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Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) DVD Review
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) DVD Credits:
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) Directed by:
Michael Lembeck
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) Written by:
Ed Decter, John J. Strauss
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) Cast:
Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd, Spencer Breslin, Liliana Mumy, Alan Arkin, Martin Short
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) DVD Release Date:
20th November 2007
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Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) Synopsis:

Holiday magic mixes with comical chaos at the North Pole in "The Santa Clause 3". Tim Allen reprises his role of Scott Calvin - AKA Santa - as he juggles a full house of family and the mischievous Jack Frost (Martin Short), who is trying to take over the "big guy's" holiday. At the risk of giving away the secret location of the North Pole, Scott invites his in-laws (Ann-Margret & Alan Arkin) to share in the holiday festivities, and upcoming birth of baby Claus with expectant wife, Carol, - AKA Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell). Along for the adventure are Scott's extended family, son Charlie (Eric Lloyd), ex-wife Laura Miller (Wendy Crewson), her husband, Neil Miller (Judge Reinhold) and their daughter, Lucy (Liliana Mumy) who, together with head elf Curtis (Spencer Breslin), foil Jack Frost's crafty scheme to control the North Pole.

Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) DVD Review:

SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE has an unfair reputation. Given the negative response from critics last year, one would think that the film is about as good as a lump of coal in your stocking. Now that it’s finally being released on DVD a year after its theatrical run (to time out nicely with the holiday season), maybe SANTA CLAUSE 3 will get a second chance, because it’s really not as terrible as it has been made out to be. Sure, it’s not great, and I wouldn’t even necessarily call it good, but it’s good enough.

Before launching into things, I should point out that I haven’t seen THE SANTA CLAUSE 2; however, the original film was one of my favorites when I was younger. As such, I can only comment on SANTA CLAUSE 3 as it compares to the original.

When SANTA CLAUSE 3 works, most of the success can be attributed to the performances of Tim Allen and Martin Short who play Santa Clause and Jack Frost, respectively. Tim Allen injects charm and humor into his role as Santa, and it’s always fun to watch him milk the part. It’s hard to believe that Allen is actually hiding behind tons of make-up, because he consistently delivers an endearing and animated performance. Martin Short hasn’t been seen in very many movies as of late, and that’s a shame, because he’s still as much of a crack-up as he ever was. He can take the most rudimentary line of dialogue and give it the perfect facial twitch to make it a laugh out loud moment. His costume and makeup also complement his quirky style of acting nicely. Overall, Martin Short is a great addition to the SANTA CLAUSE lineup, and his charisma helps elevate the material.

Unlike the original film which used special effects conservatively to support the fantasy elements of its story, SANTA CLAUSE 3 has lavish production design and whimsical special effects on display throughout the entire film. As far as quality goes, the effects are largely hit and miss. For instance, Jack Frost’s freeze breath doesn’t always come off successfully, but Santa’s reindeer are rendered quite nicely. Unfortunately, their realistic animation is offset by some groan inducing lowbrow humor thanks to Comet’s flatulence problem. Although the special effects vary in quality, the production design of the North Pole is consistently well done. From the Christmas color palette to the creative architectural designs, the fanciful look of the film ensures that viewers always have something to look at.

Unfortunately, for all of the Christmas eye candy that SANTA CLAUSE 3 has going for it, it’s missing a key component of the original film: heart. Sure, the film is cute and elicits an “awww” from viewers on occasion, but the genuine emotional resonance is largely missing. This emotional deficit can be traced to a large problem with the film, which is the absence of Santa’s son (Charlie) and his number one elf (Bernard) as primary characters. Charlie may be in the film, but his role has been downsized to an extended cameo. Bernard on the other hand isn’t in the film at all. A large part of the original film’s warmth stemmed from the growing relationship between Charlie, his father, and Bernard. My understanding is that both of these characters were prominently featured in part two of the series, so their exclusion in this film seems unwarranted, and is to the film’s overall detriment.

The structure of the film could also use an overhaul. It suffers from a meandering second act that builds to a rushed climax. The climax, which consists of a comical and imaginative showdown between Santa and Frost, proves to be one of the most memorable parts of the film. Unfortunately, it ends far too quickly, as the film scurries right along into its over bloated “happily ever after” coda. If the film could have been tightened in the front end and expanded towards the end, it would have felt a lot more balanced and satisfying as a whole. And let’s not even get into the plot holes, which are large enough to fly Santa’s sleigh through. After all, this is a children’s film, and plot inconsistencies are more excusable than they might be in another genre.

The extras found on this DVD are largely fluffy in content, but there’s still some good stuff to be found here. Things kick off with a blooper reel that’s relatively forgettable. Up next you’ll find a music video and some Christmas Carol-oke, which is pretty self-explanatory. You’ll also find an alternate opening which is just an extended version of the one in the film. I actually liked the alternate version more, as it recaps the original film in a cute way, and effectively sets the tone for the rest of the film. As far as behind the scenes content goes, you’ll find a few short featurettes detailing the evolution of Jack Frost’s and Ms. Claus’ designs, the camaraderie between Tim Allen and Martin Short on set, and the creation of the special effects in the film. The most worthwhile extra is a full-length audio commentary by director Michael Lembeck, which is largely technical in nature, covering the various aspects of production. Lembeck sometimes gets mired down in numerical minutia (“there are 516 stuffed animals, 612 toy trains, and 603 elves in this shot”), but he’s got some interesting things to say, making the track worth a listen.

When all is said and done, SANTA CLAUSE 3 isn’t a great film. It’s not even a great Christmas film. However, it is a perfectly decent family film and would make a good gift for the little ones in the family this holiday season.

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Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) DVD review written by: Anthony Berk

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