The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause * (2006, Tim Allen, Martin Short, Elizabeth Mitchell) – Classic Movie Review 6425

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause follows The Santa Clause (1994) and The Santa Clause 2 (2002) in 2006, completing the trilogy.

Tim Allen returns as Scott Calvin, aka Santa, who has to keep his new family happy and to stop the evil Jack Frost (Martin Short) taking over Christmas.

Though a weak and lame end to the trilogy that started so brightly, director Michael Lembeck’s family comedy is one of the top 25 highest-grossing Christmas movies to date. It was immensely lucrative for Walt Disney Pictures. Costing just $12,000,000, it grossed $84,500,000 in the US and $110,768,000 worldwide.

The nice cast of actors are up for it, with Elizabeth Mitchell as Mrs Claus / Carol, Eric Lloyd as Charlie, Judge Reinhold as Neil Miller, Wendy Crewson as .Laura Miller, Spencer Breslin as Curtis, Liliana Mumy as Lucy Miller, Abigail Breslin as Trish, Ann-Margret as Sylvia Newman and Alan Arkin as Bud Newman. 

The problem is the struggling script by Ed Decter and John J Strauss that desperately lacks enough ho, ho, ho. It is based on the characters and story by Steve Rudnick and Leo Benvenuti.

Jack Frost’s number ‘North Pole, North Pole’ lamely parodies ‘New York, New York’.

It is also known as Djed Božićnjak 3: Odbjegli djedica.

It is filmed in British Columbia, Canada.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6425

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