YMMV / Ernest Saves Christmas

• Ensemble Dark Horse: Santa Claus, played by Douglas Seale (who is surprisingly trim for Santa Claus), is one of the most lovable portrayals of the old man in red ever put to cinema. This was actually Seale's second time playing Santa; he first played a slightly different, but no less lovable version in a Christmas episode of Amazing Stories in 1985.
• Harsher in Hindsight: A movie like 'Christmas Slay' getting made today wouldn't even bat an eyelash, while in this movie, the story in a story film was designed to be in bad taste.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Eventually a real movie starring an otherwordly Bad Santa was made (though Santa's Slay's version of Santa is The Antichrist rather than an alien).
• Memetic Mutation: "The name is Santa Claus!"
• Tearjerker: This version of Santa is a Legacy Character, and the current one has come to the harsh realization that his love for the job blinded him to when he should have given it up, so that now he can’t keep his whole list to memory anymore and may have doomed the holiday forever if he can’t find a replacement very soon. It’s literally a case of a person being too good, and Douglas Seale’s performance is heartwrenching.
  Santa Claus: You know, I've carried this torch for more seasons than... I should have done. 'Cause I loved it so much! But now... I've taken to making notes! Well, you can't do it that way! It shouldn't be done that way! It can't be done that way...
• Took the Bad Film Seriously: Douglas Seale as Santa Claus seems to have no clue he's in a goofy comedy and plays the role without the slightest hint of sincerity, giving Santa real warmth and paternal kindness. Many have gone as far as to cite his performance as one of the best versions of Santa ever to appear in a film and even the film's detractors have nothing but praise for his portrayal of Saint Nick.

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