The Santa Clause Ranking

With the release of The Santa Clauses on Disney+, I decided to go through all 3 Santa Clause films. This franchise has always been a fun one for me. I have watched the movies since I have been a little kid every year around Christmas time. I also really enjoy Tim Allen in these movies as he makes a very good Santa. With the Santa Clauses show finally over, here are my thoughts and ranking of all 3 films and the TV show.

4. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

This film is definitely the weakest of the Santa Clause films. Despite that, this is the film I feel the most nostalgia for as this as I was at the perfect age when this movie came out. I remember the year it came out watching it multiple times and wanting to share it with all of my friends. I also did, and still do, find the movie quite funny at times. Unfortunately, aside from that, the story itself is not all that good. The film just has too many different elements going and has too many different characters competing for screen time. This film is also the shortest of the 3 but still tries to be the most ambitious. It tries to cram in Scott's martial problems, conflicts with the In-laws, Jack Frost trying to take over as Santa, time travel, and alternate realities. Overall, it is a very overstuffed film that tries to fit too much in.

Score: 5.5/10 Grade: C

3. The Santa Clauses

The Santa Clauses is the newest addition to the franchise and the first TV show for the series. This show surprisingly ties a lot of story and plot elements together between the other films. I really enjoyed how funny this show was with several moments making me laugh out loud. I also really liked how the story was set in a more modern setting. Considering the last film came out over 15 years ago, it was really fun to see Santa interact with and have to overcome the culture and technology of today. I also enjoyed how we got some more character moments from Carol as well as finally got to see what happened to Bernard. However, there are a couple of issues that keep this show from being higher up on this list. The main issue is that the show feels like there isn't enough material for a TV show. It felt like several moments were stretched out to fill 6 episodes. I think this show would have been much better if it was trimmed down just a bit and released as a Disney plus original movie. The other issue I had was the show seemed like it was just making up new rules as it went along. There are several plot points in the film that are just now being made known that seemed like they should be something Santa should always know. Overall, this is a fun show but I felt that it could have been better as a movie.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

2. The Santa Clause 2

The Santa Clause 2 is a nice follow-up to the original film. As with the other films, this film has quite a bit of humor. Tim Allen does his usual type of humor which works pretty well in this film. I really enjoyed the story in this film. It gives the audience a deeper look at Scott as a character and gives him some growth that wasn't able to be explored in the previous film. This film also has some solid new additions with Carol, Curtis, and the Council of Legendary Figures. I also thought that the romance between Carol and Scott was handled well. The two of them seem to have good chemistry together. I thought the whole middle act that takes the form of a Christmas rom-com was well done. The main issue with this film is the whole subplot with Toy Santa. I thought the Toy Santa was a bit of a dud and the whole subplot felt unnecessary. I think the film would have worked a lot better had the North Pole section been focused on the elves trying to make do without Santa instead of there being a forced villain. Aside from that, this is an entertaining enough sequel.

Score: 6.7/10 Grade: B-

I. The Santa Clause

The original Santa Clause is still the best in the series. For anyone who grew up in the '90s and early 2000s, this film was seen as a Christmas Classic. The basic premise is a lot of fun with a normal guy accidentally killing Santa and taking over his job. There are also a lot of funny moments throughout the movie, mostly from Tim Allen but also from a few of the side characters. Of course, Tim Allen as Santa is perfectly cast. Aside from him, Charlie and Bernard are also fun aspects of the film as well as the banter between Scott and his ex-wife and her husband. There are so many iconic moments and lines in this movie as well that make it one that needs to be watched every Christmas. It is also very heartwarming at times especially in the moments between Scott and Charlie at the end of the film. This film just set a precedent for the series and just provided a movie that could not be topped. Overall, this is an iconic Christmas movie that is one of my favorites and is one that my wife and I make sure to watch every year.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B