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{{Short description|1985 film by Jeannot Szwarc}}
{{for|films with similar titles|Santa Claus (disambiguation)}} {{for|films with similar titles|Santa Claus (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox film {{Infobox film
| name = Santa Claus | name = Santa Claus: The Movie
| image = Santa-claus-movie-poster.jpg | image = Santa-claus-movie-poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster | caption = Theatrical release poster by ]
| director = ] | director = ]
| producer = ]<br>] | producer = ] <br> ]
| screenplay = ] | screenplay = ]
| story = David Newman<br>] | story = David Newman <br> ]
| starring = {{Plainlist| | starring = {{Plainlist|
* ] * ]
Line 15: Line 16:
* ] * ]
}} }}
| music = ] ({{small|Score}})<br>] ({{small|Lyrics}}) | music = ] ({{small|score}})<br>] ({{small|lyrics}})
| cinematography = ] | cinematography = ]
| editing = Peter Hollywood | editing = Peter Hollywood
| studio = Santa Claus Productions Ltd.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58352-SANTA-CLAUS?sid=f64fda39-6aa8-4dc1-8525-789729cae67c&sr=3.4499257&cp=1&pos=0|title=AFI&#124;Catalog|website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref><br>Calash Corporation N.V.
| distributor = ]
| distributor = ]<ref name="auto"/> (United States)<br />] (United Kingdom)<ref>{{cite web|title=Santa Claus (1985)|work=]|access-date=13 April 2021|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/santa-claus-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmzq3mdc}}</ref>
| runtime = 108 minutes | runtime = 108 minutes
| country = United Kingdom<br />United States | country = United Kingdom <br /> United States
| released = {{start date|1985|11|27}} | released = {{Film date|1985|11|27}}
| language = English | language = English
| budget = $30–50 million | budget = $30–50 million
| gross = $23.7 million | gross = $23.7 million
}} }}
'''''Santa Claus: The Movie''''' (known on-screen as simply '''''Santa Claus''''') is a 1985 British-American ] starring ], ], and ] in ]. It is the last major ] ] by the ]-based father-and-son production team of ] and ]. The film was directed by ] and released in ] on November 27, 1985, by ]. The 2005 DVD release was released by ], under license from the film's current owner, ]; the 25th Anniversary home video release (which also now includes ]) was by ] Home Entertainment, again under StudioCanal's license. '''''Santa Claus: The Movie''''' (titled onscreen simply as '''''Santa Claus''''') is a 1985 British-American ] starring ], ], and ]. It depicts the origin of ] (played by Huddleston), and his modern-day adventure to save one of ] (Moore) who has been manipulated by an unscrupulous toy company executive (Lithgow). It was directed by ] and was the last major ] produced by the Paris-based father-and-son ] team of ] and ].


Released in North America by ] on November 27, 1985, ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' flopped at the box office and received negative reviews from critics.
''Santa Claus: The Movie'' is a straightforward attempt to explore the mysteries of Santa Claus with the key objective being to answer some of the basic questions many children have about the Santa ], such as how ] fly, how he and his wife made it to the ], and how he ascends ]s, among other things.


⚫ ==Plot==
The film chronicles the origins of Santa Claus, who, along with his wife Anya (]), goes from being a simple working man to becoming an international icon of Christmas. At the same time, the film also tells a contemporary story in which one of ] (alternately referred to as the ''"Vendequm"'' onscreen), a ] named Patch (Moore), sets out to employ Santa's ] methods on his own, unaware that he might be ruining the magic of Christmas in the process.
In the ], a woodcutter named Claus delivers hand-carved toys to the children of his village each Christmas, accompanied by his wife Anya and their ] Donner and Blitzen. Upon attempting to cross the forest, their sleigh is caught in a blizzard and all seemingly succumb to the cold, but awaken in the ], whose every inhabitant becomes ]. They are greeted by resident elves, whose leader Dooley tells Claus’s coming was prophesied and that his destiny is to deliver elven-made gifts to all the children of the world.


The following Christmas Eve, Claus is given the title of "]" by the ancient elf, who explains the night will last as long as necessary for him to deliver gifts to every child on Earth. He makes the voyage in his sleigh, pulled by Donner and Blitzen and ], who are fed hay sprinkled with magical dust which grants them the power of flight. As the centuries pass, the mythology and traditions deepen surrounding the mysterious Christmas benefactor, Santa Claus.
The film was a financial failure and received mostly negative reviews from critics at the time of release. Despite this, the movie has earned a small cult following and has become one of the most watched Christmas movies of all time.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}}


By the late 20th century, Santa is exhausted by his ever-increasing workload and Anya suggests he enlist an assistant. Santa selects Patch, an industrious inventor with dreams of modernization, who creates a machine which increases productivity of toys through automation. While delivering toys in ], Santa befriends a homeless orphan boy named Joe, whom he lets ride with him in the sleigh. After attempting and failing a maneuver dubbed the "Super Duper Looper", Santa returns Joe and meets a wealthy orphan girl named Cornelia, who befriends Joe.
⚫ ==Plot==
Sometime in the 14th century, Claus is a woodcarver in his mid-50s who, with his wife Anya, delivers his gifts to the children of local villages. One night, Claus, Anya and their two ], Donner and Blitzen, are caught in a blizzard and succumb to the cold weather. In death, they are transported to the vast "ice mountains, way up at the top of the world." Their expected arrival is heralded with the appearance of several ], or as Claus's people call them in their legends, the ''Vendequm'', led by the venerable and wise elf named Dooley. Claus and Anya also meet inventive elf Patch, and the more down-to-earth Puffy. Dooley tells Claus it is his destiny to deliver toys to the children of the world every ], which the elves will make in their large workshops. Donner and Blitzen are joined by six other reindeer and fed magic food that allows them to fly. When Christmas Eve comes, Claus is approached by the oldest of elves, the Ancient One, who renames him as "]".


