History Film / TheSantaClause

* AscendedExtra: Bernard was only in a few scenes in the first movie but becomes a main character in the second.

* MaintainTheLie: Scott is forced to disguise the North Pole as Canada so he can keep the Secret Of Santa in effect while the in-laws visit, and the elves help keep up the act.

* TheCameo: Jimmy Labriola who worked with Tim Allen on HomeImprovement has a cameo as a truck driver

The first film in the series, ''The Santa Clause'' (1994) is a modern take on the Scrooge story with a twist. Cynical businessman Scott Calvin is divorced and cynical, and his ex-wife Laura (Creator/WendyCrewson) doesn't want him to have much contact with his son, Charlie (Creator/EricLloyd). One fateful Christmas Eve, he startles a man who he believes is a burglar on his roof. The man falls off into the snow of their front yard, then vanishes, leaving his clothing behind- and a sleigh of flying reindeer on the roof. Scott, at Charlie's insistence, puts on the guy's red Santa coat and spends the night delivering gifts before being taken back to the North Pole, where he discovers that he inadvertently invoked a magical contract must now take on the role of Santa permanently, being given until Thanksgiving to set his affairs in order. He tries to blow this off as a wild dream and returns to his life, but before he knows it, he finds himself craving cocoa with marshmallows and Christmas cookies, puts on weight at an alarming rate, and finds his hair whitening and a beard that grows back in five seconds. His ex thinks that he's gone crazy and tries to win sole custody of their son, and Scott has to attempt to both repair his damaged family relationships and keep Christmas going.

* SantaClaus: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Natch]].

* WackyCravings AndADietCoke: Side effects of the Santafication process.

** Scott needs a magnifying glass to read the clause, which is hidden on the business card. In the second movie, the "Mrs. Clause is so well hidden that Scott needs a gigantic magnifying glass to see it.

* SuddenlySpeaking: In the first movie Comet is a normal reindeer who has the ability of flight like the rest of Santa's (the only sounds he makes are growls and grunts). In the sequels, he is somehow able to speak with a voice reminiscent of WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo.

* TakingTheKids: Scott's wife in the first film thinks Scott is an unfit father, and starts thinking he's crazy once the Santa stuff begins happening.

* EveryoneKnewAlready: In the beginning of the second film, Lucy is the only one in the Miller family who is not in one Scott's secret, but she openly suspects he's Santa Claus just from all the obvious clues. They eventually confirm it to her at the end.

* FirstGirlWins: In the second movie, Principal Newman was the first girl Scott encountered after returning from the Pole, and is the one he ends up marrying.
* FoodPorn: In one scene in the first movie, the camera pans across a very appetizing Christmas dinner...and then pulls back to reveal that it's on a TV screen while Scott is busy extinguishing a burning turkey.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* HiddenDepths: In the first film there are several scenes that show that underneath his cynicism Scott really is a good man at heart who deserves the role of Santa. Most of them are centered around his son, but there's a brief line of dialogue where he tells Charlie that he tried making things like the magic snowglobe when he first started working with toys, but no one bought them, with a definite note of sadness in his voice.

** One of the prospective women Scott dates is a Christmas freak with a sweater like this. Neal also wears these in the original, and is mocked for it by Scott.
** Scott is then hilariously forced to wear one himself on his first date because it's the only thing that fits him.
** Also the sweater Scott wears when he visits Neal and Laura's house after the custody hearing is ''far'' worse than ''anything'' Neal wore in the entire trilogy.
* HonoraryUncle: Scott for Lucy. It's another sign that Scott made peace with the Millers after the first film.

** Happens near the end of the first film, when a crowd is watching Santa leave. Next, there's a MatchCut to the snow globe when Charlie uses it.
** A variation in the second film. Their town isn't in a warm climate, but Scott uses some of his dwindling Christmas magic to make this happen while he's courting Carol.
* LighterAndSofter: The first film is rated PG and the next two are both G. Although the first was just ''barely'' a PG, this trope is still present in that both sequels have a more child-friendly tone.

