The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is a 2006 American film, the sequel to The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2.
Tim Allen again plays Scott Calvin (Santa Claus), while Martin Short plays Jack Frost, a competing holiday character. Allen and Short had previously worked together in the 1997 Disney comedy feature film, Jungle 2 Jungle. Eric Lloyd returns in a smaller role as Santa's son Charlie, as do many of the supporting actors from the first two films, reprising their previous roles. This is perhaps unusual for a series of films released over such a long period (the first film was released in 1994). However, David Krumholtz, who previously played the head elf Bernard, does not make an appearance in this third installment because of contractual issues, and so Curtis (played by Spencer Breslin), who was previously the Assistant Head Elf has now been promoted to Bernard's former position.
Production was completed in February 2006. The movie was released in theaters on November 3, 2006 in the US followed by a release date of November 24 for the UK.
The film was rated G by the MPAA, and a G rating from the Office of Film and Literature Classification in Australia. It was given a U certificate in Britain by the British Board of Film Classification. The DVD and Blu Ray were released on November 20, 2007 in the US and November 12, 2007 for the UK.
Plot
Scott Calvin, a.k.a. Santa Claus (Tim Allen), is having difficulties managing Christmas this year. His wife Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell), is expecting their first child and afraid that Scott will be making his deliveries while she is making hers. Wanting her to feel more comfortable, Scott invites his in-laws, Silvia and Bud Newman (Ann-Margret and Alan Arkin), up to the North Pole (disguised as a Canadian toy factory), along with his ex-wife, Laura (Wendy Crewson), her husband Neil (Judge Reinhold), and their daughter Lucy (Liliana Mumy) to keep Mrs. Claus company. Meanwhile, Santa is summoned to a meeting of the Council of Legendary Figures, which shows him a cardboard cutout of Jack Frost that reads, "Merry Frostmas". Mother Nature (Aisha Tyler) accuses Jack Frost (Martin Short) of attempting to upstage Santa, and all the other Legendary Figures agree that a punishment needs to be invoked against him. Jack manages to convince them to put him into community service at the North Pole. Scott reluctantly agrees, and Jack helps to disguise the North Pole as Canada for the arrival of the in-laws. However, Jack, who wants to have the power and influence of Santa, goes around the North Pole and uses his powers to create technical problems with some of the equipment. The shop flies into chaos and many gifts are destroyed, and Scott is faced with the possibility that there will not be enough toys for all the children in time for Christmas.
Jack talks to Head Elf Curtis (Spencer Breslin) about the Hall of Snow Globes, and discovers that Scott's snow globe can be used to activate the "Escape Clause", the most powerful clause of all the Santa Clauses. This clause can help the current Santa escape from his job as Santa; if he holds his snow globe and says, "I wish I had never become Santa at all", the Clause is triggered, and he can return to the point where he becomes Santa and prevent the event from occurring. Scott takes a quick break to show Lucy the Hall of Snow Globes, and gives Lucy a magical snow globe that shows her hugging a snowman, which turns pink because her hugs are so filled with love and warmth. As they leave, Jack sneaks into the Hall and steals Scott's snow globe, freezing Lucy's parents when they catch him. After further attempts at sabotage, Jack manages to enrage Scott's in-laws, and gives him a gift as Scott talks about his frustrations. Not realizing what he is doing, Scott is persuaded into uttering the Escape Clause while opening his gift and taking out his snow globe. Jack and Scott are transported back in time to the front of Scott Calvin's yard, where, twelve years earlier, Scott causes Santa to fall off the roof and donned his coat to become the new Santa. Jack reaches the coat before the past version of Scott can, and puts it on to become Santa.
Scott is sent back to the present, where he has been the CEO for his old company for the last twelve years, and works even on Christmas Eve. He drives over to Laura's house. Laura, who is dressed as a waitress, treats him very coldy. She then reveals that she and Neil also divorced after having Lucy, as without Scott around Neil tried and failed to fill his role to his son. Scott frantically asks where Carol is and Laura says she "left town years ago because there weren't enough local kids to terrorize or something." Laura gives Scott a magazine that shows the North Pole; it is now a tourist attraction, where wealthy parents take their kids and pay for them to be on the Nice List. Scott assures Laura that he'll fix everything and it will all go back to normal. Scott, wanting his old job back, returns to the North Pole where the elves are miserable and Christmas has become highly merchandised. Lucy and Neil are there as well, although they too are not happy to see Scott. Scott confronts Jack with what he has done and claims his vision of Christmas isn't what the holiday is about, but Jack reminds Scott that he was the one who said "I wish I had never become Santa at all".
Scott convinces Lucy to sneak into the Hall of Snow Globes, and bring Jack's to him. Scott interrupts a musical performance by Jack, when Lucy tosses Jack his snow globe. Jack mocks that Scott will never convince Jack to invoke the Escape Clause, but Scott plays a recording of Jack saying "I wish I had never become Santa at all", when he said it to him earlier. Whisked back to the past, Scott holds Jack down while his past self finds the suit and puts it on, restoring events to the way they were. Back in the present, Scott reunites with his wife, even though no time has passed since he left, and he promises to make her life better. He then shows his in-laws the truth about his workshop, where despite Jack's sabotage, gifts are being manufactured and will be ready on-time for Scott's deliveries. To Scott's surprise, his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) arrives and helps out the elves. Just as it seems things are going perfectly, Curtis and Lucy appear, and Neil and Laura are wheeled in, frozen solid. Jack is also dragged in, and he refuses to undo his spell on them. By unfreezing them, Frost would have to "unfreeze himself", and so they will be forever frozen. However, Scott has an idea. He tells Lucy to give Jack one of her heart-warming hugs; her tight hug, full of love and warmth, breaks Jack down, changing his clothes and hair from icy to normal and breaks the spell around Neil and Laura. Everyone - including the defrosted and reformed Jack - celebrates with a hug, and Carol suddenly announces that her package is coming. She gives birth to a baby named Buddy Claus just two hours before Santa has to leave to deliver the gifts.
Cast
Critical reaction and box office
Critic ratings were dismal, earning a 13% freshness rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Eric D. Snider, a reviewer, said that Allen did The Santa Clause "the first time with enthusiasm, the second time with affection, and the third time for a paycheck." [1] Kyle Smith wrote "We're getting a turkey and a ham for the holidays. [...] Santa is so dumb he should be demoted to cleaning up after Geoffrey the Giraffe at Toys 'R' Us." Manohla Dargis dismissed the movie (in a three-paragraph review) as "squeaky clean, but you might die of boredom." Finally, Nathaniel Bell wrote off the film as "holiday filler, stuffed with unearned emotion and trite sentimentality." In the UK, Mark Kermode described it in 2006 on BBC Radio Five Live as "the cinematic equivalent of tertiary syphilis".
The first two films had become box-office successes during their opening weekends, but The Santa Clause 3 was beaten by Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan for the #1 spot.
As of February 7, 2007; The Santa Clause 3 made $84,500,122 in the US and a worldwide gross of $110,768,122. [2] The first film made $189,833,357 worldwide at the box-office while the second film made $172,855,065.
DVD & Blu-ray Disc Release
The film was released on both standard DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc on November 20, 2007.
External links