When Patch's mass-produced toys all malfunction, he resigns as Santa’s assistant and he leaves the North Pole in disgrace. He ends up in New York City, where Cornelia’s unscrupulous step-uncle B.Z. is facing federally mandated shutdown of his toy company for intentionally producing unsafe toys. Hoping to redeem himself, Patch approaches B.Z. with his idea for ]s laced with the magic flight dust, which will grant the power of flight. Realizing the potential, B.Z. has Patch strengthen the formula and distribute them from a flying car on ]. The lollipops prove more popular than Santa's toys, leaving Santa feeling disheartened.
Centuries pass as the mythology of Santa is created, until the 20th century, where Santa is exhausted by the ever-growing workload every year due to the world's increasing population. Anya suggests he enlist an assistant, which position Patch and Puffy compete to earn via a competition to produce the most toys in a limited amount of time. Patch uses a machine he has invented, and although he wins, it begins to produce shoddy works without his knowledge. During his annual deliveries, Santa befriends a homeless 10-year-old orphan boy named Joe in ] and takes him for a flight around the skyscrapers of ] in his sleigh. Santa lets Joe take the reins, who flies the sleigh underneath the ] much to Santa's horror, who then playfully gets his own back on Joe by having his reindeer perform the "Super Duper Looper" around the Twin Towers of the ] — an aerial trick that involves them doing a complete 360 degree turn, but which Donner always fails to execute due to acrophobia. Santa takes Joe on his deliveries where they meet 9-year-old Cornelia, a wealthy child and also an orphan who fed Joe one previous night.


After the success of Patch's lollipops, B.Z. begins planning "Christmas II" on March 25, where Patch this time will distribute ] laced with magic flight dust. However, Cornelia and Joe overhear that the candy canes will explode when exposed to heat, and that B.Z. intends to flee with all the money made from their sale to Brazil, leaving Patch to take the fall for the product liability. B.Z. discovers the two eavesdropping and captures Joe. In desperation, Cornelia writes a letter to Santa, who breaks history of December-only flights and flies his sleigh to New York in January to help. Patch discovers Joe tied up and frees him. Seeing a wood carving resembling Patch which Santa made for Joe, Patch realizes Santa misses him and he and Joe head for the North Pole in the flying car, with the candy canes on board.
On Christmas Day, Patch's toys begin to fall apart, prompting him to quit his job and let Puffy take over. Traveling to New York, Patch meets B.Z., Cornelia's step-uncle and a scheming executive of a toy company that faces a total shutdown by Congressional investigation due to unsafe products. Believing B.Z.'s toys are popular due to witnessing several toys being removed from a shop window, Patch decides to help B.Z. make better toys, using some of the reindeer feed to create ]s which can make people fly and giving them to children for free. Patch also constructs a hovercraft called the Patchmobile to deliver the products like Santa and helps create a new holiday on March 25, which B.Z. declares "Christmas 2". Santa disapproves of Patch's actions (unaware the plan is to make Santa appreciate him again) and feels disheartened about continuing his job if the children of the world do not care anymore. Meanwhile, Patch is disturbed when B.Z. plans to turn himself into the face of Christmas and asks Patch to develop ]s which enable flight.


Realizing Patch and Joe are in danger, Santa and Cornelia pursue them in the sleigh. Santa sees the candy canes are reaching critical levels, but they cannot catch up in time to rescue them. Santa realizes the only way to save them in time is to successfully perform the "Super Duper Looper"; the reindeer are initially scared, but determined to save Patch and Joe, perform the dive and catch Patch and Joe as they fall from the exploding car. Cornelia alerts ] to B.Z., who attempt to arrest him but he escapes by eating several magic candy canes at once and leaping from a window, only to float uncontrollably into space. Patch returns to the North Pole, where Santa lets Joe and Cornelia live with him in the workshop.
While Patch works at night, B.Z.'s assistant, Dr. Eric Towzer, appears at his house and reveals the candy canes will explode if exposed to heat. B.Z. proposes they flee to Brazil and let Patch take the fall for their criminal neglect, which Towzer eventually approves of, despite initially urging B.Z. to reconsider his actions as children are involved. Joe and Cornelia eavesdrop on the conversation, but Joe is caught and locked up in the basement of B.Z.'s factory. Patch finds Joe and discovers Santa made a carving for Joe that resembles him (which was unintentional, but pointed out by Anya). Thrilled that Santa remembers him, Patch and Joe set off in the Patchmobile to the North Pole. Cornelia sends a letter to Santa informing him of the situation. Despite Comet and Cupid having the Flu, Santa gathers up the other six reindeer and he arrives to pick Cornelia up. Santa and Cornelia pursue the Patchmobile, which is carrying a huge supply of candy canes on the verge of exploding. Santa convinces his reindeer to perform the Super Duper Looper in order to catch Patch and Joe as the Patchmobile explodes. Meanwhile, B.Z.'s crimes are uncovered when Cornelia calls the police. As Dr. Towzer and B.Z.'s chauffeur, Grizzard, are arrested, B.Z. attempts to evade the cops by eating several candy canes and tries to fly out of his office window only to uncontrollably float away into the sky.

The film ends with the inhabitants of the North Pole celebrating the triumph with a joyous dance party, where Cornelia and Joe have been adopted by Santa, his wife and his elves, whilst B.Z., in spite of his pleas for help, is doomed to float off into the depths of ], among the equally-affected remains of the Patchmobile as the end credits roll.


==Cast== ==Cast==
* ] as Patch
* ] as ], the Christmas figure who delivers presents to every child in the world on Christmas Eve.
* ] as B.Z.
* ] as Patch, a creative, inventive elf whose passion for and faith in the 20th Century is put to the test throughout the story.
* ] as Claus / ]
* ] as B.Z., the main ] &ndash; an unscrupulous toy manufacturer who uses Patch in a larger scheme to take over Christmas.
⚫ * ] as the Ancient Elf
* ] as ], Santa's caring and supportive wife. * ] as ]
⚫ * ] as the Ancient One, the oldest and wisest of the elves.
* ] as Dr. Eric Towzer, B.Z.'s head of Research & Development. * ] as Towzer
* Christian L. Fitzpatrick as Joe
* ] as Joe, a homeless 10-year-old orphan boy living on the hard streets of New York who befriends Santa and becomes Cornelia's best friend and conscience.
* ] as Cornelia, B.Z.'s 9-year-old step-niece and orphan, who becomes Joe's conscience and best friend. * ] as Cornelia
* ] as Dooley, Santa's #2 at the North Pole. * ] as Dooley
* ] as Puffy, a bearded elf whose methodicalness foils against Patch's more radical progressiveness. * ] as Puffy
* ] as Goober, head of the Sewing Department. * ] as A Storyteller in Claus' village
* ] as Miss Tucker, Cornelia's nanny
* ] as Groot, the elves' Senior Chef.
* ] as Boog, first of Patch's three best friends. * ] as Grizzard, B.Z.'s chauffeur
* Judith Morse as Miss Abruzzi, who works for B.Z.
* Peter O'Farrell as Honka, second of Patch's three best friends.
* Jerry Harte as a ] Chairman
* ] as Vout, third of Patch's three best friends.
* Ian Wise as Salvation Army Bandsman (Central Park scene)
* Keith Hayden as an Elf.
Additional elves were played by ], ], Tim Stern, Peter O'Farrell and ], as Goober, Groot, Boog, Honka, Vout and Goobler respectively. Other minor roles were played by Paul Aspland, Sally Granfield and Michael Drew as reporters; Walter Goodman as a street corner Santa; John Cassady as a wino; and Ronald Fernee and Michael Ross as policemen.
* ] as Bratty Kid at Ballet Class
* ] as bass-playing Elf in 'Season's Greetings' scene.


