The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

The first film Tim Allen did in this series, "The Santa Clause" was not a great movie by any stretch, but it was an entertaining film and one of the more imaginative and clever Christmas movies ever made. That film dealt with what it would be for a regular guy to be Santa Claus. That was a new idea! It was witty enough for adults and cutesy and fun enough for kids. Bam, the perfect mix for a "family" movie. The sequels (well OK I guess SC2 had some moments) have just been a mess. The filmmakers spend far too much time in the ridiculous North Pole, show us all the other mystical figures of legend (Mother Nature, Father Time, the Easter Bunny) and completely forget that Scott Calvin is supposed to be a regular dude that just happens to be Santa Claus. This movie is too stupid for anyone over the age of 11 and at times too filled with adult complexities for children to enjoy. The only parts that evoked a feel of the 1st film were the Canada jokes and Scott going back in time to the events of the first film and returning to Scott Calvin, corporate toy maker again. Otherwise this is a waste. Forget this film and go watch the 1st one.

Yes, I am am adult and yes, I was probably more excited to see this third movie than my 3 children. I really loved the first two movies. This third is a must see in the "set", but I have to say, it's not my favorite. It's very hard to compete with the excellent first 2 movies. I didn't like that Charlie isn't played often enough. I also did care for the actors that starred as Mrs. Clause's parents. Yes, Ann-Margaret and Alan Arkin are terrific actors, but not perfect for this role as the in-laws, I thought. Martin Short was excellent! He is so evil and he does it well! Lucy is a doll! She stole the movie. I loved this movie... it's a great end to the other two, but I don't think they should make any more. Curtis's role as an elf was better when he was a kid! Yes, Bernard's appearance was highly missed. If you loved the first two, see this 3rd, otherwise wait until October of next year to rent it.

We just did the entire trilogy tonight, and we probably hadn't seen this film since the year after it came out, so 15 years ago as of this writing. I knew we'd seen it but we remembered VERY little of it, and in fact I wrongly remembered we didn't like it very much. I think I'd been confusing the annoying toy Santa from Santa Clause 2 with this movie.

As it turned out, we like it better than 2. Alan Arkin and Ann-Margret provide a real plus to the cast, and there are quite a few warm family moments, as well as a late "It's a Wonderful Life" vibe.

I'm glad we took a chance on it again, because we thoroughly enjoyed our evening of Santa Clauses.

I had great hopes for this movie...none of which were fulfilled. My family and I enjoyed the first two Santa Clause movies, but this was a major let down. Sad, too, because it had great potential. I enjoy Martin Short, and think he was well cast in the role of Jack Frost. However, the writing and editing were so disjointed, and it seemed like there were too many subplots going on for any one story line or character to get any substantial development.

Unless you have kids who are dying to see this, I would skip it altogether or wait for it to come out on DVD. I definitely wouldn't spend another $20 to go see it.

Took the kids to see this and they loved it. I didn't have high expectations but was entertained and got the predictable feel good, happy ending. I agree with others that it was a couple notches better than the second movie. All and all, a good way to kick off the holiday movie season.

Other notes of interest: The actress playing Mrs. Clause is on the T.V. show Lost now. That took a little getting used to. Martin Short did a nice job as Jack Frost. The blooper reel at the end of the movie is pretty lame. Not funny at all. Plus, when the bloopers are literally shown 3 seconds after the end of the movie, it takes away from the movie itself. The kids are still smiling and in a magical place then "poof", magic is over here are the actors messing up their lines. It's like seeing Peter Pan on stage and right after the show, they show you all the wires that were used to make him fly. Save the bloopers for the DVD.