* MrsClaus: The second film is about Scott having to get a wife, so that as Santa he can have a MsClaus.

** In the second film he... neglected to tell Santa about the Mrs. Clause until it was almost too late, nearly caused the Pole to be discoved by playing with a dancing Santa during lockdown, and created a Toy Santa that almost ruined Chrismas because Curtiz kept encouraging him to follow the rules.
** In the third movie, he's easily baited by Jack Frost to give away vital information on Santa's snow globe enabling Jack to take over Christmas. Ironically in the alternate world, he's actually unintentionally helps Scott defeat Frost.

* NotMeThisTime: Variation: When Bernard reveals that Charlie's on the naughty list, Santa/Scott initially thinks that he's referring to Creator/CharlieSheen, and remarks that he thought he straightened out. Abby then reveals that they weren't referring to Sheen, but to his son, Charlie Calvin.

* ParentWithNewParamour: Scott has to get married in the Santa Clause 2 to fulfill the conditions of the Mrs. Clause. He falls in love with Carol... who also happens to be Charlie's hated principal. When Charlie first finds out they're dating, he's devastated, but later decides that his father's happiness is more important and tries to convince Carol to believe in Scott.

* PurelyAestheticEra: Though many of the elves dress in very old-fashioned clothing, the elves also take full advantage of the latest technological advancements, and they appear more technologically advanced in some areas than humans.

* RaceAgainstTheClock: Scott has to get married before [[CelestialDeadline midnight on Christmas Eve]], or he’ll stop being Santa forever.

* AscendedExtra: Bernard was only in a few scenes in the first movie, but was a main character in the second.

* AwardBaitSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFpNTgMiuKo Christmas Will Return]] sung by Brenda Russell and Howard Hewett.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: The Tooth Fairy wants a better name, so Scott jokes "The Molinator" (after the molars).

* BadFuture: When Jack becomes Santa after igniting the Escape Clause, Scott is still a worker, Laura and Neil are divorced, Carol moved away, Jack Frost has converted the North Pole into an amusement park, forces people to come there to get their presents, and has them pay to be put on the nice list.
* BadSanta: Scott takes the elves up on making a toy subsitute Santa so he can go search for a wife in the second film, but [[AIIsACrapshoot toy Santa]] takes a turn for the dictatorial. Jack Frost is one of the CorruptCorporateExecutive variety in the third film, where he's turned the North Pole into a theme park.
* BeliefMakesYouStupid: Played with, in that the trope is selectively applied.
* BigBad: The toy Santa in the second film, and Jack Frost in the third.
* BigEater: Scott becomes this after assuming the role of Santa. Comet is also this, overdoing it on chocolate in the sequel.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Bernard is absent in the third film, and it's never explained why.[[note]]In reality, his performer, David Krumholtz, was unable to reprise his role as Bernard due to contractual obligations working on ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}''.[[/note]]
** Judy and Quinton are absent from the later films, though Abby serves as a replacement in the second film.

* ConsummateLiar: Ties into Scott's cynicism and bitterness in the first film.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: What they did to Toy Santa after shrinking him. The only problem is he tries to teach the other toy Santas to dance properly.

* CrystalBall: The magic snowglobe in the third film may qualify.
* TheCynic: Both Scott and Neal to a degree in the beginning, they both get better.

* DeadpanSnarker: Scott Calvin is easily the snarkiest character in the whole series.
** Also Bernard.
** Charlie has his moments of this as well.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Toy Santa is unfamiliar with the concept of proportion of any kind--as far as he's concerned, if a kid does anything naughty at all, all year, (s)he counts as naughty. Curtis and Bernard try to convince him this is too simplistic of an argument, but of course he doesn't listen.
* DIYDentistry: Having lost his magic in the sequel, Scott needs a way to get back to the North Pole to stop Toy Santa's takeover. After the (not so) bright idea of sprouting wings, he and Curtis attempt to pull out one of his teeth to prompt a visit from ToothFairy, by not only trying the old doorknob trick, but the throwing a toaster down the stairs trick. Neither of them work.

