Santa Claus
The film opens sometime in the early or late Middle Ages, where Claus is an aging, peasant woodcutter who delivers his gifts with his wife Anya to the children of a certain village. On their way to th…
Santa Claus
The film opens sometime in the early or late Middle Ages, where Claus is an aging, peasant woodcutter who delivers his gifts with his wife Anya to the children of a certain village. On their way to the next village, they are lost in a snowstorm & along with their two reindeer, Donner and Blitzen, succumb to the weather. They are resurrected as they are transported to the vast "ice mountains, way up at the top of the world." They find that they were expected, and are accordingly received by a contingent of these same fabled Vendequm, or Elves, led by a wise and venerable old elf named Dooley (John Barrard). They encounter the overzealous elf Patch (Moore), and his trusty companions Boog (Tim Stern), Honka (Peter O'Farrell) and Vout (Christopher Ryan), who soon take charge of the reindeer and sleigh. The kindly couple is then led into the wondrous, wooden elf compound. Dooley soon explains to Claus and Anya that they have been brought here to spend forever crafting and giving a fantastic array of toys to every child on Earth. Preparations for Santa's very first Christmas Eve are made. By suggesting that red should be used for Claus' costume, Patch gets to show that he may be the most inventive elf. Santa's first Christmas Eve begins with our hero, resplendent in his full red-suited regalia, greeted by the Ancient One (Burgess Meredith), the oldest and wisest of all the Elves, who explains to Claus that he and Anya represent the fulfillment of a prophecy that a Chosen One would be brought into the Elves' world who, "having no child of his own, would love all children everywhere, and that he himself would be an artisan, and a craftsman, and a skilled maker of toys." He charges Santa with his sacred duties and the name by which he will be known through the world for all time to come: Santa Claus. Santa then boards his newly recrafted sleigh, while the reindeer are fed with an incredible feed that grants them the power of flight. Santa takes off with a boisterous "YO!", signaling the beginning of his legend, which is detailed through a montage of his voyages over the years. The voyages stop in the mid-18th century, first where Mrs. Claus recommends not giving an unruly child a present to punish him for his bad behavior, and then skip ahead to the 19th century, where Dooley is reading the poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the elves. This includes a passage that says that Santa's stomach is like a bowl full of jelly, so Santa decides to go on a diet. (However, this does not last very long.) The film then jumps from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century, until it gets to present-day Manhattan -- where, in a dark and lonely alley, a young orphaned and homeless boy named Joe (Christian Fitzpatrick) struggles to keep himself warm. Across the street, in an elegant townhouse, a young girl named Cornelia (Carrie Kei Heim) suddenly notices the boy before being scolded by her nanny, Miss Tucker (Dorothea Phillips). Back at the North Pole, after Santa tells both Patch and Puffy (Anthony O'Donnell) that he will choose one of them for the newly created position of Santa's Official Assistant, the two elves compete for the spot. Patch eventually wins out by mass producing toys using his new Patch-o-Matic Supertoy Constructor, as opposed to Puffy, who chooses slower, more traditional methods of handcrafting. However, unseen by anyone except the viewer, during operation, the machine malfunctions, screwdrivers snap, and the machine creates toys faster and, admittedly, clumsier (indeed, noticing that the machine may be speeding up too fast, Boog expresses his doubts concerning the situation, to which Patch responds: "Too fast? Welcome to the 20th century!"). Later, as Santa takes flight on Christmas Eve, he meets Joe who has been searching for food in the trash. Santa is appalled that such a young child is made to live on his own and offers to take Joe along with him. Joe is realistic, thinking that it is another drunk who got a job as a department store Santa, until Santa has to prove it by transporting him and Joe magically through chimneys. Santa's authenticity gets through to the normally cynical Joe, and the two go for a magical ride in Santa's sleigh. Santa shows Joe all the moves he can do, but falls short of showing him the Super Duper Looper, as it is too hard for the reindeer. (This sequence eventually inspired executives at New York's Radio City