==Production== ==Production==
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2021}}


===Development and Filming=== ===Development===
Conceived by ] in the wake of the apparently waning critical and U.S. box office success of 1983's '']'' and its immediate follow-up, 1984's '']'', ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' was directed by ], who had directed ''Supergirl'', from a story by ] and ]. David Newman, however, took sole screenplay credit. ], Ilya's longtime partner, and the third key element of Team Salkind, joined Alexander's son as the project's producer. ] was originally offered the chance to direct, but also wanted a say in the writing, musical score and final cut of the movie. Carpenter's original choice for the role of Santa was ]. Conceived by ] in the wake of the apparently waning critical and U.S. box office success of 1983's '']'' and its immediate follow-up, 1984's '']'', ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' was directed by ''Supergirl'' director ], from a story by ] and ] (though David Newman took sole screenplay credit). ], Ilya's longtime partner and a longtime collaborator of the Salkinds', joined Ilya as the project's producer.


Among the original choices to direct the film other than Carpenter were ], who, despite initial interest, could not agree with the Salkinds over certain aspects of the script. ] was also offered the chance to direct, but Wise had a different approach to the story. ], who'd had to withdraw from directing '']'' in 1976 (because he was a ], and, as such, could only spend 30 days in England, where the movie would be filming), was very interested in directing and lobbied hard for the chance to do so, but only on the condition that the film be shot either in Los Angeles, Vancouver or Rome. Ultimately, the Salkinds chose Szwarc because of their excellent working relationship on ''Supergirl'' which many executives at ] believed was a masterpiece and would also become a mega hit. ] was originally offered the chance to direct, but also wanted a say in the writing, musical score, and final cut of the film.<ref>{{cite web |title=10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Santa Claus: The Movie |url=https://www.eightieskids.com/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-santa-claus-the-movie/ |website=Eighties Kids |access-date=24 December 2021 |language=en |date=8 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922080704/https://eightieskids.com/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-santa-claus-the-movie/ |archive-date=22 September 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Carpenter's original choice for the role of Santa was ]. Szwarc, however, felt that he needed an actor with more warmth than Dennehy. ] was another early choice for director but, despite initial interest, he could not agree with the Salkinds over certain aspects of the script. ] was also offered the chance to direct, but had a different approach to the story. ], who'd had to withdraw from directing '']'' in 1976, lobbied hard for the chance to direct the film, but only on the condition that it be shot either in Los Angeles, Vancouver, or Rome. Ultimately, the Salkinds chose Szwarc because of their excellent working relationship on ''Supergirl''.

⚫ ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' was filmed in ], ] at ], between August and November ]. The film was photographed by ], whose credits, among others, included the original ''Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'' (1971). ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' was his final feature film. Serving as ] was Peter Hollywood.

The production was designed by Anthony Pratt, with costume design concepts by ]. The visual effects unit, as well as several of the production staff, were Salkind stalwarts from the ''Superman'' films: ], director of visual and miniature effects; Roy Field, optical visual effects supervisor; and ], flying and ] director.

The ], ''Santa Claus: The Making of The Movie,'' which chronicles the film's production, is introduced by David Huddleston, speaking straight to the camera in character as Santa, with Dudley Moore serving as on-screen host. The ] commentary is performed by Ted Maynard, who had also done voice-overs for the film's original UK ]. The documentary originally aired in the United States on ], on Christmas Eve, 1987. ]'s now-out-of-print 20th anniversary ] of the film included this documentary as a bonus feature; the Lionsgate DVD and Blu-ray versions currently feature the 50-minute feature as well. The Blu-ray version, however, also features a brief chronicle of the filming of the " 'Christmas II' Press Conference" sequence, as well as additional deleted scenes cut from the original theatrical version.


===Casting=== ===Casting===
Moore had always been the top choice to play the lead Elf in the movie, Ilya Salkind having remembered a scene in '']'' in which ]'s character asks Moore if he is Santa's Little Helper. Moore was attached to the project virtually from the outset, and therefore had a say on both scripting and choice of director. Originally, David Newman's first-draft script called for the character to be named Ollie; but Moore decided instead that the name should be changed to Patch, Patch being the nickname of his own young son, Patrick. Moore was briefly considered to play the role of the 5th dimension imp "Mr. Mxyzptlk" in the Salkind's aborted original script from ''Superman III'' and for the role of Nigel in ''Supergirl''. He turned down that role, but suggested his long time friend and comic partner Peter Cook for the part. Ilya Salkind, from the very beginning, had wanted an American actor to portray Santa Claus because he felt that the movie focused on a primary piece of Americana in much the same way that '']'' did. ] was the top choice of John Carpenter when he discussed the possibility of directing the film with the Salkinds. Jeannot Szwarc, however, felt that he needed an actor with more warmth than Dennehy, and toward that end, he had screen-tested such actors as ] (who, being in his late 60's, was considered too old for the role), and Moore's ''Arthur'' co-star ]. For a while, Ilya Salkind actively pursued ] for the role before Szwarc showed him David Huddleston's screen-test, which won Salkind over. ] was the Salkinds' top choice to play the lead elf in the film, Ilya Salkind having remembered a scene in '']'' in which ]'s character asks Moore if he is Santa's Little Helper. Moore was attached to the project early on, and had a say in both scripting and choice of director. David Newman's first script draft named Moore's character Ollie, but Moore decided that the name should be changed to Patch, which was the nickname of his young son, Patrick. Moore had briefly been considered to play the role of ] in the Salkinds' aborted original script for ''Superman III'', and for the role of Nigel in ''Supergirl''. He turned down that role, but suggested his longtime friend and comic partner ] for the part.


