What has Tim Allen left for us under the tree this year? Well, it’s not the shiny seasonal blockbuster we were hoping for; but neither is it a cheap plastic throwaway. The children of the world have never been happier since Scott Calvin (Allen) put on the big red jacket and became the real Santa Claus.
However, the small print says that if he doesn’t get married before midnight on Christmas Eve, he’ll de-Santafy. With a clone Father Christmas left to cause havoc at the North Pole, Scott/Santa heads home to do a bit of serious parenting and to find a Mrs. Claus.
The result is a film that fires into the middle ground between adult rom-com and children’s fantasy. The elves’ workshop scenes provide gaudy colour, while the film’s heart can be found in Scott’s dating of his son’s frosty school principal (Mitchell).