The Santa Clause movie franchise is one of the most hilarious, heartwarming film series to ring in the Christmas spirit today. Now, decades later, we’re back in the world with the Disney+ series, The Santa Clauses.

In the first film (1994), we met Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), a divorcee who is spending time with his son on Christmas Eve. However, after accidentally killing the real Santa Clause, the two are transported to the North Pole. There they meet Bernard, an elf who explains that Scott has to become the new Santa Clause.

In 2002 The Santa Clause 2 was released. Scott has now been Santa for the last 8 years. However, that doesn’t mean the role no longer has its challenges. This year, it turns out his son, Charlie, is on the naughty list. On top of that, he discovers that he must find is Mrs. Clause and be married by Christmas Eve – 30 days! – or he will no longer be Santa…forever. Thankfully Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell) is opened minded and signs up for the job!

Then in 2006, Tim Allen got back into the Santa suit for The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. Scott and Carol are happily married with their first child on the way. However, Christmas cheer turns into holiday chaos. Scott invites his in-laws, Sylvia and Bud Newman, to the North Pole, along with his ex-wife Laura, her husband Neil, their daughter Lucy, and Scott’s son Charlie. If that wasn’t enough, he is summoned to a meeting of the Council of Legendary Figures to discuss the actions of Jack Frost (Martin Short). After Jack is sentenced to light community service at the North Pole he learns of the “Escape Clause”. Now, his ultimate goal is to get Calvin to renounce his position and take over the holiday himself.

Obviously, all these films end with a happy ending. Scott and Carol are still Mr. and Mrs. Clause living out their lives with their children at the North Pole.

THE SANTA CLAUSES – WHO WILL BE THE NEW JOLLY MAN?

In the six episodes series coming to Disney+ we’re coming up on Scott’s 65th birthday and he is coming to the sad realization that he can’t be Santa forever. So, he sets out to find the perfect replacement. It’s difficult to give my full opinion of the series since we were only allowed a couple of episodes before the premiere. So, while don’t know how I feel about the whole story I can say that it’s full of Christmas cheer.

Tim Allen slips right back into his hilarious Jolly-Old-Sant Nick vibe with ease. The script so far is charming, and funny. I also love that Carol continues to be at the forefront of the ongoings of the North Pole. As we know, no Santa Clause series would be complete if we didn’t get great Elf friends. These characters come in the form of Noel “Nole” (Devin Bright) and Betty (Matilda Lawler). Their relationship with Santa is fun, while also driving forward the drama.

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When it comes to The Santa Clauses I love the addition of Scott and Carol’s children, Cal (Austin Kane) and Sandra (Elizabeth Allen-Dick). I’m so glad the series didn’t pretend like that previous movie didn’t happen. Instead, the series continues the lore and doubles down. When it comes to his successor, it seems like the obvious choice would be Charlie. If you remember from the previous films Charlie is obsessed with Christmas. However, he has his own life and family now. So, that might not be what happens. Scott has two other children who may or may not be interested in the position. So now the search is on for the perfect replacement.

During The Santa Clauses, we also meet tech “mogul” Simon Choksi (Kal Penn) who is trying to develop a delivery company that can give amazon prime a run for its money. Simon also has an adorable daughter Grace (Rupali Redd). From the few episodes I was able to see, it seems that Simon might just be up for the role of Santa Clause while maybe merging it with his delivery idea for the rest of the year. That’s purely a guess, but we’ll all just have to see and watch together to see how everything unfolds.

For now, I will also say that The Santa Clause feels like the film that we love and will absolutely help ring in the Christmas spirit!

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