Do you believe in 'The Santa Clause'?

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By Kristina Stafford

The story of Santa flying around the world to bring presents to all the world on Christmas Eve is a tradition shared by all children. In an age where science and reason have been known to kill children's fantasies, Disney's The Santa Clause (1994) once again proves that "seeing is believing, and believing is seeing."

Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is a typical over-worked and detached divorced father who works as a corporate executive in a large toy corporation. His son, Charlie (Eric Lloyd), is at the age where he is beginning to doubt magic and Santa Claus altogether.

On Christmas Eve, Charlie reluctantly spends the night with his father, and a very unusual thing happens. There's a loud clatter on the roof. Scott rushes outside to investigate, and he discovers a man in a red suit on the roof of his house. As Scott watches, the man loses his footing and falls into the snow on the front lawn. And to Scott's complete astonishment, it's really Santa Claus!

Lying there on his back, the man hands Scott a card with instructions written on it about what to do in this particular situation. "Put on the suit," it says, "the reindeer will know what to do." When Scott looks back up at the roof, he can't believe what he sees, nor does he realize that his life is about to change forever.

This begins an amazing odyssey where simplistic Charlie directs his doubtful dad in delivering Christmas toys. After they finish their toy route, the two head up to the North Pole where Scott makes a fool of himself by still being doubtful about the entire ordeal before finally going to sleep. The next morning, Scott dismisses the whole incident as a strange dream, but Charlie is not going to let it go that easily.

As the movie progresses, the adults battle over their beloved child. This film does a good job of showing the dynamics that a child must face as a product of a divorced marriage. Though things look bleak for Scott, the truth does eventually come out: Scott Calvin is Santa Claus.

This children's classic is a great Christmas movie, for both its humor and its replay value. The underlying message is simple: sometimes all it takes is a little faith to make a big impact. If you have never seen this Disney classic, I would suggest that you take a bit of time out for it. You won't regret it.

Originally Published: Issue 826 - December 8, 2009

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