Sequels scare me.  There have been a lot of  good movies that have just horrid sequels:  Back to the Future 2, American Pie 2, Caddyshack 2, and we can't forget Breakin' 2:  Electric Boogaloo.  There have been some excellent follow-ups done, but they have been the exception rather than the rule.  That's why I inwardly cringe whenever I hear that a movie that I enjoyed is going to have a follow-up.  Chances are, it's going to stink.

I really liked The Santa Clause.  While it is not as touching as It's a Wonderful Life, or as nostalgic as A Christmas Story it  was a fun film.  It has a place in our group of  Christmas movies we get out every November.  So when I heard that Tim Allen had agreed to do a second "Santa Clause" movie, I was afraid.  The first movie was pretty much a one trick pony; an everyday guy is tricked into agreeing to become Santa Claus.  Most of the humor in the first movie was the "fish-out-of-water" type.  Seeing Tim Allen come to grips with new, very unfamiliar, job.  What else can you do with that?

In this second movie, eight years have passed and Santa (Tim Allen) finds out that he has to get married, and has less than a month to do it.  Otherwise he stops being Santa Claus.  (They never explain why no one told Santa of this little fact eight years ago.)  To add to his worries, Santa finds out that his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd, reprising his role from the first film) is on the 'naughty' list.  Charlie has been acting out and spray painting graffiti on the walls at school.  But Christmas is approaching and the elves at the North Pole can't get ready for the big night without Santa's supervision.  Curtis, Santa's number two elf, comes up with a solution.  He uses the Universal Panagraph, a machine for duplicating toys, to make a toy duplicate of Santa.  (Referred to as the Santa Clone in the extras.)  With the Toy Santa safely in charge, the real Santa goes south (after under going "de-santafication") to find a wife and help his son.

This movie is not meant to be deep and meaningful.  There is not a lot of character development, and the plot is predictable.  But that's okay.  This is supposed to be light family entertainment, and works pretty well on that level.   The story moves along with a good mixture of comedy and drama.  There are several funny moments with Santa attempting to woo his son's principal.  One very good scene is when the two of them are taking a sleigh ride and discussing their Christmas memories.  Later, Santa (as Scott Calvin) hands out presents at a dull teacher's party and brings it to life.  It is one of the most touching scenes in the movie.   The problems with the son, if a little clichéd and solved a little too easily, is still a good plot vehicle.

The part of the movie that doesn't work is the Toy Santa left in charge of Santa's Workshop.   When the narrative would switch to the workshop the movie would slow down a lot.  Watching the Santa Clone get more and more strict wasn't funny or interesting.  I think the problem was they were trying to have an evil villain, without having anyone be too scary.  It just didn't work, and ended up seeming like filler.  That whole plot line could (and should) have been eliminated with only minor changes to the script.

While there were not a lot of special effects, the few that were in the movie were not very good.  The animatronic reindeer looked like something you would see in the Hall of Presidents at Disney World.  The computer animation for the flying reindeer was not of a very high quality.

The acting was good.  Tim Allen was very believable as both Santa Claus and Scott Calvin.  He played Santa as a fun loving grown up child, but didn't overdo it, which would have been easy to do.  Elizabeth Mitchell was a good choice for the principal.  She convincing as a stern authoritarian, yet was able to show she had a human side.  She and Allen worked well on screen together.  Kevin Pollak was excellent in his role as Cupid, even if the part was very short.

Though this movie is aimed at kids, there are a few lines thrown in for the adults.  When one elf declares "You sir, are no Santa." I had a good laugh.  Another incident that the children might pick up is when the Toy Santa refers to the real Santa as a "sad, strange little man."

Overall, this is a fun movie to watch with children just before Christmas.   There are no scary bad guys to frighten small children, and most of it is amusing.  Solid family entertainment.

This movie is available in three languages, English, Spanish and French.  All three languages are presented in DD 5.1.

The audio sounds very clear and crisp.   There was very good use made of the rear speakers during the action scenes.  Even the shots of Santa's Workshop, with hammering sounds coming from behind, added to the feel of the movie.

The musical score, by George S. Clinton, was excellent, and the DVD reproduces it very well.  This is probably the strongest aspect of the transfer.  During the opening credits and scenes of the elf village at the North Pole the music just swells and surrounds you.   Very impressive sonically.

Video:

This DVD is available in two different forms, either pan and scan or anamorphic widescreen.  I viewed the widescreen version for this review.

