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The Santa Clauses - General Discussion

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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

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FcRkBFzaAAM3_2p?format=jpg&name=mediumThe Santa Clauses is a 6 episode TV series with the first 2 episodes being released on November 16 on Disney+. It is a continuation of the film franchise trilogy that includes The Santa Clause (1994), The Santa Clause 2 (2002), and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006), all available for viewing on Disney+. 
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The show and movies are based around the premise of Scott Calvin, a toy salesman who accidentally causes the death of Santa Claus and is forced to become his successor. 
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The TV Series starts with Scott Calvin about to celebrate his 65th birthday, he has been Santa Claus for nearly 30 years. But as people’s belief in Santa Claus declines, so has his Santa's magic. 
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Scott finds he struggles to keep up with the demands of his duties, as well as being there for his family. Upon discovering there might be a way to retire from his post, Scott considers stepping down as Santa Claus and finding a worthy successor so that he can become a better father and husband. Scott selects a new successor and moves with his family to the suburbs, interacting with normal humans for the first time in decades. But when his successor starts to make critical errors, Scott finds himself forced to return to the North Pole to save Christmas.

Tim Allen as Scott Calvin / Santa Claus
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Elizabeth Allen-Dick as Sandra, Scott and Carol's youngest child, she is a bit rough and tumble, has a passionate sense of right and wrong, and a strong connection to animals, mostly because there are no humans her age at the North Pole, which makes her lonely.

The-Santa-Clauses-First-Image-7.webp-120Austin Kane as Cal, the son of Scott and Carol. Cal lacks drive and focus, isn’t sure what he wants but knows it’s not at the North Pole, and appears ill-equipped to survive in either world, although that might be slowly changing.
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Devin Bright as Noel, Santa’s new right hand elf. Optimistic and energetic, Noel perceives himself as Santa’s best friend.
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Matilda Lawler as Betty, the elves chief-of-staff, although acerbic and demanding, she is always the smartest elf in the room, tasked with wrangling Santa while also making sure that everything at North Pole stays on schedule. A bit humorless, Betty is focused and job-oriented.

Kal Penn as Simon Choksi, an ambitious game inventor and product developer and a devoted single father. His dreams of being the next Silicon Vally sensation falls drastically short. But all that changes after a visit to the North Pole.
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Rupali Redd as Grace Choksi, sweet, loving, and kind, Grace is angelic daughter of Simon Choksi. Her wide-eyed belief in Santa, and her love for all things Christmas, could melt the heart of even the biggest non-believer.
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Laura San Giacomo as Befana, the villainous Christmas Witch, the Italian folkloric figure who lives in the Wobbly Woods.

Eric Lloyd as Charlie, Scott’s son, who lives a normal life in Lakeside, Illinois 

David Krumholtz as Bernard, the previous head elf of the North Pole

Edited by AnimeMania
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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

The Santa Clauses     November 16, 2022     Disney+  

Episodes 1-2    Titles and Descriptions 

Spoiler

S01.E01: Chapter One: Good to Ho

After 28 years as Santa Claus, Scott Calvin begins to lose his magic.
After stopping at one of his favorite houses on Santa’s delivery list, Scott Calvin realizes that the twenty eight years he’s been on the job has flown by. To make matters worse, his magic begins to falter. Scott trains to get his Santa mojo back, but the following Christmas things only get worse. 
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S01.E02: Chapter Two: The Secessus Clause

Scott considers his children as potential successors in the role of Santa, but they're more interested in exploring the world outside the North Pole.
Scott learns that, by way of the Secessus clause, he can retire, but he must find a worthy successor before doing so. Torn between wanting to retire and not wanting to leave the North Pole, Scott taps his children as possible candidates. He quickly realizes none of them are interested in the role, but instead want to know more about the world outside the North Pole.
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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

I watched the first two with my kids and thought it was ok. There were a lot of super corny Tim Allen style jokes, but at least it is not the Last Man Standing political stuff (other than the stupid naughty and nice list meeting which was kind of approaching that). 

I liked that they were talking about some of the weird logic of the movie series, like how the old Santa was instantly forgotten and what happened to the old Mrs Claus.

Also I know it was a plot point but making Elizabeth Mitchell look like old granny Mrs. Claus when she is still hot was annoying. 

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bybrandy

bybrandy

I didn’t mind that Charlie was all grown up and over the Santa thing but he felt so removed from everything seemed odd.  His kids/wife don’t know. “You know I’ve spent time with them” re his siblings. It was awkward. 
 

The show is cute and I’ll watch it all but it was just a little strange. 

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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

S01.E03: Chapter Three: Into the Wobbly Wood

Scott decides that Simon Choksi is the best person to take over the role of Santa when they search for their missing daughters.

