DVDizzy Forum

my paper gave santa clause 3 a 3 out of 10. I'll probably just rent it.

Does anyone know how long the Best Buy sale is and If they have any Widescreen Copies, I have a Full Screen copy from when the SE was first released and I didn't know there were 2 versions.

I suspect Saturday will be the last day of that sale, but who knows, since they have a cardboard set up for it and everything. It'd be nice if it lasted, as I want some of that stuff badly! Especially the live-action classics! I'm sure they have both Widescreen and Fullscreen. If you're talking about the first Santa Clause, I think I saw Widescreen there. Yeah, I hate when they come out with two separate DVDs, widescreen and full! I accidentally ended up with a fullscreen of 102 Dalmatians because it was the first time I encountered the difference. And, some places, like Target, only carry fullscreen versions of certain films! It really stinks when they put something at a great price, but you get down there and realize they only have it in fullscreen, in which case I will always pass on it if there is a widescreen edition out there.

thomashton wrote:WOW! only one Christmas movie each year. I would go insane. I buy way too many for only really watching them once per year. In fact, I have several (including The Happy Elf and It's A Wonderful Life), that I haven't watched on DVD yet--the days leading up to Christmas are too few! I've already bought the 2-disc Special Edition of The Polar Express this year and we'll see what else comes around.

Ha, well, with me it is a financial thing. Otherwise, I'd just go down to Best Buy and load up every week. I'm an artist, just starting to find work in illustration, and my income right now is very unsteady. I get DVDs when I can and probably more often than I should, have a much larger collection than the average Joe too, but I still can't just go out and buy something whenever I want. I get a heck of a lot of mine during 4.99 sales or from the 5.50 bin, ha. But I have my share of boxed sets, all the Disney Treasures sets, and some other goodies. I LOVE watching Holiday movies when the holidays come, including Halloween, Easter, and whatever else, and do own several, but there are several I still need. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a few as gifts this year, like "Happy Elf," "Harry for the Holidays," and the Brian Setzer Christmas concert DVD. I really wish they would release Harry Connick, Jr.'s original Christmas Special though. It was still corny, but better I think.

"It's a Wonderful Life" is definitely a favorite film of mine and one of my DVDs that gets the most play around the holidays. What I do that helps me see more is start watching them right after Halloween, ha. I'm already watching Christmas movies this year. Not sure if I usually wait till Thanksgiving evening to start, but this year I started right after Halloween, ha. I mean, there are only so many Thanksgiving films out there. Ya know, someone should start a thread to list our Christmas DVD collections. Or is there one already?

I've actually gone back and watched a few snippets of The Santa Clause 2, and I'll admit that it's a bit better than most people give it credit for. It still doesn't feel like the original, and it is way too cheesy, but it's likeable enough. The original is way better though. But Molly Shannon as that crazy Santa lovin' chick is hilarious. I'll watch the movie just for that bit.
-James

