WEBVTT - The Santa Clause 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.960 Now just a quick note for parents who are listening. 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:06.240 We will be discussing the secrets behind the magical world 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:10.360 of Santa, so it's not suitable for little years. Episode one, 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:14.280 The Santa Claus. It's almost been thirty years since Scott 0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:18.560 Calvin unwittingly inherited the title of Santa Claus. Somebody's on 0:00:18.640 --> 0:00:22.720 the roof? What from that? Now true? Scott became the 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.720 unlikely hero who saved Christmas after Santa fell off his roof, 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:29.440 left with a sleigh full of toys to deliver, Scott 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:32.200 and his son Charlie got to work. It was meant 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:34.920 to be a one off, but Scott missed the fine print. 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:37.360 You put on a suit, you're the big guy. What 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:41.920 I'll buy you a Santa Claus? Then then there would 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:44.839 be millions of disappointed children around the world. In this 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:48.720 special Christmas edition, we unpacked the cult Christmas classic and 0:00:48.760 --> 0:00:52.040 share the unknown stories behind the Santa Claus. We are 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:55.640 journalists Amy Kay and Sophie Torba, and this is outspoken. 0:00:56.800 --> 0:00:59.560 The Santa Claus would be in my top three Christmas 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:02.600 movies full time, and it was released in November nineteen 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:05.520 ninety four, so we were five when it first came out. 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:07.679 We didn't go to the movies to watch it. I 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:10.880 specifically remember sitting down as a family and watching this 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:12.800 on a Friday night, and that was when they used 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.280 to play all of the blockbusters. Yeah, I think I 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:17.720 have more specific memories of this film when I was 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:19.760 around ten or twelve, and it just seemed to be 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:22.600 a tradition that you would always watch this. It would 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:25.360 always be on the week leading into Christmas, and you 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:27.080 couldn not watch it. It had to be a part 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:30.080 of the rotation. Now, since The Santa Claus was released 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:33.400 in nineteen ninety four, there have been two sequels, So 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:36.399 The Santa Claus two was released eight years after the 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:39.720 first installment in two thousand and two. Well, the third movie, 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:42.880 The Santa Claus three, The Escape Clause, was released in 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:45.960 two thousand and six and since then a follow up 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:49.160 TV series called The Santa Clauses aired last year in 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:52.640 November twenty twenty two, and a new series is currently 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:55.400 airing now. So in this deep dive, we'll be covering 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:58.160 the first movie of the franchise. I'm usually not a 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:01.560 fan of sequels, but in this instance, the sequels were 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:03.800 actually good. Well, I did touch on it before, but 0:02:03.840 --> 0:02:06.120 there was such a huge gap between the first and 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:08.560 the second movie because they wanted to make sure it 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:11.840 was right now. Tim Allen was not the first pick 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:14.720 for the role of Scott Calvin. The role was originally 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:18.560 written for Bill Murray, but after starring in Scrooge, Bill 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:21.760 had no interest in being in another Christmas movie. For 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:23.640 a lot of actors, you wouldn't really want to be 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:27.440 pigeonholed into Christmas movies because generally they're thought of his 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:29.799 movies that don't do that well at the box office. 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:32.760 You don't really get that much respect in the industry 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:34.919 for appearing in Christmas shows. Yeah, it's not something you 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:38.080 want to be type cast in now. Producers then tried 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:41.560 to get Chevy Chase. So five years earlier, Chevy had 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:45.240 starred as Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation, so he already 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:48.640 had a successful festive film under his belt. However, he 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:51.399 was unable to do the movie due to scheduling conflicts, 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:54.120 so he had to drop out. That really disappoints me 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:57.320 because Christmas Vacation is my all time favorite Christmas movie 0:02:57.320 --> 0:02:59.960 and that is down to Chevy Chase. He is incredible 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:02.600 in that movie. But you can't have Chevy Chase in 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:05.840 two iconic Christmas movies. It probably would have spoilt it. 