Ilya Salkind wanted an American actor to portray Santa Claus because he felt that the film focused on a primary piece of ] in much the same way that ''Superman: The Movie'' had. Szwarc screen-tested such actors as ] (who, being in his late 60s, was considered too old for the role) and Moore's ''Arthur'' co-star ]. For a while, Ilya Salkind actively pursued ] for the role before Szwarc showed him ]'s screen-test, which won Salkind over.
For the role of B.Z., the producers wanted a star with a similar stature to ] when he had played ] in ''Superman: The Movie''. To this end, they offered the role to ] who turned them down. They made offers to ], ] and ] --- all of whom, for one reason or another, turned the part down. Eventually, John Lithgow was settled on after Salkind watched '']'' and realised that he had a Grinch-type look to him. The role of the Ancient Elf was written with ] in mind; however, with Cagney being very weak in his old age, the legendary actor could not adequately assume the role, despite the fact that he liked the film's overall idea. Nonetheless, Cagney had no other choice but to turn the offer down, so ] was considered. When this eventually came to nothing, Dudley Moore suggested his friend ] for the role, which he in the end won. At the time of the movie's announcement in the middle of 1983, the British Press carried reports that diminutive actors such as ], ] and ] would be cast alongside Dudley as fellow Elves. This ultimately came to nothing.


For the role of B.Z., the producers wanted a star with a similar stature to ] when he had played ] in ''Superman: The Movie''. To this end, they offered the role to ] who turned them down. They made offers to ], ] and ], each of whom also turned the part down. Eventually, ] was settled on after Ilya Salkind watched '']'' and realized that he had a ]-type look to him.
===Santa's elves===
The elves in the film are portrayed as legendary beings known as the ''Vendequm''. According to the ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' ] written by ]/fantasy novelist ], the elves keep watch over all that happens in the world that borders their own ]al ]. The ''Vendequm'' are described as being extremely fond of children since, after all, only children can see them, due to the innocence of their youth. The elves are fond of making things for children, and so they often journeyed out into the children's world, leaving their newly crafted toys where children would find them. According to the novel, with the passing of each new ], and as ]s continued to rise and fall, it became more and more difficult and dangerous for the elves to venture too far out into the human world. Thus, the vast majority of the toys the elves made could not be given out, and were left to gather dust in their magnificent storeroom, the Toy Tunnel.


The role of the Ancient Elf was written with ] in mind. Though he liked the film's overall idea, Cagney, at 84, turned the role down due to being too weakened by age to perform it. ] was considered, but when this eventually came to nothing Dudley Moore suggested his friend ] for the role, which he in the end won. At the time of the film's announcement in mid-1983, the British Press carried reports that diminutive actors such as ], ] and ] would be cast alongside Moore as fellow elves, but none of them were.
The novel also describes how, on a certain long-winter's night, the oldest and wisest elf of all, the Ancient One, foresaw the arrival of a man whose love for children would be equal to that of the elves. The Ancient One believed that this man would be the one to whom the elves would grant full ], along with the ability to deliver the elves' gifts to children all over the world.


===Filming===
In addition to Patch, Dooley, Puffy, Boog, Honka, and Vout, the film's ] and cast listing features three additional elves: Groot, the Elves' Senior ]; Goober, the head of the Elves' ]ing shop, who crafts Santa's full red robes; and Goobler, who trains several of his fellow elves in the art of painting toys with their own beards.
⚫ ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' was filmed in ], England at ], between August and November 1984. The film was photographed by ], whose credits included '']'' (1971). ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' was his final feature film. Serving as ] was Peter Hollywood. The production was designed by Anthony Pratt, with costume design concepts by ]. The visual effects unit, as well as several of the production staff, were Salkind stalwarts from the ''Superman'' films: ], director of visual and miniature effects; Roy Field, optical visual effects supervisor; and ], flying and ] director.


==Reception== ==Reception==
''Santa Claus: The Movie'' received negative reviews upon release, with a rating of 17% on ], from the 17 reviews counted.<ref name="RT">{{cite web|title=Santa Claus: The Movie - Rotten Tomatoes |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/santa_claus_the_movie|publisher=] |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> ] lists the film's total ] box office gross as ]23,717,291,<ref name="Mojo">{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=santaclausthemovie.htm|title=Santa Claus: The Movie total gross|publisher=] |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> less than its $30–50 million production budget.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harmetz |first=Aljean |title=At the Movies |date=November 29, 1985 |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/29/movies/at-the-movies.html |accessdate=June 13, 2011}}</ref> ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' received negative reviews upon release, with a rating of 22% on ], from the 23 reviews counted.<ref name="RT">{{cite web|title=Santa Claus: The Movie - Rotten Tomatoes |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/santa_claus_the_movie|publisher=] |access-date=2023-11-30}}</ref> ] lists the film's total United States box office gross as $23,717,291,<ref name="Mojo">{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=santaclausthemovie.htm|title=Santa Claus: The Movie total gross|publisher=] |access-date=2006-12-14}}</ref> less than its $30–50 million production budget.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harmetz |first=Aljean |title=At the Movies |date=November 29, 1985 |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/29/movies/at-the-movies.html |access-date=June 13, 2011}}</ref> The film was however highly popular in the UK, grossing £5,073,000.<ref name="org">{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-back-to-the-future-the-fall-and-rise-of-the-british-film-industry-in-the-1980s.pdf|page=19|title=Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing|website=British Film Institute|date=2005}}</ref> The film also would go on to become the most repeated Christmas film ever shown on British television.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/24/die-hard-and-carry-on-britains-most-aired-films-over-christmas-revealed|title=Britain’s most-aired films over Christmas revealed|accessdate=24 Dec 2023}}</ref>


'']'' critic ] noted some positive points to the film, writing that the film "does an interesting job of visualizing Santa's workshop" and Santa's elves. He also praised the film's ], particularly the New York City fly-over sequence involving Santa. Ebert also had some praise for Lithgow's "nice, hateful performance", but wrote that "the villain is not drawn big enough." He ceded that young children would probably like most of the film, but that older children and adults are "likely to find a lot of it a little thin."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19851127/REVIEWS/511270302/1023|last=Ebert|first=Roger|date=1985-11-27|publisher=]|title=Rogerebert.com - Santa Claus: The Movie review|accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> '']'' critic ] noted some positive points to the film, writing that the film "does an interesting job of visualizing Santa's workshop" and Santa's elves. He also praised the film's special effects, particularly the New York City fly-over sequence involving Santa. Ebert also had some praise for Lithgow's "nice, hateful performance", but wrote that "the villain is not drawn big enough". He ceded that young children would probably like most of the film, but that older children and adults are "likely to find a lot of it a little thin".<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19851127%2FREVIEWS%2F511270302%2F1023|last=Ebert|first=Roger|date=1985-11-27|publisher=]|title=Rogerebert.com - Santa Claus: The Movie review|access-date=2006-12-14|archive-date=2008-12-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211141055/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19851127%2FREVIEWS%2F511270302%2F1023|url-status=dead}}</ref>


