The Santa Clause 2 is lacking in a very key area that the first movie had by the bushel - whimsy. The first Santa Clause was a delicious holiday treat that has become a holiday tradition in my home. We had very big hopes for the sequel, considering they were handed great material for the follow-up - finding a Mrs. Claus for Santa. And truthfully, the best parts of this movie are the parts that take place with Scott in the "real world" trying to find a wife. Yes, it's predictable that Scott will hook up with his son's "bah, humbug" principal, but the journey is a lot of fun. Between the hilarious bad date with Molly Shannon's Christmas-lovin' character and the delightfully whimsical scene where Scott magically transforms the boring teacher's Christmas party into a trip into everyone's inner child, the holiday magic is there.
Unfortunately, there was the ugly other side to this movie - the scenes taking place back at the North Pole, where Santa's look-alike toy replacement is wreaking havoc. Totally devoid of the whimsy that the other half of this movie achieves, the North Pole scenes drag this movie down to mediocre. Let me count the ways the filmmakers went wrong... Bernard is a totally different head elf from the first movie, and far less appealing. His character is more paranoid and spastic, which was absolutely the wrong way to go. Curtis the elf is obnoxious. I don't know who this kid is, but I hate him in every movie he's in. You simply do NOT give the "token fat kid" a major role in a feature film. It doesn't work, and neither does this kid as Curtis. (It is a REALLY, REALLY bad sign that Bernard is not slated to be in the third installment of Santa Clause - the Escape Clause. Instead, Curtis is evidently going to return as the new head elf. GAG. That bit of casting and plot line has "oh, no" written all over it.) They also changed the reindeer in the second movie. Instead of the intelligent, unspeaking creatures that worked so well in several scenes in the first movie, they have been reduced to a fart joke. And now they can speak, though it's in a silly, cartoonish voice. Don't even get me started on "Chet" the redneck mentally-disturbed reindeer. What a nightmare.
So if you want whimsy and feelings of holiday delight, watch the first movie. Make that one your tradition. Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause is a woeful sequel that you won't need to see more than once. Which is good, because you won't WANT to see it more than once.
Unfortunately, there was the ugly other side to this movie - the scenes taking place back at the North Pole, where Santa's look-alike toy replacement is wreaking havoc. Totally devoid of the whimsy that the other half of this movie achieves, the North Pole scenes drag this movie down to mediocre. Let me count the ways the filmmakers went wrong... Bernard is a totally different head elf from the first movie, and far less appealing. His character is more paranoid and spastic, which was absolutely the wrong way to go. Curtis the elf is obnoxious. I don't know who this kid is, but I hate him in every movie he's in. You simply do NOT give the "token fat kid" a major role in a feature film. It doesn't work, and neither does this kid as Curtis. (It is a REALLY, REALLY bad sign that Bernard is not slated to be in the third installment of Santa Clause - the Escape Clause. Instead, Curtis is evidently going to return as the new head elf. GAG. That bit of casting and plot line has "oh, no" written all over it.) They also changed the reindeer in the second movie. Instead of the intelligent, unspeaking creatures that worked so well in several scenes in the first movie, they have been reduced to a fart joke. And now they can speak, though it's in a silly, cartoonish voice. Don't even get me started on "Chet" the redneck mentally-disturbed reindeer. What a nightmare.
So if you want whimsy and feelings of holiday delight, watch the first movie. Make that one your tradition. Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause is a woeful sequel that you won't need to see more than once. Which is good, because you won't WANT to see it more than once.