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:07.800 I don't know. I think he would have been great 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:11.359 in this movie. Now, other candidates were Tom Hanks, Tom Selleck, 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.720 and Mel Gibson, who all have ironically played Santa Claus 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.960 at one point in their careers. Now, while Home Improvement, 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.960 which Tim starred in, was incredibly popular at the time, 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:24.600 the producers weren't sold on him as talent. They didn't 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:26.960 think a TV star could open a movie, and they 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:30.040 were also concerned about his criminal pass. So in the 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:33.760 late seventies, Tim was arrested for possession of cocaine and 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:36.480 he was found with over six hundred and fifty grams 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:39.480 of the illegal drug on him. Now, Disney has a 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:42.920 really strict policy regarding actors with criminal records, but they 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:45.960 ended up making an exception for him. It's quite ironic 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:49.000 because since appearing in the Santa Claus franchise, Tim has 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:52.040 also starred in another one of my favorite Christmas movies, 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:54.640 which is Christmas with the Cranks. So I suppose he 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:57.280 has been typecast himself. Yeah, I was going to say, 0:03:57.280 --> 0:03:59.600 I don't think I've seen him appear in any non 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:02.480 Chris this movie, so he seemed quite happy to make 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:04.720 that his niche maybe that is because he came from 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:08.160 a TV background. Yeah. Now, Tim's character Scott shares an 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:11.040 eight year old son, Charlie, with his ex wife Laura, 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:13.640 and in the movie, Laura is remarried to a man 0:04:13.720 --> 0:04:16.920 called doctor Neil Miller, who was a psychiatrist. And the 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:21.440 casting of Charlie wasn't a straightforward process either, So producers 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.240 were looking for a child age between six and nine 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:27.200 who had a sense of innocence and sensitivity and who 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:30.920 could access their emotions. So auditions were held in thirteen 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:33.760 different states before they cast eight year old Eric Lloyd 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:36.560 in the role of Charlie. And it wasn't smooth sailing 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.440 with Eric during filming because his two bottom teeth got 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.440 knocked out during a baseball game with his family, so 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:46.240 he had to wear denches during the film to ensure continuity. 0:04:46.360 --> 0:04:49.520 What a nightmare for producers because things like that can 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.520 become so distracting in movies. It's pretty funny because in 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:55.800 twenty fourteen, Eric revealed on Reddit that his head was 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:59.800 superimposed on the movie poster as a cost cutting exercise. 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.599 He wrote, it's some other kids standing behind a cutout 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:04.599 of Tim Allen and they just put my face on 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:07.080 it so they didn't have to pay me for another day. Wow, 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:09.600 he seems pretty dirty on it. Still, well, let's get 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:12.920 into the movie. So the film opens on Christmas Eve 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:15.279 when Laura and Neil drop Charlie off to spend the 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:19.200 occasion with Scott, and the contentious conversation on when to 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:22.480 tell Charlie the truth about Santa comes up. Now Scott 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:25.480 wants Charlie to continue to believe. Well, Laura and Neil 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:28.240 think it's time to be honest with Charlie. When did 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.000 you guys stop believing in Santa? My official word is 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:33.440 that I have never stopped believing in the magic of 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:36.520 Father Christmas because I think if you one, if you 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:38.760 don't believe, you don't receive Our Mum always used to 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:40.960 say that to that's big in our house. And two, 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:45.599 Father Christmas still delivers presents to us, so at our parents' 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:48.039 house there is always a present from Father Christmas. We 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:51.000 do have our Santa sax Field. But we did make 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:53.960 the very devastating discovery when we were twelve, which I 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.200 think is quite old. So how Mum always used to say, 0:05:57.200 --> 0:05:58.800 as you said, if you do not believe, you do 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.000 not receive. And I think we had an inkling that 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:05.320 something wasn't quite right because we would always ask our friends, look, 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:08.400 can you leave a piece of paper, ask Santa to 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:10.760 sign it when he drops your presence off, and then 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:13.200 we're going to compare the signatures to see if they 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:16.480 match up. Unfortunately, though the friends that we had asked, 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:19.720 they already knew that Santa wasn't real, so they just 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.880 kind of fobbed us off. There is something magical though 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:25.920 on Christmas Eve where you kind of second guess yourself. 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:29.599 You're like, well, there's so much magic going on on 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:31.680 that day, and you do get a bit funny, like 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:34.360 I still put out carrots and milk and stuff as 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:36.719 a bit of a joke on Christmas Eve? Does Dale 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:39.839 eat them for you? Will they get eaten somehow? I 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.000 don't know. Well, in terms of this situation in the movie, 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:45.679 I think it was very wrong that the decision about 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:49.239 telling Charlie about Santa is being pushed by the step dad. 