The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
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Santa Claus must find a wife and manage his rebellious teenage son before he loses his magical role forever.
The story
Eight years after Scott Calvin became Santa Claus, he is informed by Head Elf Bernard and Curtis that he must marry before the next Christmas Eve to keep his role, or he will lose it permanently. Simultaneously, his teenage son Charlie has landed on the naughty list for vandalizing his school. Scott must return home to search for a wife and set things right with his son. To cover his absence, an animatronic doll clone named Toy Santa is created. Scott begins a 'de-Santafication process' as he attempts to navigate his personal life while maintaining his magical responsibilities.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Eight years after Scott Calvin became Santa Claus, he learns of the 'Mrs. Clause,' requiring him to marry before the next Christmas Eve to retain his position. While his son Charlie is on the naughty list for school vandalism, Scott returns home to find a wife. To cover his absence, an animatronic 'Toy Santa' is created, but it begins to take the rulebook too literally, declaring everyone naughty and seizing control of the North Pole with an army of toy soldiers. Meanwhile, Scott undergoes a 'de-Santafication process' and begins dating Carol, the school principal. After a magical date, Scott is rejected by Carol, who thinks he is mocking her. Charlie eventually reveals the truth to Carol. When Toy Santa threatens the world with coal, Scott, Carol, and the elves lead a snowball fight to defeat the toy soldiers. Toy Santa is defeated, Scott marries Carol, and he transforms back into Santa, with Carol becoming Mrs. Claus.
- First release year
- 2002
- Runtime (minutes)
- 104
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Michael Lembeck
- Writers
- Don Rhymer · screenplay; Cinco Paul · screenplay; Ken Daurio · screenplay; Ed Decter · screenplay; John J. Strauss · screenplay; Leo Benvenuti · story; Steve Rudnick · story
- Cast and characters
- Tim Allen · Scott Calvin (aka Santa); Judge Reinhold; Wendy Crewson; Elizabeth Mitchell; David Krumholtz; Eric Lloyd; Spencer Breslin; Liliana Mumy
- Genres
- Christmas fantasy comedy; Soundtrack
- Themes
- Family; Responsibility; Tradition
- Tone and mood
- Fantasy; Comedy; Heartwarming
- Premise and plot tags
- Sequel; Holiday; Magic; Family Drama
- Franchise connections
- The Santa Clause
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with a 55% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a weighted average score of 48 on Metacritic. It was a commercial success, grossing $172.9 million worldwide on a $65 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 55% · review count: 121; Metacritic · score: 48 · scale: 100 · review count: 26
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Fantasy Film · Nominated
- Production trivia
- Tim Allen chose not to appear in 'The Cat in the Hat' to reprise his role as Scott Calvin.; The film was shot in Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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