* DramaticIrony: The entire first movie pretty much runs on this. The audience (along with Charlie and Scott, of course) knows full well that the trip to the North Pole and Scott becoming the new Santa really happened and Scott [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody can't really help the Santa-y things that keep happening to him or that he himself does]], but to Laura, Neal, and everyone else, it looks like Charlie is becoming an escapist following what sounds like just a crazy dream and Scott is fostering this behavior by acting more like Santa until it's finally revealed to them that it's all true after all.

The first film in the series, ''The Santa Clause'' (1994) is sort of a modern take on the Scrooge story but with a twist. Cynical businessman Scott Calvin is divorced and bitter, his ex-wife Laura (Creator/WendyCrewson) doesn't want him to have much contact with his son, Charlie (Creator/EricLloyd), and he's more concerned with the company's bottom line than with Christmas spirit. One fateful Christmas Eve, he startles a man who he believes is a burglar on his roof. The man falls off into the snow of their front yard, then vanishes, leaving his clothing behind. Scott, guilted into trying to be a better father, puts on the guy's red Santa coat and spends the night delivering gifts -- before he and his son are magically transported to the North Pole, where he discovers that he inadvertently invoked a magical contract must now take on the role of Santa permanently. Being a cynic, he blows this off and returns to his life. But before he knows it, the naughty and nice list arrives for him to check twice. Scott finds himself craving cocoa with marshmallows and Christmas cookies. He puts on weight at an alarming rate despite workouts. He finds his hair whitening and a beard that grows back in five seconds, rather than a shadow at five o'clock. His ex thinks he's crazy and tries to have him arrested. The elves must spring him from jail and get him back to the North Pole in time for the midnight ride.

The second is ''The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause'' (2002) in which Scott discovers that in order to keep being Santa, the fine print in the magical contract that gives him his Christmas powers requires him to find a wife. So he has only until Christmas to find a Mrs. Claus. He gets a watch with a magical indicator on it that tells him how much Christmas magic he has left; if it runs out, he can't get back to the North Pole. In order to keep the elves in the dark about the problem, a toy Santa is created to take his place. When it goes wrong, the elves try to keep a lid on it so Scott can find a lady. He finds one in Carol Newman (Creator/ElizabethMitchell), but when he confesses, she kicks him out, believing he's being a {{Jerkass}}. But of course it all ends well.

The third, ''The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'' (2006), features a North Pole visit from Carol's parents for Christmas. Mrs. Claus is about to have a baby, and Santa must contend with jealous Jack Frost. Played by Creator/MartinShort, the harbinger of winter is jealous that Santa gets all the winter attention, and decides to exploit the escape clause of the Santa Clause in order to steal the job from Scott Calvin. Scott is returned to his life before, without Carol, but is made aware of what's gone wrong and has to set it all right before Christmas Eve.

** Also in the first movie, when Scott is first touring the North Pole he picks up a [[Series/HomeImprovement tool belt]] and holds it to his waist.

** Scott and Charlie disappear with no trace around Thanksgiving to work at the North Pole with no warning to Laura or Neal but also no malice or intent to hurt them. But his mother spends an entire month worrying about him and only hears from him on the phone and while he does sound happy, the police cannot get a trace on his location and have no leads to his whereabouts.
** Scott is also concerned about Charlie's behavior after they go to the North Pole. Everybody believes that Charlie is becoming an escapist due to the time he spends with Scott. To prevent losing custody over his son, Scott tries to find a way to keep Charlie quiet about him being Santa, initially trying to convince him that it was just a nice dream.
** This is all made worse by the fact that as Scott's appearance and behavior change, it looks to everyone else (including Charlie's mother) that he's [[SanitySlippage adopting the delusion that he's a fairy tale character.]]
** From the other side, Scott has to watch everyone around him from his family (save Charlie), to his coworkers, to his doctor, to a judge treating him as being insane and possibly a danger to himself and his child, up to the point of separating him from said child, for something that is completely out of his control.
* AIIsACrapshoot: Even magical Christmas elves can't always get it right. In the sequel, the Elves make a toy Santa but it ends up becoming a tyrant.
* AllMythsAreTrue: American myths, at least. Every Santa myth is the truth. Mother Nature is a real person. So is the Tooth Fairy. And Jack Frost. Among others.
* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: International versions uses [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVBzIRJgOXc Jingle Bells]] by Yello as the end credits song instead of Christmas Will Return.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Interestingly enough, Bernard the Head Elf. Doesn't help he's played by the Jewish Creator/DavidKrumholtz.