] of '']'' was less positive than Ebert, calling the production "elaborate and tacky". He described the film as having "the manner of a listless musical without any production numbers". Unlike Ebert, he offered little praise for the film's production design. Canby quipped that "Santa's workshop must be the world's largest purchaser of low-grade plywood" and that the flyover sequences with Santa "aren't great." The only praise he had for the film's acting was for John Lithgow, who Canby wrote "(gave) the film's only remotely stylish performance."<ref name="Canby">{{cite web |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=2&title1=&title2=SANTA%20CLAUS%3A%20THE%20MOVIE%20%28MOVIE%29&reviewer=Vincent%20Canby&v_id=42838&pdate=19851127|title=FILM: 'SANTA CLAUS,' WITH MOORE AND LITHGOW |last=Canby |first=Vincent |publisher=] |date=1985-11-27 |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> A more recent review by William Mager on ]'s review section echoed Canby and Ebert's comments.<ref name="Mager">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/12/01/santa_claus_1985_review.shtml|last=Mager|publisher=]|title=BBC - Santa Claus: The Movie film review|date=2000-12-01 |accessdate=2006-12-14}}</ref> ] of '']'' was less positive than Ebert, calling the production "elaborate and tacky". He described the film as having "the manner of a listless musical without any production numbers". Unlike Ebert, he offered little praise for the film's production design. Canby quipped that "Santa's workshop must be the world's largest purchaser of low-grade plywood" and that the flyover sequences with Santa "aren't great". The only praise he had for the film's acting was for John Lithgow, who Canby wrote "(gave) the film's only remotely stylish performance".<ref name="Canby">{{cite web |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=2&title1=&title2=SANTA%20CLAUS%3A%20THE%20MOVIE%20%28MOVIE%29&reviewer=Vincent%20Canby&v_id=42838&pdate=19851127 |title=FILM: 'SANTA CLAUS', WITH MOORE AND LITHGOW |last=Canby |first=Vincent |work=] |date=1985-11-27 |access-date=2006-12-14}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> A more recent review by William Mager for the ] echoed Canby and Ebert's comments.<ref name="Mager">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/12/01/santa_claus_1985_review.shtml|first=William|last=Mager|publisher=BBC|title=Santa Claus: The Movie film review|date=2000-12-01 |access-date=2006-12-14}}</ref>


In his book ''Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas'', critic ] lists ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' in his chapter of worst Christmas movies ever. His reasons include weak plot, garish production design, blatant product placement (particularly for ], though ] and ] are also prominent), and scenery-chewing overacting on the part of Lithgow. Duralde ultimately concludes that the film is "a train-wreck of a Christmas movie that's so very wrong that you won't be able to tear yourself away from it."<ref>{{cite book|title=Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas|author=Duralde, Alonso|pages=186–187|year=2010|isbn=0879103760|publisher=Limelight Editions}}</ref> In his book ''Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas'', critic ] lists ''Santa Claus: The Movie'' in his chapter of worst Christmas films ever. His reasons include weak plot, garish production design, blatant product placement (particularly for ], though ] and ] are also prominent), and scenery-chewing overacting on the part of Lithgow. Duralde ultimately concludes that the film is "a train-wreck of a Christmas film that's so very wrong that you won't be able to tear yourself away from it".<ref>{{cite book|title=Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas|author=Duralde, Alonso|pages=|year=2010|isbn=978-0879103767|publisher=Limelight Editions|url=https://archive.org/details/haveyourselfmovi0000dura/page/186}}</ref>

John Lithgow, in a 2019 interview, said that ''Santa Claus'' was "one of the tackiest movies I've ever been in. It seemed cheesy and it certainly never stuck...except in England. It is huge over there. I wish I had a nickel for every Englishman who's told me . In England, that's half of what I'm known for".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/john-lithgow-on-bombshell-playing-villains-and-the-of-1840470931|title=John Lithgow on Bombshell, Shrek, and the art of playing villains|website=The A.V. Club|date=17 December 2019}}</ref>


==Soundtrack== ==Soundtrack==
{{more citations needed section|date=December 2018}}
The soundtrack score was composed and conducted by ], composer of the themes from '']'' and '']'', with veteran lyricist and screenwriter ] contributing five original songs. The song "It's Christmas (All Over The World)" was written by Bill House and John Hobbs with ] in mind. While it is known that Mercury recorded a demo for the House/Hobbs song at Pinewood Studios, he was never to make a full commitment to the project, as he and his ] bandmates had already committed themselves to the '']'' soundtrack. In the end, Mercury turned down the project, stating that he felt that Queen had become overcrowded with requests to work on film soundtracks; as a result, ] was ultimately chosen to record the tune. As mentioned on the DVD commentary of the movie by Jeannot Szwarc, ] was asked to compose songs for the film. It is unknown why he did not do so in the end, but his song "]" had been indeed originally composed with the movie in mind.<ref>Soundtrack: at ]</ref> The soundtrack score was composed and conducted by ], composer of the themes from '']'' and '']'', with veteran lyricist and screenwriter ] contributing five original songs. The song "It's Christmas (All Over the World)" was written by Bill House and John Hobbs with ] in mind. While it is known that Mercury recorded a demo for the House/Hobbs song at Pinewood Studios, he was never to make a full commitment to the project, as he and his ] bandmates had already committed themselves to the '']'' soundtrack. In the end, Mercury turned down the project, stating that he felt that Queen had become overcrowded with requests to work on film soundtracks; as a result, ] was ultimately chosen to record the tune. As mentioned on the DVD commentary of the film by Jeannot Szwarc, ] was asked to compose songs for the film. It is unknown why he did not do so in the end.