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:51.960 I would be so pissed off if I were Scott. 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:54.360 It seems like this is coming from a deeper place 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:56.359 for Neil because as you touched on Kate, he is 0:06:56.400 --> 0:07:00.800 a psychiatrist and he thinks that there's all these unresolved 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.400 issues if you feel like your parents are lying to you. 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:05.520 And it turns out that didn't he find out when 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:07.920 he was two or something he was three because he 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:11.720 didn't get a whistle that he wanted. Now, unfortunately, Christmas 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:14.440 Eve didn't go to plans, so Scott ends up burning 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:17.560 Christmas dinner and takes Charlie to Denny's. And is it 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:21.080 just me or does Charlie seem really spoilt? Because throughout 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:23.520 the start of the movie he's always rolling his eyes 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:25.600 at his dad and getting fedter up, and it's pretty 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:28.920 clear that Scott is trying his very best. As a kid, 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:31.600 you always loved going out to restaurants. That would be 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:34.360 way better than having a home cooked meal. But isn't 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:36.440 it because Scott is a bit of a distant dad, 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:39.000 like they've gone through the divorce and the kid's not 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:41.600 happy going from house to house. That's the thing. This 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.480 movie was very of its time because in the early 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:49.240 nineties that's when movies and TV shows really started exploring divorce, 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:53.200 and as a kid who perhaps was from a divorced home. 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:56.320 It would have been actually really refreshing to see their 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:58.960 experience reflected on the big screen. I did notice that 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:01.960 there's a lot of nine stereotyping going on at the 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:05.040 start of the movie. So Denny's the restaurant is full 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:07.280 of men who can't cook and have have been involved 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:10.200 in accidents in the kitchen. And there's also this old 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:12.800 cliche at Scott's office of the boss having an affair 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:15.440 with the secretary. I've also noticed in all of the 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:19.920 Christmas movies the families have these epic houses that people 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:21.960 just wouldn't be able to afford. Now think if the 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:25.560 home alone house is about five bedrooms, particularly if you've 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:28.800 just gotten divorced as well. That's a common theme in 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.760 American movies, though, because the houses are so much bigger 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:34.760 than Australian houses. It is interesting to note that the 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.880 movie was originally called Such a Clatter, which is in 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:41.160 reference to a line in the iconic Christmas book. It 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.839 was a stroke of genius to rename this movie because 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:47.240 the Santa clause. Instantly you know it's a Christmas movie. 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:50.079 It's about Father Christmas. And again it's a fun play 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:53.440 on words because it's about this special clause that means 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:57.400 that whoever wears the red cloak and the hat is Santa. 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:02.080 And while investigating, the noise outside startles Santa while he's 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:05.240 on the roof, who then slips and falls to his death, 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:09.000 and Santa's body vanishes, and all that's left behind is 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:11.720 the famous red suit and a business card that says, 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:14.400 if anything were to happen to the man, to put 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:18.040 on the suit and the reindeer will know what to do. Now. Originally, 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:21.400 it was written in the script that Scott shot Santa 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:24.680 because he thought he was intruderhow and it's just funny 0:09:24.679 --> 0:09:28.360 to think how American that is. However, the CEO of 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.920 dream Work thought better of it and decided a kid's 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:34.440 Christmas movie couldn't start with the shooting of Santa. But 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:37.400 it don't start with the death of Santa, which actually 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:39.439 is very sad when you think about it, but it's 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:41.960 all kind of glossed over. Yeah. I think it's because 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:45.319 his body disappears. It's almost like this puff of magic, 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:47.960 and I think if you saw his body dead it 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:51.040 would be a little bit different. Yes, probably also because 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:53.920 we haven't actually been introduced to the character as such. 