The picture was clear and the colors fairly bright, though they seemed a little subdued.  There was some edge enhancement done, but it was fairly minor.  Though the extras showed a lot of digital artifacts, the movie itself did not.  The lines were crisp and well defined.  A good presentation.

The Extras:

This disc has a good amount of extras.  The video quality on all of these is much worse than the movie itself.  There are a lot of digital artifacts present, especially on the deleted scenes.  It looks like they cut a few corners to cram all these on the disc.

Inside the North Pole with Curtis:   This nearly 10 minute piece just didn't work for me.  Spenser Breslin, who plays the number two elf, takes us on a behind the scenes tour.  But he does it in character.  He talks about how the set looks like the North Pole and how accurate his costume is to what he really wears when making toys.  My seven year old thought it was dull, but younger children might enjoy it.

Director's Tour of Elfsburg:  This is a four minute film that director Michael Lembeck (who, by the way, played Kaptain Kool on The Krofft Supershow in the late 70's) sent to Disney while production was filming to show off the sets.  As with the previous piece, he does this in character, asking the 'elves' how they like working at the Pole.  It is mostly showing off the elf village set.  A lot of artifacts in this bit.  Especially when the camera moves.

Director's Commentary:  Commentary track by director Michael Lembeck.  I have to admit that I really didn't like it.  He talks through the movie as if he really filmed it at the North Pole and that all the characters are real.  (Much like the commentary track on Buckaroo Banzai.)  When talking about the elf's workshop at the Pole, he says "We felt really privileged to be up here and that Santa gave us permission to shoot up here."  He refers to Tim Allen as "Scott Calvin" the character he plays in the movie.  He does the same thing with the other actors.

There are also many long pauses.  He is quiet nearly as much as he's talking.  My biggest problem with the commentary is that I'm not sure who it was aimed at.  The commentary, like most others, is very dry.  So it is not entertaining enough to keep a child's interest very long.  But there isn't enough information or anecdotes that would make a more mature viewer enjoy it either.  It just fails in my opinion.

Gag Reel:  A four minute gag reel of the cast cracking up during takes.  Some pretty funny bits, but overall just amusing.

Deleted Scenes:  This was my favorite extra.  There are seven deleted scenes with introductions by the director who explains why they were cut.  One or two should have been left in the movie, not because they were great scenes, but because they helped move the plot along and show the passage of time.

True Confessions of the Legendary Figures:  A 3 ½ minute (in character) interview with Mother Nature, Father Time, Cupid, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.  Enjoyable though short.

Operation Toy Box:  Save Santa Clause Game:  A game you play with your remote.  This is actually four mini-games.  You have to get through a trivia game about the movie, a game where you dodge toy soldiers, and one where you disable toys with silly string.  If you win all three, you advance to the last game, a 'repeat the pattern' type game.  Complete this, and you win the game.  Unfortunately, there is not a 'prize' such as a video clip for winning.  You just get the satisfaction that you have saved Christmas.

Easter Egg:  I'm not one who spends a lot of time looking for Easter Eggs.  I did find one on this disc:  on the bonus menu, highlight the North Pole that takes you back to the main menu.  Then press left on your remote.  You will highlight the controls on the duplicating machine.  Highlight any of the three settings and press enter to see the machine in action.

 
DVD-ROM Extras:

There are four games playable on a computer equipped with a DVD drive.

Santalibs: A take off on madlibs where you choose a series of words that are then put into a paragraph.  The problem with this version is that they missed the point.  They give you the context that the word will be used in.  There are a series of questions and five answers.  If you select the most appropriate answer, the paragraph is not funny at all.

Holiday Rush:  You are presented with a set of tiles with Christmas pictures on them.  You click on pairs of matching tiles, and the both disappear.  The object is to remove all the tiles from the board.  It can be harder than it sounds.  If you lose a level, you have to start from the first level again, which can be frustrating.  There is no "undo" button, so if you accidentally click on the wrong square, you can't take it back.  It grows old fast.

Reindeer Games:  A Mastermind type game.  You have six reindeer (differentiated by their nose color) and four stalls.  You have to select which four deer go in which stall.  The computer tells you how many reindeer you have right, and how many are in the correct stall.  You have ten tries.

Coloring Book:  Select from 4 different pages to color with a candy cane cursor.

Final Thoughts:
 
While not as good as the first movie, this is a solid offering.  An excellent video for small children or those that are scared easily, this is a fun way to spend an evening with your family.  Recommended.