Plot Holes in the 'Santa Clause' Movies

Today's blog post, as the title suggests, is about the 'Santa Clause' movies. Starring Tim Allen, the same guy who glued his head to a table and blew up a house in the TV show 'Home Improvement'. (Luckily, his character in the 'Santa Clause' films is a tad less disaster-prone.) The first movie was released by Disney in 1994, and was later followed by 'The Santa Clause 2' in 2002, and 'The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause' in 2006.

'The Santa Clause' follows the story of a recently divorced father, who finds himself becoming Santa when the previous Santa Claus dies, and the father puts on the suit he finds an finishes delivering the toys. Turns out there's a Clause—a Santa Clause, to be more specific—which means that by putting on the suit, he agrees to the job of being Santa. The second and third movies chronicle his life after he's been Santa for a while.
The film series is popular for a reason. But if you look closely at the story, you'll find a few plot holes. 

The Previous Santa

So, let's discuss the catalyst for Scott Calvin becoming a jolly bearded man in a red suit. Upon hearing noise outside, he runs out the front door to find a guy dressed like Santa, standing on the roof. When Scott yells out, thinking it's a criminal or something, poor Santa, startled by the noise, slips and falls off the roof. He disappears a minute later, leaving nothing but an empty suit.

Somehow, in the movie, the fact that the previous Santa literally died is never really focused on. There's no "Oh man, I just killed that guy!" None of the elves seem sad about the demise of their former boss. Granted, part of that is because the story is about Scott Calvin, not about the previous Santa. And probably because it's a kids' movie, and no one wants to put much emphasis on the traumatic experience of Santa's death. (Yet, they can make movies like 'Lilo and Stitch' and 'Up', which result in me crying every darn time.)

The Former Mrs. Claus

And another thing. The previous Santa apparently had no wife, no children, nothing. There's no mention of a former Mrs. Claus in the films. The second film implies that Santas are typically married, which raises some questions. Did the previous Santa not have the position for long, and so wasn't wed yet? Did his wife pass away some time previously? Or, the more ominous theory some people have come up with, does Mrs. Claus vanish when Santa dies? Just... cease to exist?

The Mrs. Clause

On to the second installment of the series, in which Curtis conveniently forgets to mention a certain clause. The Mrs. Clause, to be more specific. As a result of the absent-minded elf, Santa discovers he has to get married right around the time that the desantafication process begins. He begins to revert to his previous form, and to lose his magic. If he doesn't find a wife, and fast, he'll cease being Santa altogether. Curiously enough, several years have passed without anyone mentioning this clause, or the clause starting to take effect.

Here's another interesting thought. When Scott Calvin became Santa, he later transformed to look like your traditional Santa figure. However, when he marries Carol Newman married him and becomes Mrs. Claus, she never changes. Santa is a plump white-haired guy, and Mrs. Claus remains young and trim. Bit of a double standard there, don't you think?

Then there's the subject of forced marriage. It's literally required that you find a Mrs. Claus, or you lose your sleigh-riding and toy-delivering privileges forever. Sure, they give you plenty of time to find a wife. Scott Calvin had been Santa for several years before the Mrs. Clause started to take effect. But what if it's not as simple as that? What if the guy had a spouse, but she died prior to him becoming Santa, and he doesn't want to remarry? What if the new Santa isn't even straight? What if he falls in love with a guy, or what if he was married to a man prior to putting on the coat? What if the new Santa has simply never been interested in a relationship or getting married?

Head Elf Bernard

The actor who played Bernard wasn't able to come back for the third movie, so Disney solved the problem by simply making Curtis the new head elf. However, the story doesn't give an explanation for Bernard's disappearance, making it seem like the previous head elf just vanished into thin air. Did he retire? Did he... (gulp) die? Like the death of the last Santa, and the lack of a Mrs. Claus or anyone other relations, the absence of Bernard is simply ignored.

A Flawed Santa Clause

The Santa Clause takes effect if the previous Santa dies or resigns, and another person puts on the coat. But this raises some questions. What if nobody puts on the coat? Would the concept of Santa and his workshop cease to exist? Or what if someone unfit for the role puts on the coat? You could end up with a Santa who neglects his duties, or is the opposite of jolly and giving. This flaw is underlined in the third movie, when Jack Frost tricks Santa intro using the Escape Clause, which allows a Santa to go back in time and undo the moment they became Santa, if they decide they don't want the position.

With Jack Frost as Santa instead, he turned the North Pole into a theme park, and the reindeer were tortured petting zoo animals. I'm not even exaggerating about 'torture', you could actually pay to shave a reindeer. You could also pay to have your kid put on the nice list. No one working at the North Pole, from the animals to the elves, was happy. The only one wearing a grin on their face was that slimy Jack Frost, enjoying being the center of attention.

And here's another curious question about the Santa Clause. What if someone other than a man put on the coat? What if a small child put on the coat? Would the clause not apply to a kid? If there weren't exceptions to the clause, we could easily end up with a five-year-old Santa sporting a long beard.

Or, just for a laugh, let's consider the possibility of even more ridiculous scenarios. A dog, shivering in the wintry weather, noses its way into the warm fabric, and now there's a Santa Paws with a wagging tail and a flea collar.

Okay, getting back on track now and taking things halfway seriously. What if a woman put the coat on? Would the clause not work for her? Or would it make her a Mrs. Claus, and then some sort of Mr. Clause would come into effect where she has to marry a man so there'll be a new Santa? Would this clause come into effect sooner than the Mrs. Clause does, considering the role of toy delivery is typically filled by Santa rather than Mrs. Claus? "Yeah, you took care of delivering the gifts this year. But you'd better find a Santa real fast, because this can't be a regular thing."

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As you can see, there's a few things that are a tad unclear in the series. Some of this is likely due to certain things being added later, of course. The film producers probably weren't thinking about the Mrs. Claus or the Escape Clause when they made the first movie. But other things are solely due to unanswered questions or ambiguity within the plot. Of course, this doesn't really take away from the story. As I sometimes joke when there are plot holes, or story details change in a series, "You're not supposed to notice or think about these things." Still, if they ever continue the series, I wouldn't mind seeing some of these topics covered in a little more depth. There's a lot of what-ifs.

But, alas, this blog post is coming to a close, so let's wrap things up. (In shiny wrapping paper with a big bow.) Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all my readers, and also to the unfortunate souls who haven't found my blog. You're missing lots of top-quality randomness.

And remember to behave yourselves, or Toy Santa might leave you lumps of coal. You've been warned...