Music Hall to use footage from it to open the venue's annual Christmas Spectacular.) However, on Christmas morning many children find that their toys from Santa made by Patch's Supertoy Constructor prove defective. Ashamed in the company of his fellow elves, blinded by his own distrust of Santa, Patch leaves the North Pole, determined to prove himself to Santa. Puffy is then appointed Santa's Official Assistant. Eventually, Patch meets up with B.Z. (John Lithgow), a business magnate who is under investigation by the United States Senate for shoddy manufacturing processing at his toy company; later, Patch also meets B.Z.'s Head of Research and Development, Dr. Eric Towzer (Jeffrey Kramer), along with their chauffeur, Grizzard (John Hallam), and B.Z.'s secretary, Ms. Abruzzi (Judith Morse). Patch passes by a toy store where B.Z.'s toys are being recalled and mistakenly thinks the toys must be unable to remain on the shelves as they must be selling like hotcakes. B.Z. convinces Patch to work with him and B.Z. airs a television commercial that is broadcast on every major television network on Earth. Among those watching the commercial are Joe, Cornelia (B.Z.'s stepniece) and Santa himself. Patch eventually takes flight on Christmas Eve just like Santa, in his own vehicle called the Patchmobile (which is fueled by reindeer dust and looks like a dozen toys put together), as he drops his own lollipops to all the houses on Santa's route. Patch's outing turns out to be a large success, with his worldwide popularity now rivaling that of Santa's, a fact which Santa is quick to note as he drops off presents to households that already have Patch's lollipops. His well-received lollipops result in B.Z. making Patch exclusive to his company at a press conference. After this success, the ever-reluctant Patch considers himself ready to return to the North Pole, but after revealing to B.Z. that the magic lollipops can make children fly, B.Z. is quick to capitalize on this and suggests using the same magic for candy canes in an effort he plans to market as Christmas II. Joe and Cornelia catch wind of the plan from B.Z. and Towzer a few nights later, resulting in Joe being captured by Grizzard and taken to B.Z.'s factory. Towzer then reveals that the candy canes in production overreact when exposed to extreme heat, rendering them volatile. B.Z. dismisses this news as a reckless afterthought, and proposes to Towzer that the two of them escape to Brazil, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, thus leaving Patch to take the blame for all the possible chaos. The next morning, Cornelia writes to Santa about Joe's capture; once he learns of this, Santa wastes little time in taking off for Cornelia's place, regardless of the fact that he must make do with only six reindeer, as a result of Comet and Cupid both having come down with the flu. Cornelia informs Santa that she contacted the police about Joe's kidnapping, but doubts she was taken seriously. Back at B.Z.'s factory, Patch rescues the captured Joe. Though Joe is initially angry at Patch for ruining Christmas, Patch discovers that Joe is carrying a wooden likeness of Patch crafted by Santa, suggesting to Patch that Santa might like him after all. The two now resolve to deliver all the candy canes to Santa as a present in the Patchmobile, unaware of the canes' lethal side effects. At the same time, B.Z. finds himself surrounded by the New York City Police Department, in response to Cornelia having called them, which they did indeed take seriously. Already having apprehended and handcuffed Grizzard and Towzer, the NYPD shouts to B.Z. via a bullhorn that they know that he's up there, and he is to surrender or they will enter his office. As the policemen are on their way up to his office, B.Z. eats an entire handful of the magic candy canes -- only to find himself floating higher and higher, disappearing into the stratosphere. Meanwhile, Patch and Joe continue on their journey, until they find themselves in need of rescue, as the Patchmobile's continuing speed causes the candy canes to heat up, in turn causing certain unprotected wiring to violently self-activate. In pursuit, Santa manages to rescue them from the exploding Patchmobile after a tense moment where ultimately, he must execute the one move he has never been able to properly execute: the Super Duper Looper. The film ends with a joyous celebration with Santa, Anya and the other elves... and it seems that Cornelia and Joe will remain with Santa at the North Pole. The final scene ends with B.Z. suspended into deep space along with the remnants of the Patchmobile, floating higher and shouting for help.