* CanadaEh: The third film, the North Pole is dressed up to look like Canada. The kids even say, "Welcome to Canada. Eehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." And hilariously enough, Martin Short (Jack's actor) is from Canada.

** Neal and Laura in the later films.

* RememberTheNewGuy: Jack Frost is introduced in the third film as part of the Council of Legendary Figures despite being absent from the third film. Somewhat justified by the fact he's doesn't attend the meetings as noted by Father Time.

** Lucy has a Kim Possible picture in her room.

* DefconFive: Averted by the North Pole's "Elfcon" system, of all things, which acts as a means of helping keep the workshop from being discovered.

(Cut to restaurant full of Japanese men)

* DoomDoors: In the first film, when Charlie first encounters the reindeer atop his house, one of them lets out a groan that sounds ''exactly'' like a zombie death sound from ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''.

* {{Gasshole}}: Comet: When first meeting him in the first film, after Scott Calvin warns Charlie that the Reindeer might have "Key Lyme Disease", Comet ends up breaking wind. Comet also does this after eating too much chocolate in the second movie.

* HyperspaceArsenal: Santa's bag is functionally empty until one reaches a qualifying house, at which time it produces the requested gift.

* AdultFear:
** Scott and Charlie disappear with no trace around Thanksgiving to work at the North Pole with no warning to Laura or Neal but also no malice or intent to hurt them. But his mother spends an entire month worrying about him and only hears from him on the phone and while he does sound happy, the police cannot get a trace on his location and have no leads to his whereabouts.
** Scott is also concerned about Charlie's behavior after they go to the North Pole. Everybody believes that Charlie is becoming an escapist due to the time he spends with Scott. To prevent losing custody over his son, Scott tries to find a way to keep Charlie quiet about him being Santa, initially trying to convince him that it was just a nice dream.
** This is all made worse by the fact that as Scott's appearance and behavior change, it looks to everyone else (including Charlie's mother) that he's [[SanitySlippage adopting the delusion that he's a fairy tale character.]]
** From the other side, Scott has to watch everyone around him from his family (save Charlie), to his coworkers, to his doctor, to a judge treating him as being insane and possibly a danger to himself and his child, up to the point of separating him from said child, for something that is completely out of his control.

* TheSleepyhead: The Sandman is prone to this, especially during council meetings.

* SantasExistenceClause: Scott pretends to believe in Santa for Charlie's sake, to the point of trying to explain how the reindeer fly, only to discover it ''is'' real.

* YesVirginia: The original film has elements of this. Scott Calvin pretends to believe in Santa for Charlie's sake, but once Santa actually shows up, he desperately tries to find a more plausible explanation for what's going on, breaking the ruse. Later, Charlie's mother and step-father get to discover for themselves that Santa is real.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Subverted. A scene ended up deleted specifically because of complaints relating to a phone number. See ExecutiveMeddling.
** Though this harmless little line was left in:
--> '''Charlie:''' Whoa, Dad! You're flying!
--> '''Scott Calvin:''' It's okay, I'm used to it. I lived through the '60s.

* BadSanta: Scott takes the elves up on making a toy subsitute Santa so he can go search for a wife in the second film, but [[AIIsACrapshoot toy Santa]] takes a turn for the dictatorial.

** Judy and Quinton are absent from the later films, though Abby serves as a replacement in the seccond film.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Abby in the second film, for Judy in the first film.

* DemotedToExtra: Charlie appears only very briefly in a few scenes in the third film.