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:56.400 We've only seen the character of Santa on the roof 0:09:56.440 --> 0:10:00.120 delivering presents. We don't know his personality at this stage. Well, 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:02.240 Scott and Charlie get a shock when they climb on 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:05.440 the roof and discover Santa's slay and reindeers. And looking 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:08.000 at the movie nearly twenty years on, what do you 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:11.040 guys think about the reindeers. Oh, they were very mechanical, 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:14.040 weren't they. Yeah, they definitely don't look real. They literally 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:16.880 look like big puppets or robots. They remind me of 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:20.960 the reindeers at the Adelaide Christmas pageant. Yes, on Santa's float. 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:23.840 There are these reindeers for those who don't live in Adelaide, 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:26.240 And I always thought they looked pretty cool when I 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:28.559 was five, But now you see them and you're like wow. 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:30.800 I saw a video recently and I think it was 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:34.480 from a pageant in America, and it was basically Santa's 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:37.800 slay on this Bobcat and the reindeers were people and 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.959 they were China Prance. It looked so messed up. That 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:44.960 looks that sounds terrifying. Yeah, it was the mechanical reindeer 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:48.680 vibe enhances my personal Christmas experience though, because it reminds 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:51.480 me of the eighties and nineties, of a simpler time. 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:55.200 And I'm seeing on TikTok that all millennials are loving 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:58.680 the vintage Christmas decorations. Well they're calling it taki Christmas. 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:01.040 They're saying taki Christmas. To come back down to this 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:05.360 bege Christmas. I do love the personalities of the Reindeers, though, 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:08.320 Comma is such a bad ass. He literally farts and 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:10.400 also brows at Scott to get him to do what 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:13.640 he's supposed to do. The slave flying scene, though, looks 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:16.360 particularly bad. I know it was thirty years ago, but 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:19.960 when you consider that Jurassic Park was out a year earlier, 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:22.560 the CGI in the Santa Claus isn't up to scraps. 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:24.720 Perhaps they didn't have the money to spend on it. 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.920 During that scene where the sleigh begins flying, they move 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:31.000 past a truck and funnily enough, the truck driver is 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:34.640 Home Improvement's Benny. This reminds me of the Brady Bunch 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.160 movie when they had Alice playing a truck driver. They 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:40.840 seem to have more of these cameos back in the nineties. Yeah, 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:43.640 it was a nice little touch. Now, Scott ends up 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:47.000 reluctantly donning the Santa suit and spends the night delivering 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:50.240 presence with Charlie, and the movie answers the age odd 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:53.880 question of how Santa delivers presence to children whose houses 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:56.840 don't have a fireplace. I can answer that already. It's 0:11:56.880 --> 0:11:59.680 the magic ice key in Australia that it keeps in 0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:02.480 his well. No, it's different in the movie. So in 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:06.199 the movie, at each house, the sack of Presence magically 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:08.840 refills with the toys for the children at the house, 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:11.640 and Scott is confused when one of the houses doesn't 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:14.920 have a chimney but just a very small vent pipe. 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:17.640 So when he picks up the Santa sack, it lifts 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:20.080 him and flies him over to the pipe and he 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:25.040 magically squeezes down to spit inside again. It's some absolutely 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:28.600 bang on graphics by the team, and then inside a 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:32.320 fireplace magically forms. Wouldn't have this been so fun to 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:35.760 come up with? Yeah, it would have been. I appreciate 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:38.320 that they didn't just fob everyone off and only pick 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:40.920 houses that had proper chimneys. I would have liked to 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:43.839 have seen though, the eski in Australia. I don't know 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:46.240 if any other people grew up thinking that happened. Is 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:48.200 that just an Australian thing because it's so hot. I 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.439 hope it's not just an our household fee. Probably, I 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:54.280 wouldn't be surprised if that came out to be. In fact, 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:57.320 they need some set rules for parents because there would 0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:01.600 be so many different variations at school to be some continuity. Now, 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:04.400 Scott and Charlie spend the rest of the night delivering 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:07.160 presents before the Reindeers fly them home to the North 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:10.680 Pole and they make a grand entrance into the toy factory. 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:14.120 And it's weird because no one seems upset at the 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.280 news that Sander has died. That's what rocked me to 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:19.600 my core. Yeah, they look happy as Scott and Charlie arrive. 