The Santa Clause 2 on DVD
Say what you will about the Walt Disney Corporation, they sure can crank out
great DVDs that are state-of-the-art treats for home theater fans.
The Santa Clause 2 continues this tradition. Its a THX-certified version
of the sequel to Tim Allens big hit of a couple of years before, and whether
you like the movie or not (and we liked it), your eyes and ears are in for a
treat. Alas, theyve released the DVD in separate widescreen and Pan&Scan
versions, a practice we really hate.
Allen plays Scott Calvin, who for the past eight years has been performing
the duties of Santa Claus thanks to the events of the first rather delightful
Santa Clause movie. But this time we discover that the original Santa Clause
that got him where he is has a second clause (the inevitable fine print) called
the Missus Clause. This requires him to marry, or else hell de-Santafy
- returning to his previous shape and state, and basically ending Christmas
as we know it - or at least as the secular world knows it.
What to do? The de-Santifacation process has already begun, with Scott losing
weight rapidly (this reviewer should be so lucky!) and his beard beginning to
disappear and return to his former hair color. But its nearly Christmas
and he has far too much work to just take off and leave the North Pole (a location
that's delightfully imagined here). Even worse, his son Charlie has become an
unhappy kid (for reasons we discover later) and has ended up on the naughty
list.
Fortunately, Santa has plenty of elves. One is a pretty good manager, and another
is a creative genius - or at least he thinks he is. The latter has designed
a kind of toy cloning machine and he uses that to create a plastic duplicate
Santa to mind the store while Scotts off pursuing romance and straightening
out his son (Eric Lloyd).
Alas, while this Santa-compatible starts out trying to do the right things,
his pursuit of the letter of the rulebook leads him to delusions of grandeur
and, with the help of the toy cloner, he creates an army of gigantic toy soldiers
to enforce what becomes a police state at the North Pole and threatens to turn
Christmas from a time of joy where children get toys to a time of woe where
children get lumps of coal.
Scott, meanwhile, finds the de-Santafication process continuing, and his attempts
at finding love are harder than he thought - until he finds love in an unlikely
place. But his new love (Elizabeth Mitchell) is also his sons nemesis,
and this causes even more angst at home.
Naturally, it all ends happily, but not before were treated to an entertaining,
imaginative and warm tale thats suitable for any age. We were pleasantly
surprised: sequels often suck, and a movie listing five screenwriters could
have ended up being a mishmash, but fortunately that didnt happen. It
isn't as good as the original, but it's good enough.
Allen is a pretty good actor and he carries the movie well with both his characterizations.
The makeup effects, especially for the plastic Santa, are terrific and the de-Santafying
process is quite convincing. The supporting cast is also very good. Wendy Crewson
and Judge Reinhold are both back as Scotts ex and her new husband, but
neither have a lot to do (though Reinholds shrink is a good
whetstone for sharpening Scotts wit). Mitchell is very good as her icy
demeanor melts over the course of the movie, and the kids and/or elves are also
quite engaging. And watch for Michael Whorf Dorn in cameo.
The production values and special effects are top notch as well, including
some nice animatronic effects and CG work. And, best of all, none of it overpowers
the charming story.
As mentioned at the top, the DVD is also terrific. The THX-certified audio
and video is absolutely wonderful. Video on our review copy was, fortunately,
presented in anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible) and the picture is superb.
Colors are bright and deep and the image is razor sharp. Note, though, a Pan&Scan
version is available separately, but we recommend only watching it if youre
renting; collectors should get the widescreen version in anticipation of their
next TV, which will undoubtedly be 16x9.
Audio, which is offered in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, is also excellent. We
noticed a little bit of distortion from the center front channel occasionally,
but nothing really bad. The bass is terrific, as are the other frequency ranges,
and all five channels are used very well.
Then, of course, there are the extras. First up is a running commentary with
director Michael Lembec, as well as seven deleted scenes. Theres also
a pretty amusing gag reel of bloopers and fluffs, a making of featurette,
and a set of interviews with the other legendary figures who show up in the
movie (such as the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny).
Director Lembeck also takes you on a tour of Elfsburg and theres a game
called Operation Toy Box: Save Santa. And there are some DVD ROM
features as well.
In all, an enjoyable family holiday feature, given a wonderful DVD treatment.
The Santa Clause 2, from Walt Disney Home Video
104 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1, 16x9 TV compatible)/Pan&Scan (SOLD
SEPARATELY), Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
Starring Tim Allen,Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Elizabeth Mitchell,
Produced by Robert F. Newmyer, Brian Reilly, Jeffrey Silver,
Written by Don Rhymer and Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio and Ed Decter & John
J. Strauss, Directed by Michael Lembeck
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