The Santa Clauses continues the story of the film franchise with Tim Allen returning, but is this a series fans needed — or even wanted? This review is based solely on the first two episodes of The Santa Clauses.
The Santa Clauses is a Disney+ series that continues the story of the franchise with a season one of just six episodes. Disney passes along the first two of those for review purposes and we must say, it was very difficult to judge an entire series on just an hour of it.
In this show Tim Allen reprises his role as Scott, also known as Santa Clause. As seen in the trailer he is starting to lose his Christmas spirit. This is because of the way the world is, as well as the amount of children that just don’t believe anymore. Talk of retirement starts in the premiere episode, when his magic cuts out on him, but it continues throughout episode two, where we ultimately see him decide to pass on the mantle.
It is lovely to see Tim Allen back in this role, and quite frankly, it feels like he never left. The first film of the franchise is by far the best, and this series seems to have brought that joyful and fun feeling back to it with The Santa Clauses. The hard part about only seeing the first two episodes so far is that the story follows the Clauses as they reintegrate into life outside of the North Pole. And that is something that we don’t get to see at all in the first hour of the series.
With each episode being just thirty minutes long, the pacing keeps things moving along. Since there are six episodes, the entire first season (it is currently unknown if there will be more seasons) will only take three hours to watch. Something that can be a quick and easy binge.
Matilda Lawler plays Betty, one of the head elves, and she is phenomenal, stealing the scene whenever she is in it. Yes, even going up against the legend Tim Allen. This girl has proven time and time again that this is what she was born to do, and we cannot wait to see more of her.
Other than that the cast is fine, and the humor is there, although it is hit or miss. The concept is intriguing and entertaining enough so far. Based solely off of the first two episodes, there is a lot of potential. The set up certainly could have been kept to one episode instead of two, but we are eager to see what happens when Scott and his family start to live in the “real world”.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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About The Santa Clauses
Scott Calvin is back! After being Santa Claus for nearly thirty years, he’s as jolly as ever. But as Christmas declines in popularity, so does his Santa magic. Scott struggles to keep up with the demands of the job, as well as being there for his family. Upon discovering there is a way to retire from his post, Scott considers stepping down as Santa Claus and finding a worthy successor so that he can become a better father and husband.
The Santa Clauses streams on Disney+ November 16th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.