Okay, I went to see the third one a few hours ago, and I must admit that it's officially the worst one in the series. It has stretched the plotline as far as it can go and it is too predictable to watch. Not to say that it didn't have it's moments, but the whole plot was too cliched and I sat through the last few minutes laughing at the dialogue. My favourite line is "I'm warming you heart", by our favourite annoying girl Lucy. I swear, my bro, my mum, my sis and I were in fits of laughter, it was too horrible to watch. I hated that Tim Allen spent most of the film in that Santa get-up. When he wears that it is so obvious that it's not the same film as the original. The character of Scott Calvin has lost his edge and sarcasm now. It was disappearing in the sequel and he has officially gone soft now in this, the third installment. The acting of Martin Short is lesser than it was in Jungle2Jungle, and the only good acting comes from the grandparents, Alan Arkin and Ann-Margaret. I did like that Abigail Breslin (sister of Spencer and also stars alongside Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine) pops up briefly in the beginning and end as Trish, in Carol's class. Spencer Breslin on the other hand is possibly the worst child actor spawned by Disney. He is obivously now too old to play this part, he looks embaressed in it, and thus he overacts dramatically. He is such a disappointment in this. I did like Eric Lloyd in this, but maybe it's because he was in it for like two seconds, The less said about Liliana Mumy the better. Her acting is developing, but I can't stand her voice and overall presence. And can I say that the parents of Charlie- Wendy Crewson, and Judge Reinhold (is that really his name?)- have aged terribly? It is evident in this that Wendy has probably had some work done, and event hough she looked the same in the sequel, it is kind of more apparent now. Even my sister said, "so did they re-cast the mum in it?". And Judge has obviously put on weight, as has Tim Allen, and Martin Short. They look like shiny pigs. Sorry if I'm being totally harsh on this, it's just that the original was just so good, and the sequel was so disappointing that it needed to make up for it bigtime, and it unfortunately didn't. I'm sad that Bernard (David Krumholtz) wasn't in it, he would've definitely livened it up a bit. I also wish that that Judy girl from the original was in it, but since she wasn't in the sequel, my hopes weren't up. I did like how they edited parts of the original into it though, it was the best part. The special effects were good, but it just proved how glossy the finished product truly was. I also liked that "North Pole, North Pole" segment that Martin Short does, but other than that the only other times I laughed were when the corny dialogue was spoken. I'm glad that the reindeer weren't in it as much, they were horrible in the sequel, stupid fart jokes. I'm also glad that they decided to include Peter Boyle in it, even though he is obviously tired and weak. I also liked the out-takes, but once again proved how good it would've been if it hadn't tried to be part of the horrible cheesy franchise that it's become and was more like the original, with more bite and sarcasm.
Overall, worst film of the series. Sorry.
-James

Hmm. While I think that post by James is a bit harsh on the film, I do agree with quite a bit there. I too saw this film, finally, on Thanksgiving evening, along with my younger sister (who is a junior in college) and my mom. Nice as he is, my dad is kind of a Scrooge in a lot of ways, hates the concept of Santa Claus (as in, the "actual" person, which is funny because my mom LOVES Santa, but they are definitely opposites), and he did all the Thanksgiving cooking, so we let him stay home and nap. We'll maybe take him to see "The Fountain" today.

Anyways, I am going to have to agree that this one was the worst of the series, and there's a lot of awful in it, but there was a lot that I liked in it too. It is definitely nothing like the first film, but it really shouldn't be when you consider that Scott Calvin is Santa Claus now. Nor should Scott be so sharp and sarcastic, which to me is somewhat of an immature personality trait. Not that I don't get sarcastic A LOT myself, but a sarcastic Santa? No thanks. Anyway, while the second film somewhat balanced the glossy world of Santa's village with the realism of the first film, making it my favorite of the three, this film was all glossy Santa-land, which I have no doubt is overkill for most folks and surely for a lot of the hardcore fans of the original, since it is so different. However, the real star of this film seemed to be Martin Short as Jack Frost, who was perfectly cast and reminded me soooo much of Jack Frost from the old Rankin/Bass Frosty cartoon sequel, "Frosty's Winter Wonderland." I loved that, and I LOVED the make-up job on him! He stole the show and kept it watchable through the first half, which was less predictable but also less enjoyable than the second half.

Funny thing, my sister also asked if the mom had been recast. She has aged badly, and Judge and Tim aren't aging well either, though they didn't look THAT bad. I totally agree about the acting of Spencer being pretty bad and even weird, actually, though I didn't find it as annoying when he was younger. The most stand out "bad thing" about this movie for me though was the brief scene of reindeer fart jokes. I've heard a lot of complaints about unnecessary fart jokes in movies over the years, and usually it seemed that people were making a big deal out of something minor. However, never have fart jokes seemed so unnecessary and out of nowhere as in Santa Clause 3. At least they had an explaination for them in the second film. This time, they came out of nowhere, as if reindeer just farted constantly. I also didn't like that there was no info on what happened to Bernard, unless it happened so fast that I didn't catch it. Then, there was the ending, when the in-laws were let in on the big secret. Their acceptance of it was so sudden and, well, poorly done.

