Line #5 YMMV/SantaClausTheMovie


1	* AlternateAesopInterpretation: The failures of Patch's attempts to modernize production are treated like a lesson on GoodOldWays. However, they are consistently shown to fail due to him and his (untrained) operators not anticipating the need to inspect and maintain equipment, exacerbated by a complete lack of quality assurance testing. It's like the TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket part of a manufacturing training video.
2	* AudienceAlienatingPremise: If there's a reason why it's a CultClassic rather than a "mainstream" classic, it's because critics saw the approach of copying the exact same narrative structure that was used in the Salkinds' previous ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'' almost to a "T" (including having an Expy of Lex Luthor appear as the BigBad by the mid-point of the film) applied for a '''Santa Claus''' movie and they collectively went "...''what''?" Nowadays that conceit wouldn't look ''quite'' so silly, but in TheEighties family-friendly cinema and fantasy as a genre were not as appreciated as they are now, so there wasn't really a frame of reference for it.
3	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The ''other'' [[Film/Lifeforce1985 expensive 1985]] BoxOfficeBomb to be graced by a Music/HenryMancini score.
4	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Even by the somewhat nonsensical standards of the movie's second half, The Patchmobile launch is especially silly/bizarre. From the launch sequence, to B.Z. and staff cheering Patch ENTIRELY too long for the segment, to Patch yelling "YAHOO!" upon takeoff (in a voice completely different than Creator/DudleyMoore's, and utterly out of character for the low-key inventor elf)... it's just a very, very surreal sequence to observe.
5	* CoveredUp: Hands up Music/NewEdition fans: How many know that the title track of of their 1985 EP ''Christmas All Over the World'' is actually a cover of the AwardBaitSong from this movie? It doesn't help that unlike that EP, the soundtrack has never had a widely available CD or digital release. Sheena Easton's original version of the song ''was'' given a CD and streaming release in 2021 as part of a GreatestHitsAlbum.
6	* CriticalBacklash: Critics who don't like this movie tend to be ''really'' hard on it, with at least two retrospective tomes even ranking it as one of the worst Christmas movies '''ever'''. Viewers familiar with any of the Christmas movies ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' or Podcast/RiffTrax has tackled, or the gobs upon gobs of low-budget StrictlyFormula productions themed to the holiday created for TV and the DirectToVideo market, may well wonder what makes this well-acted, truly lavish production so awful by comparison. Sure, the second half is on the silly side plotwise and the villain is over the top, but is that so unusual for a Christmas movie aimed at kids? The tonal dissonance of a character like Santa Claus getting a sincere, superhero movie-style treatment is probably a big factor in this trope being invoked. (There are some critics who think the first half is quite good; the folks from Website/TheAgonyBooth who reviewed it even stated that if it stopped there it would've been a classic. Maybe it should have been split into two movies?)
7	* CultClassic: It was no box office blockbuster, but is one of the better-remembered Christmas films of TheEighties. It helps that it's as close as Christmas-themed fantasy cinema has ever come to a full-out EpicMovie. And while it's clearly a film of its time, the sincere approach to the story and characters (especially in the first half) has aged well.
8	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The film did surprisingly well in England (or not so surprisingly, given Creator/DudleyMoore being a beloved comic there) and remains highly popular there to this day, where it's often shown during the holiday season -- ITV has run it almost annually since 2008. In a 2019 Random Roles video interview with the AV Club, Creator/JohnLithgow said that this movie "is half of what I'm known for in England", where he's ''still'' approached by fans who grew up with it, thanks primarily to TV airings. 2023 was a year without an ITV airing, but [=StudioCanal=] reissued the film in U.K. theaters to show off the 4K restoration they prepped for a new home media release!
9	* HarsherInHindsight: The subplot about B.Z. and his toys took on a whole new level of relevance with TurnOfTheMillennium stories about lead-based paint, etc. in toys that come from China.
10	* HilariousInHindsight:
11	** A lot of this movie's faults comes from its misguided attempts to emulate the formula invented by ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''. Decades later, renowned Franchise/{{Superman}} writer Creator/GrantMorrison would create a [[ComicBook/KlausGrantMorrison version of Santa]] who is partly a SupermanSubstitute. The character's later stories would even shift the setting from an ambiguous medieval era to the modern day.
12	** B.Z.'s ultimate fate is so similar to that of the Chocolate Cartel members in ''Film/{{Wonka}}'' (in both cases [[spoiler: they're sent helplessly floating away after eating too much magical candy]]) that the latter may be an intentional ShoutOut to the former.
13	* MemeticMutation: '''''"FOR FREE?!"'''''
14	* MoralEventHorizon: B.Z. crosses it by [[spoiler: attempting to flee to Rio with all his money while leaving numerous children to possibly die from his explosive lollipops]].
15	* RetroactiveRecognition:
16	** Anya Claus is played by Creator/JudyCornwell, who would later be best known for playing Daisy in ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances''.
17	** Santa's actor Creator/DavidHuddleston is now much more well-known to film buffs as Film/TheBigLebowski.
18	* SignatureScene: Santa Claus and his reindeer heading into New York City and passing over such landmarks as the Rockefeller Center ice rink and its famous Christmas tree. It has become a stock scene for anything involving Santa Claus, especially in New York adverts, such as the ''Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular'' ad. For many years, the scene actually was used as part of the stage show's opening sequence.
19	* TearJerker: The scene where Patch is removed as Santa's number two, then decides to leave the North Pole. Already well-acted, it's made just that little bit worse in that Patch isn't fired, he just decides to face the music and resign. It's implied that he knows he's ''about'' to be fired and resigns to spare the good-hearted Santa the pain of having to do it.
20	* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: This is a near-EpicMovie about a character whose nature, associates, and world don't exactly cry out for the gravitas of a ''Film/{{Superman\|TheMovie}}'' spectacular, with a story that gets sillier as it goes along. One would expect a WorldOfHam, but with the key exception of Creator/JohnLithgow as B.Z. (a case of EvilIsHammy as this film's equivalent to Creator/GeneHackman's Lex Luthor, which works in context), ''every'' actor plays it sincerely and the movie is more likable for it than it otherwise would be. Creator/DavidHuddleston as Santa Claus is the most prominent example, but Creator/DudleyMoore's endearing Patch is a lot less hammy/indulgent than one would expect from a comic actor who was the biggest name in the cast back in the day, and Creator/BurgessMeredith is a OneSceneWonder as the dignified Ancient Elf.

Context YMMV / SantaClausTheMovie