1991. The Santa Clause 2 (2002)

Starring: Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Krumholtz

Director: Michael Lembeck

Running Time: 104 mins

The Santa Clause 2 is an American film and the sequel to The Santa Clause. Ten years after becoming Santa, Scott has settled well into the role. However, he is soon informed that he needs to be married to continue being Santa, leading him to go back to his hometown in search of a wife.

The first Santa Clause movie wasn’t a work of art, but it was a film with a good heart and an interesting story, offering something a little different to the usual Christmas fare. The Santa Clause 2, on the other hand, is a far more plastic, Disneyfied family movie with nowhere near the same amount of heart and brains, and although it has the odd good laugh, it’s just not the same sort of film as its predecessor, which is a real shame to see.

First off, however, let’s look at some of the positives from this movie, namely the comedy. Although the difference between the first and second Santa Clause movies is also defined by their family-friendliness (this sequel feels far more like a kids’ movie than the first), there are still some good jokes here and there in this movie, namely when it comes to the story of Scott’s replacement back at the North Pole while he searches for his wife.

Scott’s side of the story is cheesy and predictable, following the generic rom-com formula, however back at the North Pole, we see a toy version of Santa take the helm in Scott’s absence. Tim Allen plays the plastic replacement very well, and makes some good jokes out of the character’s extremely robotic appearance and mannerisms.

What’s more is that the toy Santa replacement’s management style of the North Pole makes out to be a whole lot more trouble than expected, and following Scott’s departure, embarks on a hilarious reign of terror as a makeshift despot, something that I had a lot of fun watching, even if it’s a pretty silly and simple premise.

On the other hand, however, there’s not all that much more to The Santa Clause 2, as it fails to match its predecessor in delivering a story that’s both funny and genuinely heartwarming. The original mixed strong comedy with an engaging story about a man struggling with responsibilities and his own family, whereas this feels so much shallower, never featuring the same amount of Christmas heart or even simply engaging drama, which was a real shame to see.

Although the story attempts to change things up from the original with the new plot about Santa having to find a wife, it only opens the door for a very generic Disney love story that just isn’t at all interesting to watch, and also fails to bring any more fun or comedy to proceedings too, which makes the film all the more dull throughout.

Overall, while there were undoubtedly elements I enjoyed, The Santa Clause 2 isn’t the world’s greatest sequel. Failing to live up to a surprisingly engaging and very entertaining original, this sequel is a far more plastic and shallow Disney production than anything else, and that’s why I’m giving it a 6.6.