final chapter? You’ll have to watch the series to see what you think on that point. The cast was great, the story entertaining and fairly well put together, and one has to give kudos to Bonnie Zane and Jeffrey Todd, the casting directors for the series, for pulling together a lot of fine talent making up both main cast and supporting cast for the series.
Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell - IMDB
This is a wrap of Christmas movies from me for this year. And with New Year staring us in the face, I look forward to what 2023 has to bring, both at home and with the CineTV community.
Thanks for stopping by and may you have a Prosperous and Joyous New Year.
