The most wonderful time of the year is right around the corner. Halls are being decked, lists are being checked twice, and the North Pole is once again descending into colorful, magical chaos with Season 2 ofThe Santa Clauses, the continuation of the wildly popularThe Santa Clausefilm series (which is single-handedly responsible for me struggling to spell “Santa Claus” properly as a child, but that’s a story for another day). Season 2 continues Santa Claus/Scott Calvin’s (Tim Allen) search to find a successor for when he eventually retires, with a few expected and unexpected complications thrown into the mix.
After helping Simon Choksi (Kal Penn) learn the true meaning of Christmas in the last season, causing him to relinquish his role as Santa Claus, it’s full steam ahead on training Scott and Carol’s (Elizabeth Mitchell) teenage son Cal (Austin Kane) to take over the role from his father one day — whether or not he actually wants to. Meanwhile, his sister Sandra (Elizabeth Allen-Dick) is coming even more into her powers, with some help from La Befana (Laura San Giacomo).
Causing unexpected bumps in the road for this display of North Pole Nepotism is Magnus Antas (a delightful-as-alwaysEric Stonestreet), a one-time Santa Claus now known as “Mad Santa,” who has returned from his magical banishment and is looking to reclaim his throne in the North Pole… if only he can find some way to leave Santopolis, the year-round Christmas village he is trapped in, run by the ever-cheery Kris Moreno (Gabriel Iglesias).All this to say there is alotgoing on inThe Santa ClausesSeason 2.
The Santa Clauses
‘The Santa Clauses’ Introduces a New Twist in Season 2
Because these things always need a titular clause to kick them off,Season 2 gives us the “Kribble Krabble Clause,” one that mandates all Elves take time off for Kribble Krabble, a non-negotiable rumspringa-type holiday, and one that Head Elf Betty (Matilda Lawler) has been putting off for too long. Scott is especially eager for Betty to take time off because she is possibly the only sensible person working at the North Pole. Without her injecting common sense and logic into every conversation, Scott is free to train Cal to take over the job of Santa, even if all the teen wants to do is spend time with his girlfriend, and do normal teenage things like go to prom.
Scott’s insistence on training Cal as his successor is possibly the weakest part of the season overall. The trope of “parent wants child to run the family business, child wants to do something else” is right at home in the genre of Christmas media, but unfortunately, even the series doesn’t seem to know where it stands on that. Cal isn’t strongly opposed to the idea, just maybe a bit too airheaded to fully grapple with what it means, but neither is he super enthusiastic about it. Really, it seems like the only reason Scott is training him for the job at all is because his older son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) didn’t want the job in Season 1.
The choice is a weirdly patriarchal one, considering Scott has a daughter who seems a lot more into the North Pole life than her brother does.But with the show giving both of them powers, and Cal being shoehorned into the Santa role, it makes Sandra’s ability to communicate with the animals feel more like a consolation prize than an awesome ability in its own right. It’s not like the show is unaware of the inherent perceived gender dynamics at play within Santa’s family, since so much of Carol’s Season 1 plot revolved around her not having an identity outside “Mrs. Claus.” It would have been a stronger choice, in my opinion, for Cal to opt fully out of the role he doesn’t seem that interested in and choose to live a normal life as a human boy, while someone else trained to take over the role.
Eric Stonestreet’s Villain Fits Right Into ‘The Santa Clauses’ Season 2
On the other side of things is the looming threat of Magnus Antas. In the role of “Mad Santa,” Eric Stonestreet absolutely shines.His over-the-top delivery is right at home in the realm of Christmas media where larger-than-life energy is at the top of the wishlist. True, it’s hard to see him as a genuine threat to the well-being of the North Pole when he struggles to even depart a dilapidated theme park in the middle of Illinois. But at the risk of sounding extremely cliché, the story of Magnus Antas and Kris Moreno, the Santopolis owner who just wants to keep the Christmas spirit alive, is truly what the best Christmas specials are made of. Magnus Antas has an extremely bleak view of humanity, and Kris only sees the best in it, and wants to do right by his family, and by everyone who loves the holidays. The scenes between the two of them are so much fun, they make the season worth the watch, and really their story would have been worthy of a Christmas special all their own.
None of this is to say thatThe Santa ClausesSeason 2 is not worth the watch. It’s cute, it’s fun, and it has that quintessential color-saturated, twinkle-light-bedazzled vibe you look for when huddled around the TV, mugs of cocoa in hand, while it’s snowing outside. The performances by the younger actors, includingMarta Kesslerwho joins the cast as Magnus Antas' gnome assistant Olga, are some of the most entertaining, as they blend centuries-old world-weariness with the infectious energy of youth. But with both plots resolving a little too quickly, I almost wonder if this would not have been better suited for two seasons, rather than trying to fit it all into one.
I am generally fairly forgiving when it comes to Christmas movies and shows. Give me over-the-top decor, familiar songs, mugs of hot cocoa, and some sort of commentary about love, hope, and family, and I am set. I am also a big fan of narratives that deconstruct, or at least examine the Santa Claus narrative, which is part of what made the firstThe Santa Clauseso special. With the focus on family (Cal and Sandra) and what it means to be a good Santa Claus (Magnus Antas), Season 2 had the potential to reach the highs of that first film. There are truly strong elements in this season — Stonestreet and Iglesias' dynamic, the Elves, even Cal and Sandra.In trying to do too much in too little time, the fun, intriguing parts don’t quite gel, andThe Santa ClausesSeason 2 struggles to muster up enough Christmas spirit to make it a true holiday classic.
The Santa ClausesSeason 2 hits Disney+ in the U.S. with a two-episode premiere on November 8.
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