Santa Claus
Adventure,Family,Fantasy
Film Details
The film opens sometime in the early or late Middle Ages, where Claus is an aging, peasant woodcutter who delivers his gifts with his wife Anya to the children of a certain village. On their way to the next village, they are lost in a snowstorm & along with their two reindeer, Donner and Blitzen, succumb to the weather. They are resurrected as they are transported to the vast "ice mountains, way up at the top of the world." They find that they were expected, and are accordingly received by a contingent of these same fabled Vendequm, or Elves, led by a wise and venerable old elf named Dooley (John Barrard).
They encounter the overzealous elf Patch (Moore), and his trusty companions Boog (Tim Stern), Honka (Peter O'Farrell) and Vout (Christopher Ryan), who soon take charge of the reindeer and sleigh. The kindly couple is then led into the wondrous, wooden elf compound. Dooley soon explains to Claus and Anya that they have been brought here to spend forever crafting and giving a fantastic array of toys to every child on Earth.
Preparations for Santa's very first Christmas Eve are made. By suggesting that red should be used for Claus' costume, Patch gets to show that he may be the most inventive elf. Santa's first Christmas Eve begins with our hero, resplendent in his full red-suited regalia, greeted by the Ancient One (Burgess Meredith), the oldest and wisest of all the Elves, who explains to Claus that he and Anya represent the fulfillment of a prophecy that a Chosen One would be brought into the Elves' world who, "having no child of his own, would love all children everywhere, and that he himself would be an artisan, and a craftsman, and a skilled maker of toys." He charges Santa with his sacred duties and the name by which he will be known through the world for all time to come: Santa Claus.
Santa then boards his newly recrafted sleigh, while the reindeer are fed with an incredible feed that grants them the power of flight. Santa takes off with a boisterous "YO!", signaling the beginning of his legend, which is detailed through a montage of his voyages over the years. The voyages stop in the mid-18th century, first where Mrs.
Claus recommends not giving an unruly child a present to punish him for his bad behavior, and then skip ahead to the 19th century, where Dooley is reading the poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the elves. This includes a passage that says that Santa's stomach is like a bowl full of jelly, so Santa decides to go on a diet. (However, this does not last very long.) The film then jumps from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century, until it gets to present-day Manhattan -- where, in a dark and lonely alley, a young orphaned and homeless boy named Joe (Christian Fitzpatrick) struggles to keep himself warm.
Across the street, in an elegant townhouse, a young girl named Cornelia (Carrie Kei Heim) suddenly notices the boy before being scolded by her nanny, Miss Tucker (Dorothea Phillips). Back at the North Pole, after Santa tells both Patch and Puffy (Anthony O'Donnell) that he will choose one of them for the newly created position of Santa's Official Assistant, the two elves compete for the spot. Patch eventually wins out by mass producing toys using his new Patch-o-Matic Supertoy Constructor, as opposed to Puffy, who chooses slower, more traditional methods of handcrafting.
However, unseen by anyone except the viewer, during operation, the machine malfunctions, screwdrivers snap, and the machine creates toys faster and, admittedly, clumsier (indeed, noticing that the machine may be speeding up too fast, Boog expresses his doubts concerning the situation, to which Patch responds: "Too fast? Welcome to the 20th century!"). Later, as Santa takes flight on Christmas Eve, he meets Joe who has been searching for food in the trash. Santa is appalled that such a young child is made to live on his own and offers to take Joe along with him.
Joe is realistic, thinking that it is another drunk who got a job as a department store Santa, until Santa has to prove it by transporting him and Joe magically through chimneys. Santa's authenticity gets through to the normally cynical Joe, and the two go for a magical ride in Santa's sleigh. Santa shows Joe all the moves he can do, but falls short of showing him the Super Duper Looper, as it is too hard for the reindeer.
