Adam Foidart I'm not a big fan of "The Santa Clause" and in fact, I don't really think it's a good movie for a number of reasons. You would expect then, that I would dislike the sequel even more, because unless you're one of the few exceptions, sequels rarely turn out to be as good as the original. In this case, I actually think that "The Santa Clause 2" is a better film than the first and I think that if you liked the first one, you'll like this one too. Set a number of years after the first movie, Scott Calvin is now firmly ingrained in his position as Santa. Eric Lloyd as his son Charlie is all grown-up into a rebellious teenager (and a much better actor). The trouble comes when Santa's elves reveal to him a second, secret clause. He needs to get married. If he doesn't by December 25th, he will lose his Christmas powers. While a robotic Santa is created to keep the North Pole running, Scott has to go back to the human world in order to find a wife and straighten out his son, who is now on the "naughty" list.I was actually surprised to see how many of the actors came back for this second film. Actually after doing some quick research, I realized that EVERYONE is back. I didn't recognize some of the cast, like Wendy Crewson and Eric Lloyd at first, but a quick trip to the internet confirmed that yep, they're all back. Now isn't that a refresher? I half expected what I assumed was a direct-to-DVD sequel to have none of the same actors except for the odd person that needed to buy a new boat and star Tim Allen. I think this adds a level of believability to the story because the cast have good timing and chemistry between each other. As I mentioned earlier, the acting, particularly from the young performers has gotten significantly better. Looks like they took some acting classes between 1994 and 2002 and I'm always excited to see people becoming better at their craft.I like the story of this film as well. OK, it's kind of contrived at first, but once it gets moving, it's pretty creative. There are two plots going on, the first with the robot Santa running the North Pole (and yes, that goes about as well as you expect it to) and the other has Scott having to not only find a wife in 28 days (no small feat) but also looking for a way to discipline his son and get him off the "naughty" list. I like these stories a lot better than the plot we had in the first movie. Scott has to find a nice lady to spend the rest of his life with (and I'm not sure how long that will be, does Santa become an immortal like the elves?) and that is going to be pretty tricky. He only has until Christmas Eve, and the guy's been not only out of the dating game, but gone from the human world for some time now. His Santa powers are dwindling, which means he begins looking more presentable, but they're not quite gone so he has a bit of magic left to help ease the process of getting someone to fall in love with him (and they don't make it creepy, no worries). I like that idea, there's a lot of potential there. I thought that the lady that Scott was getting attached to was quite good too. I would assume that it's a spoiler if I list even the actresses' name here, but for the record, I thought she played a credible character and that she and Tim Allen had good chemistry going. The love plot is rushed (the movie admits it) but it really worked for me. I also liked the side plot of Charlie and his father having to connect again. Think of the scandal if Santa's own son was on the naughty list! In a smart move, that's not the bulk of the movie, it's just a side plot. That shows some forward thinking. Good job screenwriters!To me, "The Santa Clause 2" is better than the first one because we're used to this universe the plot is set in, the actions of the characters make more sense and it brings back everything that was good about the first movie while dropping everything that didn't work. I believed the love aspect, I thought there was just enough witty, sarcastic banter between Tim Allen and the other cast members to satisfy your itch for comedy, I even liked the reindeer and their Scooby-Doo-style talking mannerisms. Maybe my expectations were low,but this sequel comes off, to me at least, as not just a cash grab and an excuse to make more money off of a holiday-family favorite, but as a decent idea that's worth bringing to the screen. I don't think it's mind-blowing in terms of quality, but I do recommend that you see it if you have seen the first film. It actually makes me reconsider (if only a little bit) some of my criticisms of the first movie. Maybe I'll give it another shot. I say don't let your first impressions turn you away from "The Santa Clause 2"; it's actually a fun, light, holiday movie. (Full-screen version on DVD, December 21, 2014)

jljacobi Okay, it's kind of dumb, and some of the shtick is old-hat, but it does have heart. At least I saw it that way. Take this with a grain of salt as I was able to FF through some of the stuff I found pedantic. That includes almost all the scenes that deal with teen angst, children of divorce, yada, yada... I don't know why it's there to be honest. It's just a anchor on the pace. What does work is everything else, and I found the actors appealing as well as displaying genuine warmth throughout. Good enough for me. I don't care what others say, Tim Allen is just fun to watch.This is a kids flick, but I like kid's flicks because... Well, I'm not sure why. Excepting the obligatory scatological humor. There's not much of it so, there you go. I think this movie is rated way too low, so don't let that put you off. It's entertaining and there's not much that will offend anyone. It's not 'A Christmas Story', but it's a decent little Christmas flick.

lisafordeay The Santa Clause is a 2002 sequel to the 1994 classic movie The Santa Clause where a man named Scott Calvin(Tim Allen)accidentally kills Santa Clause who fell off a roof and he puts on his coat and he slowly transforms into Santa Clause.This time around Scott who is now known as Santa Clause has to find a Mrs Clause or else he will not be Santa Clause anymore. Back in the real world and Scott's son(played the guy who played him in the very first movie now all grown up) is now a rebellious teenager who vandalizes his school,only for his school principal(played by Elizabeth from Lost) catches him doing it and brings his parents in for a chat about his behavior. Scott goes back to the real world as he slowly changes back to who he was before and when he goes to the school with his ex wife and her new husband he eventually falls in love with his son's principal and learns that she isn't as cynical as she is.Overall I found this movie cute. It may not be a masterpiece but still its an entertaining movie.I loved the effects,the charcthers,the story and I love Christmas in general so overall its a 7.

laurslacrosse I am so done with all these crappy Christmas movies. They're all practically the same. I try to realize that you shouldn't gone with expectations from another movie. You should enjoy it for what it is...but this is unbelievable. It is a family movie, but it's an extremely lame one. I am so shocked they decided to make ANOTHER one. Tim Allen's just....awful actually. Again, the plot is stupid and extremely predictable. Again, i always try to look past that. Movies are supposed to be good, they're not supposed to be a mindless machine that takes up 2 hours of your time. For those of you who want to see a good Christmas family movie, please see The Polar Express or even the Grinch Stole Christmas. This is just wrong. By the way, Santa comes back to life (I was so bored) and Christmas is saved. All the enemies leave Santa alone. His kid doesn't act up anymore, and he falls in love with the school principal. So there's the end. Surprised? I'm sure you are.