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.800 No one seems shocked that the original Santa is dead, 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:25.680 and the focus is just on the elves getting back 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:27.840 to work. It kind of seems like a sweatshop. There's 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:31.199 no morning of the original Santa. It makes me wonder 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:34.800 is the job of Santa really dangerous and he's replaced 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:37.079 a lot. Yeah, they could be the case. Also, you've 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.800 got to remember that the elves in the movie, they're 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:42.640 thousands of years old, so you can imagine how old 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:45.679 Father Christmas must be here. And maybe Santa's just a prick. 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:47.760 I mean you said it seems a bit like a sweatshop. 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:49.920 Maybe they're glad that he's got He is not a prick. 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:52.280 I think you can see in the movie. In order 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:55.040 to be Father Christmas, you need to be merry, and 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:59.000 you start you start exhibiting the spirit of Christmas. Yeah. Well, 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:03.000 another interesting element is there's no grieving missus clause, and 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.160 in the sequel of the first movie, we learned that 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.320 Santa has to have a wife in order to continue 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:12.080 his job. So where was the original Santa's missus clause? Like, 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.240 was she just kicked it to the curb? She's gone? 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:17.600 I don't want to think that deeply into it. It 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:20.480 is a children's movie. They obviously thought, look, how are 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:22.560 we going to have a sequel to this? And I 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:24.480 think it was a pretty good idea. It is pretty 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:27.080 funny because when they are at the North Pole, they 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:30.240 again play homage to Tim being the tool man, so 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:32.760 at one point he picks up a tool belt and 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.880 makes his famous noise let's throw to it. H I 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:40.120 actually really enjoy when movies do this It reminds me 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:43.000 of the Barbie movie when they made a joke about Oh, 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:44.760 this would have been more of a pivotal point in 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:48.080 the movie if Margo Robbie wasn't so attractive. It's kind 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.640 of like, you know that the audience is smart enough 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:52.920 to be in on the joke. Yeah. Now, as for 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.400 the Elves, the producers cast real children in the role, 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:58.840 and this ended up being a bit of a problem 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:02.080 on set when Tim Allen wanted to improvise, so a 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:05.560 producer on the movie said, you didn't want the kids around. 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:08.480 When Tim got going, he would go on these hilarious 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:11.600 rants streaked with obscenity, and when he did go off 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:14.440 on a rant, the production team used to interject when 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.400 he seemed close to swearing and put him in time out. Now, 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:20.720 Tim would also get incredibly frustrated with his younger co 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.480 stars and was known to yell at them on set, 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:26.800 so the directors often had to remind him that many 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:29.520 of the kids on set actually thought he was Santa 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.520 Claus and that he needed to be nicer to them. Now, 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:35.200 Tim himself has proclaimed that he isn't the biggest fan 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:38.320 of kids, in saying that he does have three daughters 0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:40.880 of his own. Wow, that really doesn't paint him in 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:43.040 a good light at all. No, I was a little 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:45.120 bit surprised when I found that out. Now, it is 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:47.280 at this point of the movie that we meet head 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:50.960 elf Bernard, and he stands out because he looks around sixteen. 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:54.160 All the other elves look under twelve. And he seemed 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:56.320 like a bit of a ball breaker because he explains 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:58.760 in quite a cutting way that by putting on the 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:02.960 dead Santa suit, Scott is legally subject to a technicality 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:05.880 known as the Santa claus and in putting on the suit, 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:10.320 Scott has accepted all of the late Santa's duties and responsibilities. 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:13.240 Bernard then tells Scott that he has eleven months to 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.800 get his affairs in order before reporting back to duty 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:19.600 at the North Pole on Thanksgiving. That somewhat surprised me, 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.240 because these elves, as you say, are busting their gut 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:25.400 to get these presents out. But it seems like all 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:28.040 Santa has to do is, you know, come a few 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.720 months early, drop off the presence his role doesn't seem 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:33.760 as intense. Well, it's a pretty big job, flying around 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:37.040 the world in twenty four hours and delivering all those presents. Actually, 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:40.640 I'm just thinking about that now. That is incorrect because 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:42.800 we do find