Day 2: Another Santa Movie

Today it going to be a good day.  I can feel it.  Its not because I have anything really planned for today or something fun to do, its just a mind set that I am trying to have.  I've found something for the students to actually do, rather than something for them to LISTEN to me do. I love when that happens.  They still want to be chatty, but there's not much to be done with that at this age.

Today I'm doing a second Santa movie, this one considerably more famous than Santa Claus: The Movie.  In fact, this one spawned 2 sequels and made quite a bit of money for Disney.  I am of course referring to The Santa Clause, a film I saw as a child and which made me believe in Santa Claus again...at least figuratively.  I thought the idea of the film was very clever.  A man, who accidentally causes the real Santa to fall off the roof and die, puts on Santa's suit and delivers the rest of the presents that evening with his son.  He thinks this is a random act of kindness that will not haunt him later...but when he begins to gain weight and grow a full beard, he realizes that he has inadvertently become the new Santa via the 'Santa Clause' which states that anyone who puts on the suit, becomes Santa.  This creates drama for everyone in his life, including his ex-wife, who believes he is going crazy and is an unfit father for participating in this delusion.  I think the film handles this conceit very well, considering the improbability of the proceedings, and it manages to feel completely grounded in reality by adding the complications of family law, school, work, and relocating to a new life.  I think the sequels lost this when they were made, and that is why they feel more fantastic and artificial (in my opinion).  There's a reason why this movie was successful in the first place, its a Christmas movie that adults and children can both enjoy.  (I apologize for the trailer...I couldn't find the theatrical for some reason).

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