Scott interviews potential Santa candidates while the family gets ready to leave. Simon Choksi, one of the candidates, brings his daughter, Grace, with him to the North Pole. During Simon's interview, Sandra and Grace go missing. In finding their daughters together, Scott realizes Simon is the best choice to take the coat.

Premiere Date: November 23, 2022    
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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

S01.E04: Chapter Four: The Shoes Off the Bed Clause

Simon adjusts to life in Chicago and has an identity crisis, while Simon settles in at the North Pole and winds further diminishing the Christmas spirit.
Scott adjusts to life in Chicago, unsure what his identity is now that he is not Santa. Meanwhile, Simon settles in at the North Pole. He learns he can use Santa's delivery system year round for his e-commerce company, but in doing so he further diminishes Christmas spirit. Scott and the family get ready to spend their first Christmas together, but before they can, Scott is met by an unexpected visitor.

Premiere Date: November 30, 2022  
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Cattoy

Cattoy

1 hour ago, greekmom said:

So Kal Penn's Simon is the evil guy this time around.

***sigh****

Well, this show isn't subtle with the foreshadowing, so it's not a surprise.

This episode was a bit better than the previous ones. Did enjoy the shout-outs to "Elf"- so many elves named Buddy, and they thought the weird elf was a South Pole elf. Noel continues to irritate me. Either I'm getting used to him or he wasn't as annoying in this one - mainly because he wasn't being creepily attached to Santa. Not sure any other actor could have done better with that material, as  he's okay in scenes with Betty.

Which brings up a question - she was saying she's been through worse, no mother, no father, etc. They've been married for 900 years. So, where do elves come from? Are they purely magical creations? Was she one of the "first generation" elves, and now they make them the old-fashioned way? If they do, shouldn't they be having a serious overcrowding problem by now? Way too much thought for a kid's show, but it's been that kinda day.

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rwlevin

rwlevin

7 hours ago, Artsda said:

I'm guessing since everyone froze, it's father time arriving?

I was kind of hoping it was Bernard. He was, after all, able to freeze Judge Reinhold in the first movie. Or am i misremembering?

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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

S01.E05: Chapter Five: Across the Yule-Verse

Scott is taken to the Yule-verse where he learns the truth about how he came to be Santa. Meanwhile things at the North Pole get worse as more elves disappear and Christmas spirit is all but destroyed. Scott returns from the Yule-verse and, with Noel, heads back to the North Pole to save Christmas. Before he can, he is quickly captured by Simon. Carol, Cal and Sandra race back to the North Pole to help Scott.

Premiere Date: December 7, 2022
Latarsha Rose
Jim O'Heir
Mitch Poulos
Dirk Rogers
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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

(edited)
On 12/2/2022 at 5:36 PM, rwlevin said:

I was kind of hoping it was Bernard. He was, after all, able to freeze Judge Reinhold in the first movie. Or am i misremembering?

It was Bernard after all. And he was the only reason I even watched this episode.

I did kind of like the idea of all the past Santas in the Yuletide dimension.

Edited by Spartan Girl
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doobiedo

doobiedo

9 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

It was Bernard after all. And he was the only reason I even watched this episode.

I did kind of like the idea of all the past Santas in the Yuletide dimension.

Martin Short played Jack Frost in the third movie. He froze Judge Reinhold and his wife

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Cattoy

Cattoy

(edited)

Well, Bernard marrying Helen Mirren Vanessa Redgrave was an interesting choice to explain his aging! The different Santas were a nice touch. I am curious what happened to the reindeer. The elves were created of magic, but apparently any animal can fly if they believe it. Seems his reindeer could be standard Nordic cervid in that case.

I'm not sure a mini-series was the best approach for this; there's a lot of stuff that doesn't really add to the story. A regular-length movie would have forced them to write a tighter story.

Edited by Cattoy
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greekmom

greekmom

16 hours ago, Cattoy said:

Well, Bernard marrying Helen Mirren Vanessa Redgrave was an interesting choice to explain his aging! The different Santas were a nice touch. I am curious what happened to the reindeer. The elves were created of magic, but apparently any animal can fly if they believe it. Seems his reindeer could be standard Nordic cervid in that case.

I'm not sure a mini-series was the best approach for this; there's a lot of stuff that doesn't really add to the story. A regular-length movie would have forced them to write a tighter story.

Thank you.

A movie would have better.  The episodes are way too short and there isn't much in the way of moving the storyline.

The addition of Krampus was the only enjoyable aspect.

I guess we wont be seeing Scott's ex, her husband or Lucy.

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Scarlett45

Scarlett45

On 11/21/2022 at 4:58 PM, bybrandy said:

I didn’t mind that Charlie was all grown up and over the Santa thing but he felt so removed from everything seemed odd.  His kids/wife don’t know. “You know I’ve spent time with them” re his siblings. It was awkward. 
 