;Track listing ;Track listing
Line 117: Line 114:
# "Thank You, Santa" (Mancini/Bricusse) <sup>2</sup> # "Thank You, Santa" (Mancini/Bricusse) <sup>2</sup>


<sup>1</sup>Sung by ]<br/> <sup>1</sup>Sung by ].<br/>
<sup>2</sup>Performed by the Ambrosian Children's Choir. <br/> <sup>2</sup>Performed by the Ambrosian Children's Choir. <br/>
<sup>3</sup>Performed by the Ambrosian Singers<br/> <sup>3</sup>Performed by the Ambrosian Singers.<br/>
<sup>4</sup>Produced by Ken Scott and performed by ]<br/> <sup>4</sup>Produced by Ken Scott and performed by ].<br/>
<sup>5</sup>Produced by Keith Olsen for Pogologo Corporation, and performed by ]. <sup>5</sup>Produced by Keith Olsen for Pogologo Corporation, and performed by ].


The soundtrack was originally released on record and cassette by EMI Records in 1985. Soon after, it went out of print and remained unavailable until 2009 when it was released on CD by Singular Soundtrack of Spain. This was a limited run of 1000 copies which sold out immediately upon release. In a rare situation for the label, this production suffered from several issues, most notably a master which had been subjected to heavy noise reduction resulting in a loss of sound quality. Additionally, the left & right channels had been erroneously flipped, a superficial re-edit had been performed on "It's Christmas (All Over the World)", and the song "Shouldn't Do That" by ] had been omitted due to licensing issues. These issues necessitated a replacement pressing to correct many of the problems, save for the licensing issue. The replacement pressing had the unfortunate side-effect of introducing the lossy copies into the secondary market. (To differentiate, the original lossy edition has SER 808 #1 stamped in the center. The replacement disc has SER 879 #1 stamped in the center.<ref>http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=68678&forumID=1&archive=0</ref>) The soundtrack was originally released on record and cassette by EMI America Records in 1985. Soon after, it went out of print and remained unavailable until 2009 when it was released on CD as a limited run of 1000 copies which sold out immediately upon release. This production suffered from several issues, most notably a master which had been subjected to heavy noise reduction resulting in a loss of sound quality. Additionally, the left & right channels had been erroneously flipped, a superficial re-edit had been performed on "It's Christmas (All Over the World)", and the song "Shouldn't Do That" by ] had been omitted due to licensing issues. In 2012 a deluxe three-disc set, including remastered tracks, outtakes and alternate versions and a 32-page booklet, was released.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quartetrecords.com/santa-claus-the-movie.html|work=Quartet Records|title=Santa Claus: The Movie|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073621/http://www.quartetrecords.com/santa-claus-the-movie.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the time of the 2009 release, Singular Soundtrack became merged with Quartet Records, allowing the label to produce increasingly high-profile projects. Though problematic, the Singular edition had been well-received and had garnered enough ongoing interest to warrant an expansion. In 2012, following a run of successful releases, Quartet Records revisited the earlier release of ''Santa Claus: The Movie'', this time with an ambitious goal: a complete score release from the original scoring tapes.

The resultant December 2012 release was an unlimited deluxe three-disc set including sixty-four tracks totaling just under three hours of music, and a 32-page analysis by celebrated historian Jeff Bond.<ref>Soundtrack: at ]</ref> Every piece of score music used in the film was included, as well as several outtakes and alternates. The original soundtrack, which differs from the music recorded for the film, was remastered from the original source material, and the pop songs found on the original soundtrack were all represented, including the ] song "Shouldn't Do That."


==Comic book adaptation== ==Comic book adaptation==
] published a comic book adaptation of the film by writer ] and artist ] in '']'' #39.<ref>{{cite journal|last= Friedt|first= Stephan|title= ''Santa Claus: The Movie''|journal= ]|issue= 85|pages= 62-64|publisher= ]|date= December 2015}}</ref><ref> at the ]</ref> ] published a comic book adaptation of the film by writer ] and artist ] in '']'' #39.<ref>{{cite journal|last= Friedt|first= Stephan|title= ''Santa Claus: The Movie''|journal= ]|issue= 85|pages= 62–64|publisher= ]|date= December 2015}}</ref><ref> at the ]</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
* ] * ]
* ]


==References== ==References==
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{{wikiquote}} {{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0089961|title=Santa Claus: The Movie}} * {{IMDb title|id=0089961|title=Santa Claus: The Movie}}
* {{Amg movie|42838|Santa Claus: The Movie}}
* {{mojo title|santaclausthemovie|Santa Claus: The Movie}} * {{mojo title|santaclausthemovie|Santa Claus: The Movie}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|santa_claus_the_movie|Santa Claus: The Movie}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|santa_claus_the_movie|Santa Claus: The Movie}}
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Latest revision as of 01:57, 18 January 2025

1985 film by Jeannot Szwarc For films with similar titles, see Santa Claus (disambiguation).
Santa Claus: The Movie
Theatrical release poster by Bob Peak
Directed byJeannot Szwarc
Screenplay byDavid Newman
Story byDavid Newman
Leslie Newman
Produced byPierre Spengler
Ilya Salkind
Starring
CinematographyArthur Ibbetson
Edited byPeter Hollywood
Music byHenry Mancini (score)
Leslie Bricusse (lyrics)
Production
companies		Santa Claus Productions Ltd.
Calash Corporation N.V.
Distributed byTriStar Pictures (United States)
Rank Film Distributors (United Kingdom)
Release date
  • November 27, 1985 (1985-11-27)
Running time108 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30–50 million
Box office$23.7 million

Santa Claus: The Movie (titled onscreen simply as Santa Claus) is a 1985 British-American Christmas film starring Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, and David Huddleston. It depicts the origin of Santa Claus (played by Huddleston), and his modern-day adventure to save one of his elves (Moore) who has been manipulated by an unscrupulous toy company executive (Lithgow). It was directed by Jeannot Szwarc and was the last major fantasy film produced by the Paris-based father-and-son production team of Alexander and Ilya Salkind.

Released in North America by TriStar Pictures on November 27, 1985, Santa Claus: The Movie flopped at the box office and received negative reviews from critics.

Plot

In the Middle Ages, a woodcutter named Claus delivers hand-carved toys to the children of his village each Christmas, accompanied by his wife Anya and their reindeer Donner and Blitzen. Upon attempting to cross the forest, their sleigh is caught in a blizzard and all seemingly succumb to the cold, but awaken in the North Pole, whose every inhabitant becomes immortal. They are greeted by resident elves, whose leader Dooley tells Claus’s coming was prophesied and that his destiny is to deliver elven-made gifts to all the children of the world.

The following Christmas Eve, Claus is given the title of "Santa Claus" by the ancient elf, who explains the night will last as long as necessary for him to deliver gifts to every child on Earth. He makes the voyage in his sleigh, pulled by Donner and Blitzen and six other reindeer, who are fed hay sprinkled with magical dust which grants them the power of flight. As the centuries pass, the mythology and traditions deepen surrounding the mysterious Christmas benefactor, Santa Claus.

