The Santa Clause 2

OK, so it's not quite as good as the first, but this really captures the Christmas spirit...I saw it in a theatre with a load of little kids who laughed and cheered right through. Everyone who came out of the theatre had a big smile on their face at the end, even the Mums, Dads, and GrandParents!

Tim Allen does a good job (again) as Santa, and there are plenty of nice in-jokes in there - Allen wearing a flannel shirt (remind anyone of Al Borland), and of course all the car references...and there are also some movie homages in there - did the duplicator machine remind anyone else of Bride Of Frankenstein!?

The first 15-20 minutes are a little slow but once Allen returns to America the film really begins to pick up. Good support cast too - Elizabeth Mitchell is beautiful! Reinhold does well but does not have quite enough screen time.

Some of the scenes really do capture the magic of Christmas - witness the Teacher's Xmas party for example.

Basically, if you want a good family film to put you in the Christmas spirit, you could do far worse than see this. 8/10.

Now, I cannot really describe what sort of expectations I had coming into this movie. I barely remember the first Santa Clause, which came out over six years ago, so the idea of a sequel after such a long break made me rethink its possibilities. Then my family and I went to go see it today, and for what it is worth, SC2 is pretty decent. Okay, so there isn't a lot of humor that will appeal to the older siblings or parents in the audience, but the colorful sets, simple story, and a good cast make it worth the trip. Tim Allen is just fine as Santa, although for such a good comedian I was hoping he would improvise some more sly humor or gags into the role. One wonders what Robin Williams or, heck, Chris Rock could do with the role of the big guy. The woman who plays Allen's possible love interest was also pretty good, but her character fell in love with Scott Calvin so fast it seemed like the script was forcing the relationship. Pretty much everyone from 1996's Santa Clause is back, including Charlie, who is now all grown up and as cute as a button. They try to present him as somehwhat of a delinquent, but considering all he does is throw snowballs and do a little light grafitti work, it seems like he's more of a Disney thug than anything you would see on the streets of reality. The only actor I could have nixed from the film and not missed was the chubby kid who was also in Bruce Willis' The Kid and provided voicework for the Peter Pan sequel. It just feels like Disney is recycling him into every movie they have, and he isn't even that good of a child actor. Oh, and did anyone catch the insanely obvious product placement for McDonald's? Sheesh, I have a problem with such blatant advertising like this, but at the same time it is kind of funny to watch the Marketing Gears groan and grind (look, Charlie is having a BIG MAC). Oh, and the reindeer character eats a lot of brand name candy (including a yummy CRUNCH BAR). I liked Comet, even if he is an obvious animatronic creation, and appreciated the fact that the filmakers didn't get lazy and just use CGI, but what if he had just spoken English? Why the weird reindeer language? Tim Allen had to repeat everything Comet said just so we could understand, and that got a little old. What's that Comet? You can't fly? You say Timmy is at the bottom of the well and he is hemmoraging? Hee hee...sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, this review is getting kind of long, so I'll wrap it up by saying that The Santa Clause 2 is a great movie to take the family to, but don't expect long-lasting memories. It certainly looks better than Adam Sandler's animated PG-13 movie. What was that man thinking? I give SC2 3/4 stars.

Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) has been Santa for awhile, but only now is he told that there is more Santa Clause. He must marry a Mrs Claus before Christmas eve. In addition, his son Charlie has landed on the Naughty List. He decides to go south and leave a substitute Santa in his place. While he falls for Charlie's principal Carol Newman (Elizabeth Mitchell), the substitute Santa stirs up trouble and puts every child on the Naughty List.

This still has some of the original charm. Most of it comes from Carol slowly finding out Scott is actually Santa. Charlie's complaint about his father is less convincing. I don't think the secret is that big of a deal. It feels very fake. I rather not have an excuse for his misbehaving. There is a good lesson to be had there, but it ends rather weakly. It's a missed learning opportunity. Besides that, the movie is good family fun.

It's been quite a while since I've seen the first Santa Clause movie, but I remember being quite surprised by it. It was a unique twist on the beloved Santa character with great comic timing by Tim Allen. But that was a while ago, and I didn't really know what to expect from The Santa Clause 2.