out in the movie that part of 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:45.480 Santa's role is to keep an eye on all of 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:47.640 the kids to make sure who's naughty and nice. So 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:50.440 he does seem to have extra duties there, and I 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:52.400 think they were giving him a bit of leeway because 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:54.280 it's just been sprung on him in the last twenty 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.720 four hours that he is Santa. I do love that 0:16:56.800 --> 0:17:00.600 the North Pole provided Scott with personalized Santa pajama and 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.560 he ended up falling asleep at the North Pole, confused 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:07.119 and overwhelmed. What's quite cool about this scene is that 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:09.800 the pajamas are this really silky rad I've always wanted 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.600 a pair of Christmas pajamas like this, and it has 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:16.160 the initials s C on them, which is Scott Calvin 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:20.080 but also Santa Claus. Yeah. Well, on Christmas morning, Scott 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.960 wakes up in his own bed and believes the previous 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:25.879 night's events were just a dream. However, he is still 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:29.239 dressed in the personalized pajamas from the North Pole, and 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:32.600 he quickly realizes last night was in fact reality. When 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:35.800 Charlie recalls what happened and is convinced that his dad 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:38.639 is the new Santa Claus. Charlie tells his mum and 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:42.680 stepdad Neil all about it and they become very concerned. Now, 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.199 Scott did ask Charlie to keep the trip to the 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:48.400 North Pole a secret, but he literally tells anyone who 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.040 will listen, even though it affects his dad really bad. 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:53.320 So this kid is me as a child, I tell 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:56.760 everyone's secrets, even me now sometimes Yeah, I mean he 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:59.440 was only eight or something, so it'd be pretty exciting 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:03.440 how everyone assumes that he's lying and it just makes sense. 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:07.399 They also start thinking that Scott has completely lost it, 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:11.359 particularly when he starts transforming physically into Santa Claus, because 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:14.840 over the next year he puts on a lot of 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:17.840 weight at a very rapid pace, which isn't helped by 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:20.960 his new love of milk and cookies. He also grows 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:24.720 a very thick white beard that instantly regrows after he 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:27.320 shaves it again. This one would have been difficult for 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:29.720 the CGI back in nineteen ninety four. I think they 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:31.639 do it better though than the slave. Yeah, it was 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:35.320 quite good. Actually. Scott's hair also does turn white, even 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:37.680 though he does try to diet a few times during 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:40.440 the movie, but it instantly goes back to white. Yeah, 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:43.480 there's no way he can stop this center transformation. I 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:46.000 did notice that in the office they were very happy 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:49.000 to fat shame Scott. This definitely wouldn't be allowed in 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:51.679 twenty twenty three. This would be an harm matter. I 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:53.840 don't know. I think it is still very gendered when 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:56.520 it comes to fat shaming. I think that men almost 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:58.840 seem to be allowed to poke fun at one another 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:00.760 and it's all in Jess. I don't think it would 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:02.840 be brought up. Hang on a second, mate, you're looking 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:07.160 really old and fat because his hair was changing color. Yeah. Well, 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:11.000 while the transformation was shown as instantaneous on the screen, 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:14.160 it actually took four to five hours to turn Tim 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:17.320 into Santa Claus, and then, on top of that, a 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:19.520 further hour and a half to take it all off. 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:22.959 The worst bit was this movie was shot during summer, 0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:27.119 so Tim ended up experiencing heat rashes, scars, scratches, and 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:31.159 infections due to the latex in the prosthetics used. He 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:34.600 also had to wear multiple fat suits while filming, which 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:38.040 were extremely uncomfortable during summer, and there was a rule 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:40.280 that Tim could only be in the suit while filming 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:43.560 for a maximum of six hours because of poor ventilation, 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:46.159 and as the films progressed, Tim did say that they 0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:49.160 got better at air conditioning him. That's the crazy thing 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:52.800 about these Christmas movies is you don't realize, oh wait, 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:55.920 this is actually filmed in the most non Christmas Eve time. 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:58.280 They need summer, they need a film one in Australia. 0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:00.679 They can perfectly film it in winter. I saw a 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:03.560