By the late 20th century, Santa is exhausted by his ever-increasing workload and Anya suggests he enlist an assistant. Santa selects Patch, an industrious inventor with dreams of modernization, who creates a machine which increases productivity of toys through automation. While delivering toys in New York City, Santa befriends a homeless orphan boy named Joe, whom he lets ride with him in the sleigh. After attempting and failing a maneuver dubbed the "Super Duper Looper", Santa returns Joe and meets a wealthy orphan girl named Cornelia, who befriends Joe.

When Patch's mass-produced toys all malfunction, he resigns as Santa’s assistant and he leaves the North Pole in disgrace. He ends up in New York City, where Cornelia’s unscrupulous step-uncle B.Z. is facing federally mandated shutdown of his toy company for intentionally producing unsafe toys. Hoping to redeem himself, Patch approaches B.Z. with his idea for lollipops laced with the magic flight dust, which will grant the power of flight. Realizing the potential, B.Z. has Patch strengthen the formula and distribute them from a flying car on Christmas Eve. The lollipops prove more popular than Santa's toys, leaving Santa feeling disheartened.

After the success of Patch's lollipops, B.Z. begins planning "Christmas II" on March 25, where Patch this time will distribute candy canes laced with magic flight dust. However, Cornelia and Joe overhear that the candy canes will explode when exposed to heat, and that B.Z. intends to flee with all the money made from their sale to Brazil, leaving Patch to take the fall for the product liability. B.Z. discovers the two eavesdropping and captures Joe. In desperation, Cornelia writes a letter to Santa, who breaks history of December-only flights and flies his sleigh to New York in January to help. Patch discovers Joe tied up and frees him. Seeing a wood carving resembling Patch which Santa made for Joe, Patch realizes Santa misses him and he and Joe head for the North Pole in the flying car, with the candy canes on board.

Realizing Patch and Joe are in danger, Santa and Cornelia pursue them in the sleigh. Santa sees the candy canes are reaching critical levels, but they cannot catch up in time to rescue them. Santa realizes the only way to save them in time is to successfully perform the "Super Duper Looper"; the reindeer are initially scared, but determined to save Patch and Joe, perform the dive and catch Patch and Joe as they fall from the exploding car. Cornelia alerts the police to B.Z., who attempt to arrest him but he escapes by eating several magic candy canes at once and leaping from a window, only to float uncontrollably into space. Patch returns to the North Pole, where Santa lets Joe and Cornelia live with him in the workshop.

Cast

Additional elves were played by Melvyn Hayes, Don Estelle, Tim Stern, Peter O'Farrell and Christopher Ryan, as Goober, Groot, Boog, Honka, Vout and Goobler respectively. Other minor roles were played by Paul Aspland, Sally Granfield and Michael Drew as reporters; Walter Goodman as a street corner Santa; John Cassady as a wino; and Ronald Fernee and Michael Ross as policemen.

Production

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Development

Conceived by Ilya Salkind in the wake of the apparently waning critical and U.S. box office success of 1983's Superman III and its immediate follow-up, 1984's Supergirl, Santa Claus: The Movie was directed by Supergirl director Jeannot Szwarc, from a story by David and Leslie Newman (though David Newman took sole screenplay credit). Pierre Spengler, Ilya's longtime partner and a longtime collaborator of the Salkinds', joined Ilya as the project's producer.

John Carpenter was originally offered the chance to direct, but also wanted a say in the writing, musical score, and final cut of the film. Carpenter's original choice for the role of Santa was Brian Dennehy. Szwarc, however, felt that he needed an actor with more warmth than Dennehy. Lewis Gilbert was another early choice for director but, despite initial interest, he could not agree with the Salkinds over certain aspects of the script. Robert Wise was also offered the chance to direct, but had a different approach to the story. Guy Hamilton, who'd had to withdraw from directing Superman: The Movie in 1976, lobbied hard for the chance to direct the film, but only on the condition that it be shot either in Los Angeles, Vancouver, or Rome. Ultimately, the Salkinds chose Szwarc because of their excellent working relationship on Supergirl.

Casting

Dudley Moore was the Salkinds' top choice to play the lead elf in the film, Ilya Salkind having remembered a scene in Arthur in which Liza Minnelli's character asks Moore if he is Santa's Little Helper. Moore was attached to the project early on, and had a say in both scripting and choice of director. David Newman's first script draft named Moore's character Ollie, but Moore decided that the name should be changed to Patch, which was the nickname of his young son, Patrick. Moore had briefly been considered to play the role of Mister Mxyzptlk in the Salkinds' aborted original script for Superman III, and for the role of Nigel in Supergirl. He turned down that role, but suggested his longtime friend and comic partner Peter Cook for the part.

Ilya Salkind wanted an American actor to portray Santa Claus because he felt that the film focused on a primary piece of Americana in much the same way that Superman: The Movie had. Szwarc screen-tested such actors as David White (who, being in his late 60s, was considered too old for the role) and Moore's Arthur co-star Barney Martin. For a while, Ilya Salkind actively pursued Carroll O'Connor for the role before Szwarc showed him David Huddleston's screen-test, which won Salkind over.

For the role of B.Z., the producers wanted a star with a similar stature to Gene Hackman when he had played Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie. To this end, they offered the role to Harrison Ford who turned them down. They made offers to Dustin Hoffman, Burt Reynolds and Johnny Carson, each of whom also turned the part down. Eventually, John Lithgow was settled on after Ilya Salkind watched Terms of Endearment and realized that he had a Grinch-type look to him.

The role of the Ancient Elf was written with James Cagney in mind. Though he liked the film's overall idea, Cagney, at 84, turned the role down due to being too weakened by age to perform it. Fred Astaire was considered, but when this eventually came to nothing Dudley Moore suggested his friend Burgess Meredith for the role, which he in the end won. At the time of the film's announcement in mid-1983, the British Press carried reports that diminutive actors such as David Jason, Patrick Troughton and Norman Wisdom would be cast alongside Moore as fellow elves, but none of them were.

