Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)

Santa Claus is a decent movie with a reasonably well developed storyline and a talented cast, although no one ever gets to show their full potential as an actor. It certainly has good moments and is a very nice Christmas movie that is very strong with the spirit of the season, it is certainly a lot of fun for anyone under the age of ten. The highlight of the entire film for me was John Lithgow, who I believe steals every scene as the villain B.Z., he's ruthless and completely unlikeable, it's an exaggerated performance that easily could have been hurrendous, but Lithgow made it work. My main problem with the film is that the story never really goes anywhere, it's almost two hours long and the adventure only really kicks off at about 75 minutes in, and is resolved by minute 95, the conflict is small and very simple, we never actually lose hope and feel as if the hero may not succeed. Every single character lacks depth or proper arch, none of them are established, not even the title character, we know very little about him before he is made become the Father of Christmas, and Patch the elf is poorly written, despite a good performance from Dudley Moore, the character starts out normal, eventually becomes evil for unknown reasons, and randomly becomes good again, it made little sense to be and it was clear he was just a poorly developed character. It's worth a look if you see it on television, but Santa Claus is definitely not a movie I would insist on watching every Christmas, and you shouldn't go out of your way to see it. A woodcutter soon becomes Santa Claus and must save Christmas from an evil toy manufacturer. Best Performance: John Lithgow

Santa Claus (1985) * (out of 4) A Christmas favorite to many, this 1985 film starts off with a kind man and his wife being approached by some elves to become Santa Claus. Shortly afterwards we see how Christmas has changed and an elf named Patch (Dudley Moore) comes up with an assembly line to make toys quicker. When they fall apart Patch decides to head out on his own and ends up with a crooked toy maker (John Lithgow).SANTA CLAUS is a film loved by many so I guess I will embrace the hate mail and being called a Grinch by saying that I thought it was pretty darn awful on many levels. I think the biggest problem is the direction, which I found to be really bad as there's no style or flow to the picture. Another major problem is the screenplay, which is all over the place and I found each and every scene just to drag itself out. Even the sequence showing how Santa came to be just ran too long.The biggest offense here is that there's not an ounce of life, energy or laughs to be found. I was really shocked at how plain and bland the Moore elf was as there's just nothing fun about the character. Moore is pretty lifeless in the role and even Burgess Meredith doesn't get much to do. David Huddleston is good as Santa and he's about the only good thing. Lithgow is rather annoying in his part.SANTA CLAUS will find much support from people but I'm not one of them.

This was always one of my favourite childhood films so I was a little apprehensive about watching it in case it didn't hold up. However, I'm glad to say that it held up very well. David Huddleston is my favourite Santa, playing the role with the requisite level of warmth and kindness. John Lithgow is wonderfully over the top as B.Z., who does not actually appear until almost an hour into the film. The Salkinds were almost always able to assemble great casts for their films and this one is no exception. Of the rest of the cast, I thought that Judy Cornwall, Dudley Moore and, in a great cameo, Burgess Meredith were the best.The Salkinds also made the first three "Superman" films and this film has certain similarities to the first of those: the first part of both films is concerned with the origins of the title character before transitioning to the present, which makes up the bulk of the film, and introducing a very entertaining, over the top villainous businessman who loves being evil.Donner being the name of one of Santa's reindeers goes back in the 19th Century but I couldn't help but think that the fact Donner was the (initially) unreliable one when it came to the Super Duper Looper might have been meant as a dig at Superman and (initial) "Superman II" director Richard Donner. Speaking of the Super Duper Looper, I found it impossible not to think of 9/11 when they attempted to do it around the Twin Towers.

From the makers of the 1978 - 1987 "Superman" film franchise comes this likable look at the origin of Santa Claus: how a gift giving man named Claus was chosen by elves long ago to be a worldwide distributor of gifts, the introduction to the workshop, the reindeer, and all of those good things. Eventually more modern touches are given to the material: Santa Claus restoring hope to a homeless boy (Christian Fitzpatrick), and the machinations of a sleazy corporate villain named B.Z., played by John Lithgow at his hammy best. When an elf named Patch (Dudley Moore) has his heart broken as his dreams of being Santas' assistant don't pan out, he journeys from the North Pole to NYC and is manipulated by the heartless B.Z.These touches can't really sour the charm of this disarming fable. It's so wonderfully performed that one does get caught up in it. The under appreciated character actor David Huddleston has a nice warm presence as the man selected to be Saint Nick, as does Judy Cornwell as his wife Anya. Moore is a delight as Patch, a forward-thinking elf with grand ideas and new ways of making toys. Lithgow is a hoot as a completely unsubtle character. Jeffrey Kramer (Deputy Hendricks from "Jaws" 1 and 2) is fine as snivelling flunky Towzer. Burgess Meredith has a great cameo as a wise old elf who gives Santa a hearty welcome. The kids, also including Carrie Kei Heim as Cornelia, are likable enough.Capably directed by Jeannot Szwarc ("Jaws 2", "Somewhere in Time", "Supergirl"), the most impressive asset that "Santa Claus" can boast is its production design. The 2.35:1 aspect ratio treats us to a true "eye candy" assortment of details when it comes to Santas' workshop and residence. Henry Mancini does the music, and Sheena Easton belts out the touching closing anthem, "Christmas All Over the World".There's enough of what could be considered "magic" here to make this decent family viewing.Seven out of 10.