The show is cute and I’ll watch it all but it was just a little strange. 

Given Charlie is so much older than his siblings I get that he had a separate adult life (job and kids) but they didn’t write it well. His wife not knowing???

Im on episode 3, and I’m not liking Devin Bright as Noel- aren’t the other elves played by adults? I know he’s just a kid but he didn’t have the skills to make the “slap stick” devotion funny. Okay Matilda Lawler is 14 (who’s playing Betty) but she’s a better actor than Devin. 

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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

I don't know I kind of like the episode format. 30 minutes of Tim Allen once a week is pretty much my limit I think. The latest episode had some pretty good one liners, especially between Scott and Bernard. Plus I liked that Scott had crazy good knowledge of all the previous Santas and the different traditions.

Although Jerry from Parks and Recreation was the previous Santa? No wonder he fell off the roof.

Also my completely unspoiled speculation is that that the series will end with Scott and his family back at the north pole. But instead of him just being Santa and doing Christmas night all by himself it is going to become a job for his whole family. I mean the title of the show is The Santa Clauses. That way they can Christmas together and the kids can use their powers. Just not sure how that would work with the Carol wanting to be her own person plot.

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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

S01.E06: Chapter Six: A Christmas to Remember
(Season Finale)
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The Calvins race against Simon to find the Santa coat in order to save Christmas. Simon realizes the error of his ways and steps aside to let Scott be Santa again. The elves return and everyone hustles to get this year's Christmas deliveries pulled off in time. Scott takes his family on the delivery run, then they return to retake their place as the first family of the North Pole.

Premiere Date: December 14, 2022

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greekmom

greekmom

16 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

S01.E06: Chapter Six: A Christmas to Remember
(Season Finale)

The Calvins race against Simon to find the Santa coat in order to save Christmas. Simon realizes the error of his ways and steps aside to let Scott be Santa again. The elves return and everyone hustles to get this year's Christmas deliveries pulled off in time. Scott takes his family on the delivery run, then they return to retake their place as the first family of the North Pole.

Premiere Date: December 14, 2022

Sad that Disney just crapped on another favourite Christmas movie of mine. Basically it was the Escape Clause (which does not make sense now that we found out that Scott was specifically picked out to be Santa.

So now Buddy Calvin is ok with becoming Santa? And we don't know if Simon did change his ways.  At least with Jack Frost we did see how he became good after Lucy's hug. 

Too bad we didn't see Laura, Neil and Lucy. 

All in all 2/10 - 2 for effort.

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rmontro

rmontro

I thought this was one of the better things I've seen from Disney recently, and I liked the half hour series format.  A half hour goes by quickly enough, and you don't need a long attention span.  I thought the story got a little bogged down toward the end, but overall still very good.  They didn't really address Mrs. Claus' desire for relevancy, but maybe there will be more of that next season (not that I want it).

I expected the hand on the shoulder cliffhanger at the end of episode four to be Saint Nicholas, but that wasn't so.  Saint Nick did pop up in the episode anyway.

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Kaoteek

Kaoteek

That was a rough season. Really felt like they had a bunch of ideas for a Santa Clause 4, tried to sell Disney on it, but got a "nah, but make it a series" reply that sent them scrambling to reshape their story into something easily chopped into 25 min segments. Which lead to empty filler, pointless characters, underbaked storylines and, overall, a weird flow to the story.

Elizabeth Mitchell seemed to have fun, though, and Tim Allen's daughter was better than expected. That said, MVP is Matilda Lawler.

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rmontro

rmontro

4 hours ago, Kaoteek said:

hat said, MVP is Matilda Lawler.

Betty?  She did stand out.

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Well, I guess Tim Allen can’t complain anymore about Disney “cancelling” him. 🙄

Season two is probably where they stick in all the woke stuff.

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funnygirl

funnygirl

I think this series is charming. Some feel-goody, a little corny, sweetness for the holiday season. And I'm a sucker for nostalgia. 

I'm currently on episode 4, I liked this dialog exchange between Scott and Carol when they're going over ideas for the family backstory for being away - a nod to Elizabeth Mitchell being on Lost: 
Scott: I don't know about lost on an island.
Carol: It just begs more questions. Trust me. 

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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

The Santa Clauses Season 2     November 8, 2023   Disney+  

Episodes 1-2   Titles and Descriptions

Spoiler

S02.E01: Chapter Seven: The Kribble Krabble Clause

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Scott names Cal the next Santa and looks to turn Christmas into a family business.

S02.E02: Chapter Eight: Floofy

Cal begins his Santa training and the elves keep a secret from Scott.

 

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