Filming

Santa Claus: The Movie was filmed in Buckinghamshire, England at Pinewood Studios, between August and November 1984. The film was photographed by Arthur Ibbetson, whose credits included Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). Santa Claus: The Movie was his final feature film. Serving as film editor was Peter Hollywood. The production was designed by Anthony Pratt, with costume design concepts by Bob Ringwood. The visual effects unit, as well as several of the production staff, were Salkind stalwarts from the Superman films: Derek Meddings, director of visual and miniature effects; Roy Field, optical visual effects supervisor; and David Lane, flying and second unit director.

Reception

Santa Claus: The Movie received negative reviews upon release, with a rating of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, from the 23 reviews counted. Box Office Mojo lists the film's total United States box office gross as $23,717,291, less than its $30–50 million production budget. The film was however highly popular in the UK, grossing £5,073,000. The film also would go on to become the most repeated Christmas film ever shown on British television.

Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert noted some positive points to the film, writing that the film "does an interesting job of visualizing Santa's workshop" and Santa's elves. He also praised the film's special effects, particularly the New York City fly-over sequence involving Santa. Ebert also had some praise for Lithgow's "nice, hateful performance", but wrote that "the villain is not drawn big enough". He ceded that young children would probably like most of the film, but that older children and adults are "likely to find a lot of it a little thin".

Vincent Canby of The New York Times was less positive than Ebert, calling the production "elaborate and tacky". He described the film as having "the manner of a listless musical without any production numbers". Unlike Ebert, he offered little praise for the film's production design. Canby quipped that "Santa's workshop must be the world's largest purchaser of low-grade plywood" and that the flyover sequences with Santa "aren't great". The only praise he had for the film's acting was for John Lithgow, who Canby wrote "(gave) the film's only remotely stylish performance". A more recent review by William Mager for the BBC echoed Canby and Ebert's comments.

In his book Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, critic Alonso Duralde lists Santa Claus: The Movie in his chapter of worst Christmas films ever. His reasons include weak plot, garish production design, blatant product placement (particularly for McDonald's, though Coke and Pabst Blue Ribbon are also prominent), and scenery-chewing overacting on the part of Lithgow. Duralde ultimately concludes that the film is "a train-wreck of a Christmas film that's so very wrong that you won't be able to tear yourself away from it".

John Lithgow, in a 2019 interview, said that Santa Claus was "one of the tackiest movies I've ever been in. It seemed cheesy and it certainly never stuck...except in England. It is huge over there. I wish I had a nickel for every Englishman who's told me . In England, that's half of what I'm known for".

Soundtrack

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The soundtrack score was composed and conducted by Henry Mancini, composer of the themes from The Pink Panther and Peter Gunn, with veteran lyricist and screenwriter Leslie Bricusse contributing five original songs. The song "It's Christmas (All Over the World)" was written by Bill House and John Hobbs with Freddie Mercury in mind. While it is known that Mercury recorded a demo for the House/Hobbs song at Pinewood Studios, he was never to make a full commitment to the project, as he and his Queen bandmates had already committed themselves to the Highlander soundtrack. In the end, Mercury turned down the project, stating that he felt that Queen had become overcrowded with requests to work on film soundtracks; as a result, Sheena Easton was ultimately chosen to record the tune. As mentioned on the DVD commentary of the film by Jeannot Szwarc, Paul McCartney was asked to compose songs for the film. It is unknown why he did not do so in the end.

Track listing
  1. "Main Title: Every Christmas Eve and Santa's Theme (Giving)" (Mancini/Bricusse)
  2. "Arrival of the Elves" (Mancini)
  3. "Making Toys" (Mancini/Bricusse)
  4. "Christmas Rhapsody: Deck the Halls/Joy to the World/Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/12 Days of Christmas/O Tannenbaum/The First Noel/Silent Night"
  5. "It's Christmas Again" (Mancini/Bricusse)
  6. "March of the Elves" (Mancini)
  7. "Patch, Natch!" (Mancini/Bricusse)
  8. "It's Christmas (All Over The World)" (Bill House, John Hobbs)
  9. "Shouldn't Do That" (Nick Beggs, Stuart Croxford, Neal Askew, Steve Askew)
  10. "Sleigh Ride over Manhattan" (Mancini)
  11. "Sad Patch" (Mancini)
  12. "Patch Versus Santa" (Mancini)
  13. "Thank You, Santa" (Mancini/Bricusse)

Sung by Aled Jones.
Performed by the Ambrosian Children's Choir.
Performed by the Ambrosian Singers.
Produced by Ken Scott and performed by Kaja.
Produced by Keith Olsen for Pogologo Corporation, and performed by Sheena Easton.

The soundtrack was originally released on record and cassette by EMI America Records in 1985. Soon after, it went out of print and remained unavailable until 2009 when it was released on CD as a limited run of 1000 copies which sold out immediately upon release. This production suffered from several issues, most notably a master which had been subjected to heavy noise reduction resulting in a loss of sound quality. Additionally, the left & right channels had been erroneously flipped, a superficial re-edit had been performed on "It's Christmas (All Over the World)", and the song "Shouldn't Do That" by Kaja (Kajagoogoo) had been omitted due to licensing issues. In 2012 a deluxe three-disc set, including remastered tracks, outtakes and alternate versions and a 32-page booklet, was released.

Comic book adaptation

Marvel Comics published a comic book adaptation of the film by writer Sid Jacobson and artist Frank Springer in Marvel Super Special #39.

See also

References

  1. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com.
  2. "Santa Claus (1985)". BBFC. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  3. "10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Santa Claus: The Movie". Eighties Kids. 8 December 2018. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  4. "Santa Claus: The Movie - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  5. "Santa Claus: The Movie total gross". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  6. Harmetz, Aljean (November 29, 1985). "At the Movies". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  7. "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 19.
  8. "Britain's most-aired films over Christmas revealed". Retrieved 24 Dec 2023.
  9. Ebert, Roger (1985-11-27). "Rogerebert.com - Santa Claus: The Movie review". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  10. Canby, Vincent (1985-11-27). "FILM: 'SANTA CLAUS', WITH MOORE AND LITHGOW". The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  11. Mager, William (2000-12-01). "Santa Claus: The Movie film review". BBC. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  12. Duralde, Alonso (2010). Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas. Limelight Editions. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-0879103767.
  13. "John Lithgow on Bombshell, Shrek, and the art of playing villains". The A.V. Club. 17 December 2019.
  14. "Santa Claus: The Movie". Quartet Records. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  15. Friedt, Stephan (December 2015). "Santa Claus: The Movie". Back Issue! (85). TwoMorrows Publishing: 62–64.
  16. Marvel Super Special #39 at the Grand Comics Database

External links

Films directed by Jeannot Szwarc
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