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Film: Santa Claus The Movie

A 1985 film from the producers of the first two Superman movies (and the director of Supergirl), starring Dudley Moore as one of Santa's elves and John Lithgow as a Corrupt Corporate Executive who seeks to commercialize Santa's Christmas magic. David Huddleston is Santa, but doesn't get above-the-title billing despite playing the title character.

Not to be confused with Film.Santa Claus.

The film provides examples of:

Billed Above The Title: David Huddleston doesn't get it, but it's justified here, as part of the original marketing (such as the original making-of featurette shown on ABC in the lead-up to the movie) stressed that Santa Claus was essentially playing himself, and that no actor could do him justice.
Cassandra Truth: Subverted with Cornelia. She thinks the police don't believe her warning, but, given their response, they obviously do.
Chekhov's Gunman: Patch.
Chekhov's Skill: The Super Duper Looper.
The Chosen One: Santa is actually called this.
Christmas Elves: Of course.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: B.Z.
For the Evulz: B.Z.
Didn't Think This Through: B.Z., on a couple of occasions.
- In one case, he plans to mark his magic candy canes for hundreds of dollars. When asked where kids will get that kind of money, he says he doesn't care; he'll just sell the item and watch the money come rolling in. A fundamental rule of economics: if your target audience can't afford the product, they won't buy it. End of discussion.
- B.Z.'s plan to avoid the authorities by fleeing to Brazil. One small problem. Depending on the scope of his marketing, Brazil may not have an extradition agreement with the U.S., but it might have one with some country where B.Z. has marketed his goods. Secondly, depending on how successful his marketing is (and whether he can overcome the flaw mentioned above), his product could end up killing a significant number of the children (and a fair number of adults) in the country. Obviously, this movie was made before 9/11, but in hindsight, it is clear that, especially in the wake of a tragedy that could dwarf 9/11, the U.S. wouldn't let such niceties as extradition treaties (or lack thereof) stop them from taking down B.Z. by any means necessary.
- Ultimately, considering the end result of B.Z.'s attempt to evade arrest, he obviously didn't think that one through.
Disney Villain Death: Inverted. B.Z. instead flies up to his doom after eating the candy canes to evade the police.
Does This Remind You of Anything?: B.Z.'s plan to charge astronomical fees for his magic candy canes, not caring where kids get the money, sounds a lot like a dope dealer.
Evil Uncle: B.Z. to Cornelia, sort of. He treats her pretty well, but he is evil and her uncle.
Fish out of Water: Patch, in New York.
Hey, It's That Guy!: Daisy is Mrs. Claus.
How Can Santa Deliver All Those Toys?: Christmas Eve wouldn't end until Santa finished his job.
Large Ham: B.Z.
B.Z.: For FREEEEEEEEE!!!!???!?!?!!?!?!?
B.Z.: We'll call it... CHRISTMAS 2!!!!!!
Made of Explodium: The second batch of candy canes, if they get too hot.
Mrs. Claus
My Little Panzer: Every toy B.Z.'s company made, including a teddy bear stuffed with sawdust and construction nails.
- Most of these, like the bear, seem to be For the Evulz given that they would cost more than just doing it right.
Never Trust a Trailer: Opening with an iconic view of Capitol Hill, the British trailer for this movie makes it seem like a story about corporate corruption and politics, with Santa having a minor part at best.
New Technology Is Evil: Mass producing toys is bad for elves to do.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Patch, from his appointment as Santa's assistant, until his rescue of Joe.
Not Now, Kiddo: Subverted. See Cassandra Truth.
Only Known by Their Nickname: B.Z.
Only One Name: Everyone except Towser.
Periphery Demographic: In-universe. The magic lollipops are marketed to kids, but it seems some adults like them even more.
Saving Christmas
Santa Claus: It's in the title, after all.
Smug Snake: B.Z.
Spoiled Sweet: Cornelia
Street Urchin: Joe
When It All Began: The first part of the story.
Wrong Genre Savvy: Cornelia tells Santa she called the police to warn them about B.Z.'s toys, but she doesn't think they believed her. Apparently, they did, because they try to arrest him shortly afterward.
Your Size May Vary: The elves vary between a few feet tall to normal humans but a bit short.