Santa Clause 3 - The Escape Clause (DVD)

...fantastic and popular franchise, "The Santa Clause" trilogy. I realised last week I hadn't seen it so I reserved it at the library and sat down to watch it the other night, aiming to decide if it was worth an entry into my prized Christmas Collection, and after reading some reviews online, I wasn't too sure about it being much of a success!

Scott Calvin has been Santa Claus for a long time now, and he loves his job in the ...
...ordered to spend time with Santa to make up for his many misdemeanours. But Jack Frost is only intent on one thing - stealing the Santa job for himself. Will Santa and his merry bunch of Elves clock on to Frost's evil ways and save the hopes of children everywhere, or is there going to be a new Santa in town come Christmas? Watch and find out!

When I first saw the first Santa Clause movie many years ago, I loved it, and its become ... more

I love nothing better than sitting down in December in my sitting room with a beautifully lit Christmas tree, watching a Christmas film with my fiance, and even perhaps Harry now he's starting to show an interest in Christmas and films. I have a good little collection all waiting to be played again in a few weeks, but one that hadn't made its way into my home so far was the third film in a fantastic and popular franchise, "The Santa Clause" trilogy. I realised last week I hadn't seen it so I reserved it at the library and sat down to watch it the other night, aiming to decide if it was worth an entry into my prized Christmas Collection, and after reading some reviews online, I wasn't too sure about it being much of a success!

Scott Calvin has been Santa Claus for a long time now, and he loves his job in the North Pole working with the Elves getting toys ready for Christmas. He's happily married to second-wife Carol and the pair are expecting their first baby together. But Scott/Santa is about to find things in the north pole a little frosty, when 'Legendary Figure' Jack Frost is ordered to spend time with Santa to make up for his many misdemeanours. But Jack Frost is only intent on one thing - stealing the Santa job for himself. Will Santa and his merry bunch of Elves clock on to Frost's evil ways and save the hopes of children everywhere, or is there going to be a new Santa in town come Christmas? Watch and find out!

When I first saw the first Santa Clause movie many years ago, I loved it, and its become one of those films I have to watch every year to get me in a real Christmas mood! The second one wasn't quite as good but its still a lovely Christmas film to bring out on a cold winters night. Disney have definitely got a successful franchise there, so were they going one step too far with a third film? What immediately ensured this film would be at least enjoyable was the fact that the brilliant Tim Allen was once again taking on the lead role of Santa - without him, the films just wouldn't work. A few other familiar cast members pop up in this film too, adding continuity to the trilogy and ensure children find it easy to follow on from one film to another.

When I first saw The Santa Clause with Tim Allen, I thought he took on the role with complete gusto and brought the idea of Santa to life. He managed to carry on brilliantly in the second film, and he's done a great job with this third film as well. Despite 4 years between films 2 and 3, Allen steps seamlessly back into Scott Calvin's shoes and delivers another hilarious and touching performance. I love him in this role, and I don't think they could make any more films in this set without him, it wouldn't work! He works incredibly well alongside female lead Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays the heavily pregnant Mrs Claus and the pair have a watchable chemistry which isn't beyond the realms of believable. Mitchell isn't someone I thought was that great in the second film but her role in the third film is much bigger and I feel she has embraced the atmosphere and magic of this film much better, and consequently she is much more fun to watch. But one of the best performances in the film came courtesy of Martin Short who took on the role of Jack Frost in the film. He gave a funny, comic performance which made me laugh out loud in places, and his obvious comedy worked so well with Tim Allen, and the pair had a great on-screen chemistry.

It's nice to see that Judge Reinhold and Wendy Crewson have reprised their roles as Neil Miller, and Scott's ex-wife Laura Calvin-Miller once more, and again both seem to easily step back into their characters shoes for another humourous performance. Young actor Eric Lloyd is again present as Scott's son Charlie, but definitely has a tiny role compared to his main one in the first 2 films. Spencer Breslin comes back as Experimental Elf Curtis, and delivers a performance that is brilliant for his age! The other young actors, and the grown-up ones too, pull together to create a great ensemble for the film, and have created yet another high quality Disney movie.

Now, some people have said that this film is just TOO unrealistic to be completely enjoyable. Yes, of course it is unrealistic but for starters, its a Disney film and secondly, its about Santa Claus, so I think when you begin to watch this sort of film, you have to be prepared to open your mind a bit and suspend reality for the duration of the movie! What I enjoy most is seeing the beautiful sets they have created for the North Pole - they are so amazing and make you feel Christmassy just watching it - the brains behind these things are just excellent! Martin Short's take on Jack Frost was really great, a complete opposite to Santa and this is why it worked. The wacky outfit, the dodgy hairdo and comic criminal capers which are over-emphasised are somewhat ridiculous but they work in the setting of this movie!

I think that real fans of the first 2 movies are going to like this movie. It isn't as good as either of them, but its rare that third films are going to have the impact of its predecessors. However, what this film does have is plenty of Disney Magic, and of course that Christmassy feel which is always going to make it watchable at this time of year! The cast really bring this film together, delivering some great comedy moments and make both me and my fiance laugh quite a few times, no mean feat considering he didn't want to watch this at all! I did enjoy it a lot, and I expect that I'll be adding this to my own Christmas collection very soon, but please go into it with an open mind, and just enjoy!

Director: Michael Lembeck.
Writers: Ed Decter and John J Strauss
Running Time: 98 minutes
Certificate: U
Amazon Availability: £5.48

Main Cast:
Tim Allen ... Santa / Scott Calvin
Elizabeth Mitchell ... Mrs. Claus / Carol
Eric Lloyd ... Charlie
Judge Reinhold ... Neil Miller
Wendy Crewson ... Laura Miller
Spencer Breslin ... Curtis
Liliana Mumy ... Lucy Miller
Martin Short ... Jack Frost

Thank you for reading! 

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