The movie started off kind of slow when everything is going smoothly. Everybody's happy and Santa's meeting with his fellow "legendary figures," which I admit was a fairly funny scene, but this movie just started off kind of boring. Of course this is normal with any movie until we're presented with a conflict. Santa is reverting back to his civilian self and must find a Mrs. Clause to fulfill the contract and continue being Santa. So to watch over the North Pole, a duplicate, plastic Santa clone is made, and slowly turns to a maniacal boss over his elves. I thought this was pretty funny, especially with me being a business major. I wonder if I'll act like that after school!

Anyways, back to the story, Santa goes back to his hometown with limited magic. We're introduced to a frigid principal that has punished Santa's son for displaying some Christmas spirit. More fun ensues as Santa tries to find and woo the next Mrs. Clause. To seal the deal, his Santa magic gives him the edge and results in some very nice scenes of the movie.

I won't go any further as you get the idea. Overall, The Santa Clause 2 is a nice, snuggly movie that will keep you in the holiday spirit. It's not groundbreaking material, but it has a nice message and should put a smile on anyone's face.

My IMDb Rating: 7/10. My Yahoo! Grade: B (Good)

Any film that regards The Toothfairy as The Moleinator is in serious trouble. But that's not the only problem with "The Santa Clause 2" -- the problem is its lack of freshness and enjoyability. The first film was a real Christmas treat; funny, ocassionally rather surprisingly witty, and always with a tender side and a refreshing Holiday spirit.

The second vehicle -- though filmed eight years apart from the first -- seems like a cash-in, and nothing more. Santa (Tim Allen), a.k.a. Scott Calvin (look at the initials), is as happy as can be. He's been Santa Claus for the past eight years, and the children have been happier since he became Santa. (Who takes these polls?) But as Christmas draws closer, Scott realizes that not only is his son, Charlie, on the Naughty List, there's a second clause in the contract that states he must become married to "The Mrs. Claus" in 27 days, or he'll be history.

The head elf, Bernard, along with the help of another fellow elf (Specer Breslin, "The Cat in the Hat"), duplicates a fake Santa to watch over things as the real Scott goes home to tend to family matters. But the new Santa Claus is an evil dictator who comes to work in Hitler's outfit and demands that all children be given coal. It's the funniest part of the movie, apart from when Evil Santa says to Good Santa, "You are a sad, strange little man," which is of course a little Disney in-joke. (Tim is mimicking his own Buzz Lightyear character from Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story.")

"The Santa Clause 2" got a lot of good reviews that called it an enjoyable and charming little movie, but I missed something. The first film was something both kids and adults alike could equally enjoy. Allen was funnier, the film was funnier, and it was much more charming than this. And for a film made eight years earlier, its special effects are superior. (At the end of "2," Scott hangs off the back of Evil Santa's flying sleigh and...it simply has to be seen to be appalled by.)

There's a major plot hole in the entire idea of Santa Claus existing in our world that need not be pointed out by me -- and I won't, in case there are children reading this. But whereas the first film had fun with the notion of Santa Claus being real, "The Santa Clause 2" bashes it all over the head. Charlie cries at one point because his dad has "the best job in the world" but he is unable to tell all his friends. Boo-hoo. The thing is, "The Santa Clause 2" takes the idea of Santa Claus too far. It's not fun anymore. Just watch the first -- and far superior -- film instead.

Another thing: The first film seemed very down to earth, very simple and fun. This movie is all over the place. A television show director made "The Santa Clause 2," and it's very evident that this is so. The movie is too sporadically daffy and serious and not at all inspired. I still remember seeing the first film and being delighted by its sheer heart. This movie doesn't really have one.

I like Tim Allen's dry ironic humor because I think he knows how to make good use of it. He used it to perfection in "Home Improvement," used it even better in "The Santa Clause," voiced the witty Buzz Lightyears, and then appeared in a string of flops, including "Big Trouble" and "Who is Cletis Tout?" Here's to "Toy Story 3" -- if Pixar ever manages to break away from Disney and its stupid no-more-sequels contract.

2/5 stars.

• John Ulmer