(This sequence eventually inspired executives at New York's Radio City Music Hall to use footage from it to open the venue's annual Christmas Spectacular.) However, on Christmas morning many children find that their toys from Santa made by Patch's Supertoy Constructor prove defective. Ashamed in the company of his fellow elves, blinded by his own distrust of Santa, Patch leaves the North Pole, determined to prove himself to Santa. Puffy is then appointed Santa's Official Assistant.
Eventually, Patch meets up with B.Z. (John Lithgow), a business magnate who is under investigation by the United States Senate for shoddy manufacturing processing at his toy company; later, Patch also meets B.Z.'s Head of Research and Development, Dr. Eric Towzer (Jeffrey Kramer), along with their chauffeur, Grizzard (John Hallam), and B.Z.'s secretary, Ms.
Abruzzi (Judith Morse). Patch passes by a toy store where B.Z.'s toys are being recalled and mistakenly thinks the toys must be unable to remain on the shelves as they must be selling like hotcakes. B.Z.
convinces Patch to work with him and B.Z. airs a television commercial that is broadcast on every major television network on Earth. Among those watching the commercial are Joe, Cornelia (B.Z.'s stepniece) and Santa himself.
Patch eventually takes flight on Christmas Eve just like Santa, in his own vehicle called the Patchmobile (which is fueled by reindeer dust and looks like a dozen toys put together), as he drops his own lollipops to all the houses on Santa's route. Patch's outing turns out to be a large success, with his worldwide popularity now rivaling that of Santa's, a fact which Santa is quick to note as he drops off presents to households that already have Patch's lollipops. His well-received lollipops result in B.Z.
making Patch exclusive to his company at a press conference. After this success, the ever-reluctant Patch considers himself ready to return to the North Pole, but after revealing to B.Z. that the magic lollipops can make children fly, B.Z.
is quick to capitalize on this and suggests using the same magic for candy canes in an effort he plans to market as Christmas II. Joe and Cornelia catch wind of the plan from B.Z. and Towzer a few nights later, resulting in Joe being captured by Grizzard and taken to B.Z.'s factory.
Towzer then reveals that the candy canes in production overreact when exposed to extreme heat, rendering them volatile. B.Z. dismisses this news as a reckless afterthought, and proposes to Towzer that the two of them escape to Brazil, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, thus leaving Patch to take the blame for all the possible chaos.
The next morning, Cornelia writes to Santa about Joe's capture; once he learns of this, Santa wastes little time in taking off for Cornelia's place, regardless of the fact that he must make do with only six reindeer, as a result of Comet and Cupid both having come down with the flu. Cornelia informs Santa that she contacted the police about Joe's kidnapping, but doubts she was taken seriously. Back at B.Z.'s factory, Patch rescues the captured Joe.
Though Joe is initially angry at Patch for ruining Christmas, Patch discovers that Joe is carrying a wooden likeness of Patch crafted by Santa, suggesting to Patch that Santa might like him after all. The two now resolve to deliver all the candy canes to Santa as a present in the Patchmobile, unaware of the canes' lethal side effects. At the same time, B.Z.
finds himself surrounded by the New York City Police Department, in response to Cornelia having called them, which they did indeed take seriously. Already having apprehended and handcuffed Grizzard and Towzer, the NYPD shouts to B.Z. via a bullhorn that they know that he's up there, and he is to surrender or they will enter his office.
As the policemen are on their way up to his office, B.Z. eats an entire handful of the magic candy canes -- only to find himself floating higher and higher, disappearing into the stratosphere. Meanwhile, Patch and Joe continue on their journey, until they find themselves in need of rescue, as the Patchmobile's continuing speed causes the candy canes to heat up, in turn causing certain unprotected wiring to violently self-activate.
In pursuit, Santa manages to rescue them from the exploding Patchmobile after a tense moment where ultimately, he must execute the one move he has never been able to properly execute: the Super Duper Looper. The film ends with a joyous celebration with Santa, Anya and the other elves... and it seems that Cornelia and Joe will remain with Santa at the North Pole.
The final scene ends with B.Z. suspended into deep space along with the remnants of the Patchmobile, floating higher and shouting for help..