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Movies / On DVD / The Santa Clause
The Santa Clause

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The Santa Clause (1994)

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Reviews Counted:39

Fresh:31

Rotten:8

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: The Santa Clause is utterly undemanding, but it's firmly rooted in the sort of good old-fashioned holiday spirit missing from too many modern yuletide films.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: When Santa Claus gets killed in a freak accident after being startled on the rooftop of a house, it looks like Christmas is ruined. But fortunately, just before his death, the jolly, gift-giver... When Santa Claus gets killed in a freak accident after being startled on the rooftop of a house, it looks like Christmas is ruined. But fortunately, just before his death, the jolly, gift-giver passed the torch to ad executive Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), who finishes the job of bestowing holiday cheer on all. When he finally reaches on the North Pole, however, Scott learns that he can't give up the job -- he's become the next Santa Claus. (THAT'S the Santa Clause!). Scott returns home, only to find himself slowly changing into the pudgy, white-haired old man so beloved of children... and to find that everyone around him considers him utterly and completely mad. [More]

Starring: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Peter Boyle

Starring: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Peter Boyle, Eric Lloyd, Mary Gross, David Krumholtz, Larry Brandenburg, Paige Tamada, Judith Scott

Director: John Pasquin

Director: John Pasquin
Screenwriter: Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick
Composer: Michael Convertino

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Santa Clause

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The movie steers a shrewd course between bracing cynicism and old-fashioned make-believe.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
05/15/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

While the film breaks no new ground, it offers the kind of simple, well-crafted, family entertainment that used to be a staple of the Disney studio.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/04/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A friend and I go to a 'sort of trashy' movie every Christmas. This was less trashy than most.

comment Comment
08/28/02
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

No review available.

comment Comment
01/14/05
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah)

[Director] John Pasquin brings to it a heavy-handedness more appropriate to the subject matter of, say, his telefilm Don't Touch My Daughter.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
10/27/02
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

There are enough laughs to make it worth a look for Allen's legion of fans.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

A minor classic

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/13/02
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

while still further proof Tim Allen was always better suited to Television, is one of the Toolman’s best forays into film. The bottom line is kids will get a kick out of it, and parents can rest assure by the end of it’s hour and a half they’ll have had s

Full Review Source: Moviehole | comment Comment
11/26/02
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

No review available.

comment Comment
04/03/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
03/01/08
David Kaplan
David Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

Kids of most ages will be able to follow -- and enjoy -- this comic fantasy.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

No review available.

comment Comment
08/14/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

The jokes are mostly funny, the divorced parents stay happily divorced, and we're treated to yet another earnestly dopey performance by the endearing Judge Reinhold.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Hollis Chacona
Hollis Chacona
Austin Chronicle

This is what happens when someone takes what might have been a moderately- entertaining television Christmas special and tries to adapt it for the big screen.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Even if the film bogs down a touch in its own sense of cuteness near the end, this film will do as a family-wide X-mas time waster if everyone has It's a Wonderful Life overload.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

This movie has charm to spare and it's hard to resist.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

No review available.

comment Comment
08/30/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

...the closest thing we've had in the last twenty years to a genuine Christmas classic.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
12/07/03
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Santa Clause

December 20, 2006: RT's Top Holiday Thrillers -- Christmas Countdown, Day Three
Welcome to Day Three of RT's Five Days of Christmas Countdown, in which we serve up a different list each day of the best holiday flicks around. Today, we've got the... More...

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Welcome to RT's Five Days of Christmas Countdown, where we serve up a different list each day of the best holiday flicks around. Today, feast your eyes on the Top Christmas... More...

November 02, 2006: Box Office Guru Preview: Santa Battles Borat for Weekend Crown
A pair of new family films aimed at kids will duke it out for the top spot this weekend while a bumbling reporter from the former Soviet Union will cause a commotion for a more... More...

August 10, 2006: Box Office Preview: "World Trade Center" Arrives in Theaters
Another frame packed with four new national releases is led by Oliver Stone's 9/11 drama "World Trade Center" from Paramount. A trio of lower profile pics round out... More...

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