So, yeah, there was a lot of bad stuff and cheese in this, and I know my little sis was making fun the whole time, though, funnily enough, she was the one most eager to see the film because all her college friends said it was so great! All in all though, I wouldn't call this unwatchable. To me, Martin Short's Jack Frost really carries the picture. There are some genuinely good moments, some purely for humor, some because they are actually good. Gotta love the scenes where they relive the first film "Back to the Future 2" style. Yeah, bad as it was, I can't say I hated this movie. It was embarrassing to watch with others, ha, but I still enjoyed much of it and will surely own it on DVD eventually. I'm wondering now, how long it will be before we see "The Buddy Clause," or something with Santa's new offspring.

I have yet to see this I probably wont be able to make it to the theatres unfortunately

Yeah, sorry that I was harsh on the film. It's just that I was hoping for it to be as good as the original and it wasn't. Funny about both our sisters asking about the mum. I actually didn't mind the fart jokes this time, because it was so brief. I guess that I already knew that they'd include stuff like that in there, that when it was short, I was happy. Yeah, I was upset that there wasn't a good explanation for Bernard's absence. The closest they got to it, was Curtis saying "I'm number One now", which kind of hinted that Bernard left, and Curtis took over, but I'm probably digging too deep into it. There was some good moments now that I've reflected on it. I liked the whole Canadian village idea, and I liked the snowball room, but that concept was kind of too cheesy for me. I liked it a bit, but it definitely is worse than the other two. Maybe Tim Allen should've stopped Christmas movies after that dreadful Christmas with The Kranks, which was all right, but should've been much better, considering the stars in it.
-James

James wrote:Yeah, sorry that I was harsh on the film.

Harsher on the actors than the film I would say!

I saw the movie last week. I thought it was better than The Santa Clause 2, but neither have come close to being as great as the first film. For me, Martin Short was the highlight of this film and it was great to see him do something that wasn't Glick again. I never got bored with this film like I did with the last one. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 6.5, wheras the first one would get an 8 and the second would get a 5. You can't go in expecting it to be on par creatively or entertainment-wise with the first one, but I didn't feel that it dissapointed. I reccomend it for anyone looking to see a decent holiday film this Christmas. Judging by previews alone, it looks better than Deck the Halls.

Well, by the previews, Santa Clause 3 probably DOES look better than "Deck the Halls." On the other hand, after seeing it, I get the impression "Deck the Halls" will turn out to be the better movie. However, to me it looks to be in the vein of "Jingle All the Way" and "Christmas with the Kranks," and I really liked both those films. The first time I saw Kranks, I didn't have a good feeling about it in the beginning, but as it went along I found myself liking it more and more, particularly when they reached the point where they had to change their plans.

As for the Santa Clause films, I really am not sure it works to compare the third to the original. I mean, they are such different films. I understand the complaint that it is so different from the first, and I think that's a reasonable complaint since they are in the same film series, but because the situations are so vastly different, aiming at an entirely different audience is unavoidable. Like I've said before, this series is more about Santa Clause than Scott Calvin now. He was very different before he was Santa, and he couldn't stay that way and be Santa also. Hey, it's one of the flaws in the "replaceable Santa" type film, unless you get a guy who acts like Santa to begin with. Anyway, point is, while some folks are obviously going to like the first one better with its more serious storyline, I'm sure there are folks who will like this one better because it is so surreal and cartoony. To say one is better than the other on that basis relies so much on opinion. Though I'd agree that the original is better when it comes to details like dialogue, fart jokes, and some of the acting. Personally though, I still say the second film is the best, because it balances out the realism in the first film and the fantasy of the third with a solid plot. Still amazed that the second film isn't well liked. One thing I really have to commend the film series for though: For the most part, it stays original. Most sequels repeat the previous films over and over. I don't get that feeling from this trilogy. It really is a progressive trilogy, not like some film series that have run-of-the-mill sequels and still claim to be a true "trilogy." Each Santa Clause film seems to have its own, very different plot.

