He French producers of "Superman" almost kill-off another legend. The movie starts out wonderful, even if Santa and his Mrs. have to "go to sleep" in a "funeral-like" sequence that might have been disturbing for little kids. The first third of the film is magical with fantastic English sets that show a wonder and fancy equal to the original "Willie Wonka" art direction. The modern middle of the picture is ho-hum and drab. Obnoxious product placements are everywhere: McDonald's, Pan Am, Coca Cola, Sylvania T.V., PBR Beer." Dudley Moore plays Patch the Elf with a great deal of whimsy. Basically 3 themes: How Santa began, modern-day, and Patch returns to the North Pole. Major plot holes abound: If Joe is homeless, how can he attend school? Why do the black b-ball players in the 'hood have British accents? There is no such thing as a "Step-Uncle"! The story is a hackneyed retelling of "Annie" and "Scrooge." The girl is a little red-haired orphan. Joe is an innocent street urchin, much like "Oliver". However, there are so many honestly good performances: Burgess Meredith, Dudley Moore, David Huddleston. Villain John Lithgow makes Scrooge look like a nice guy by comparison. The reindeer are fantastic puppets and steal every scene. All the modern day sets are lack-luster and uninspired. "B.Z" Toys doesn't look anything like a toy factory should. There are no workers there at all! Therefore, only the First and last third of the film are worth your time. There's something definitely lacking. No sense of Christmas magic or wonder in NYC, here. The ending is some-what predictable but actually perks-up the film quite a bit. It's so eerie to see the Twin Towers in yet another old movie. Good musical score. Sheena Easton's rendition of "Christmas All Over the World" is great over the ending titles. John Lithgow drifts off into space, much like in "Superman". (as does the "Patchmobile".)" I think that the Christmas commercial was cut by a few seconds, as I remember the flashy girl "elves" being slightly more "naughty" with bare midriffs and such? "Not as magical as it should have been"-agrees Leonard Maltin.
Review of Santa Claus
