In my mind, The Santa Clause 3 had a few strikes against it before I even entered the theatre. The third movie in many trilogies usually relies on old jokes, outlandish plot lines, and stunt casting. Furthermore, I hadn’t even seen The Santa Clause 2, so I was sure to be out of the loop in the storyline department. I was wary of seeing another Tim Allen movie this year after seeing the painfully unfunny Shaggy Dog, released in March. I felt Disney was scraping the very bottom of the Christmas barrel with another limp sequel. What can I say; I’ll admit when I’m wrong: The Santa Clause 3 pleasantly surprised me.
The movie opens with Santa (AKA Scott Calvin AKA Tim Allen) preparing for the birth of a new baby. This appears to be the major plot point I missed by not seeing the second movie: Santa now has a Mrs. Clause (played in both films by Elisabeth Mitchell, which will freak out some Lost fans.) Santa has to deal with his irritating in-laws, played by the excellent Alan Arkin and Ann Margaret, and is forced to contend with the scheming Jack Frost (Martin Short) who is intent on taking over the “big guy’s” duties. Will Jack Frost wrest control away from Santa and turn the North Pole into a theme park destination? Will Santa’s baby be born with a long white beard? Will Alan Arkin start cursing a blue streak? These are just a few of the questions that kept my attention during the film.
Almost every character from the original movie, made twelve years ago, returns for Santa Clause 3, even little Charlie (Eric Lloyd) who is not so little anymore. The actors rarely break new ground with their characters, but it’s fun to see Judge Reinhold and Wendy Crewson in an It’s a Wonderful Life-type flashback showing how bitter and empty their lives would have been had not Scott put on the Santa suit twelve years ago. Martin Short plays a toothless villain; annoying and troublesome, but no real match for Santa and the power of a good hug from a cute kid. Alan Arkin steals most of his scenes with his dry delivery and his look of mild disbelief as if to say “I can’t believe I’m actually in a Disney feature with 100 kids sporting prosthetic elf ears.”
Of course, the movie is not without flaws. Santa still sports some of the most artificial and creepy farting reindeer the North Pole has ever seen, but luckily their screen time is minimal. Most of the film takes place at the North Pole, which looks exactly what it is: an enormous sound stage in Los Angeles. And some of the scenes trying to advance the plot involve characters talking to themselves for far too long to keep most children interested. But for the most part, the story moves along briskly and keeps the audience entertained. And as far as Christmas movies go, this one fairly drips with tinsel and sugar plums. I defy you to leave the film and not have the urge to start stringing little twinkle lights over your mantel.
The El Capitan is getting into the holiday spirit from now until January 4th
with several special activities. A live stage show will precede every screening of The Santa Clause 3 featuring Mickey, Minnie and the gang. Each guess will receive a jingle bell bracelet so that they can chime in on the musical numbers. The show is mainly traditional Christmas numbers and the requisite “snow” shower as the finale, but it’s well done, high energy, and does a great job of getting you ready for the Christmassy film following the show. A special holiday breakfast is also being offered before every 10:00 am show at the adjacent soda fountain, where guests will have a chance to visit with guests of honor Minnie and Mickey. I am told that most of the breakfasts on the weekend are sold out, but there are still reservations available during the week. The soda fountain is also offering one of it’s signature ice cream creations in honor of The Santa Clause 3 called “Santa’s Special Sundae.“ It contains two scoops of Dreyer’s mint chip ice cream tipped with marshmallow and fudge topping and finished with whipped cream and holiday sprinkles. The sundae includes a collectable pin–as if we need an excuse to order the sundae, right? The theatre is also continuing it’s run of The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D with two showings nightly at 10:30 pm and 12:15 am.