Now, if you want to see a shockingly bad film, go see the "dying to be artsy" film "The Fountain." My sister and I took our parents to see that one yesterday, and we regretted every second of it! We were expecting an awesome film about Ponce DeLeon searching for the Fountain of Youth, with a little fantasy twist thrown in. Talk about a film falsely represented by its trailers!!! What a piece of garbage. In retrospect, the idea wasn't terrible, but the execution... man, never had I come so close to walking out on a film, and my family felt the same way. My sis and I felt really bad, because we dragged everyone out to see it thinking my dad, who rarely goes out, would love it. We really thought it would be mostly a historical epic type flick. What a crock! And, normally, I like films like this, but this one was just too bizarre! The repetition! Oh, God, the repetition!!! I had to lie down when I got home because watching that film took so much out of me. I was LITERALLY suffering through it.

Luke wrote:Harsher on the actors than the film I would say!

Yeah, I was wasn't I? I guess that I was expecting better acting from them, since they were so good in the first one, and they've just given lame performances in the sequels. I watched the Santa Clause 2 yesterday on TV (how convenient programming), and after it I watched, I watched my video of The Santa Clause, but only from the beginning til when they get back from the North Pole and have that thing in Charlies class. I must say that the sequels seem even worse after watching the first one again. The north pole was so sweet and nice, and in the sequels it is so forced and heartless. Yeah, now the order of my favourites go- 1,2,3, though 2 and 3 could really both tie for last.
-James

I saw it this past weekend with the my boyfriend's whole family plus like 30 other people that his uncle and aunt know. We went to the El Capitan Theatre. That was really fun because I have never been there before. There was a Disney live stage show before the movie and also a piano/organ player before that.
Anyway...back to the film. I thought it was much better than I had anticipated. I'm thinking that I may someday want to purchase the trilogy for future Christmas viewing.

By the way, did anyone else notice when Tim Allen said "You are a sad strange little man" (or however it goes) but it's the line from Toy Story? I also saw a plush old style Mickey Mouse a couple times and a plush Marie or Duchess from the Aristocats.

Anyway, I liked it. Not my absolute favorite, but still worth seeing.

DisneyFanatic wrote: By the way, did anyone else notice when Tim Allen said "You are a sad strange little man" (or however it goes) but it's the line from Toy Story?

In the 2nd movie, the fake Santa says something about getting a 'Buzz' from the cocoa - obviously referencing Buzz Lightyear. I thought that was funny - but my kids 'got it' before I did, which is sad.

I think the first movie came out before Toy Story so there couldn't be any references in there...

Haven't seen the movie yet, but my life is crazy right now. We will see it sometime before Christmas for sure, regardless of reviews. I loved the original movie and appreciate the 2nd one.

Pretty sure Toy Story came out before any of the Santa Clause films, because I remember when he said the line in the movie and it was such a Toy Story nod.

Nope, the first SC came out in '94; Toy Story was November '95. IIRC, the VHS copy we have of SC from October '95 actually had a preview for Toy Story on it... *goes into the end searching through eight totes looking for Santa Clause tape...*

Cheers,
JM

Hmm, I could swear I caught that line in the theater, but I guess it was on VHS, because I've checked too and you're right, Toy Story came out the following year. Maybe they did the voice recordings for Toy Story before they filmed Santa Clause, which could have led to the use of that line.

Wait a minute. Isn't that line from Santa Clause 2? That would explain it. I think the fake Santa is the one who says it! I thought DisneyFanatic was talking about the first Santa Clause film.

I've seen all of the films within the past week, and even though they're all jumbling into each other unfortunately, I do know that that line is indeed from the second installment of the franchise. I'm sure that by now all of you probably know that, but I'll just confirm it, because of all of the confusion.
-James

slave2moonlight ----> Isn't that line from Santa Clause 2? That would explain it. I think the fake Santa is the one who says it! I thought DisneyFanatic was talking about the first Santa Clause film.

I was talking about number 3. I thought it was in Santa Clause 3, but...I did just see number 2, so maybe it was from 2...(my mistake, thought it was 3).