reviewed by Richard Washington

Those words are just a snippet of the magic coming out of this, the last great movie fantasy from the producers of the Superman movies. It had been a glimmer in the mind's eye of Ilya Salkind for close to ten years, but while Ilya's imagination was working overtime, he and his father Alexander were busy making the world believe a man could fly. Or at least, making a few more attempts to, anyway.

You see, by 1984, the popularity of the Superman movies had begun to wane. In the U.S. in particular, interest in the filmed adventures of the Man of Steel had surged in box-office strength, but most U.S. film critics were beginning to wonder if the films of the Salkinds were still worthy of that venerable stand-by, staying power.

Behind the scenes, there was a slight degree of tension. Power struggles pitting Ilya Salkind against star Christopher Reeve over creative differences, not to mention the fact that some were wagging their heads in wonderment over the casting --- the 'stunt' casting, to some --- of comedian Richard Pryor in Superman III led to Reeve contemplating possibly leaving behind the Superman role for good.

But in the summer of '84, all that sort of changed when director Jeannot Szwarc, the man behind Jaws 2 and Somewhere in Time, was chosen by the Salkinds to put together the next movie adventure of the El Dynasty --- Supergirl, with Helen Slater in the title role, and legendary Faye Dunaway as the witch-in-training Selena, in her first appearance in an Alexander & Ilya Salkind Production since she had joined the wild and raucous cast of the Salkinds' legendary Musketeer movies of the early 1970s.

After Supergirl had been released, Team Salkind decided to focus on their next project. For a time, they considered The Flying Dutchman, based on the ancient seafaring mythos, but ultimately Alexander, Ilya, and their longtime partner Pierre Spengler concluded that whimsy was what their audiences wanted. And, as they saw it, only one figure had tons of whimsy wrapped up in abundance: Santa Claus!

So, after making a good deal of pre-production plans, the time had come to bring Kris Kringle to the big screen in a way that no one had ever attempted before.

Santa Claus: The Movie, as the project would ultimately be known, consists of two simple parts. The first part looks at the origins and back story behind the Santa legend; the second part, set in present-day New York City, is a parable about the naivete of innocence versus the overzealousness of corporate greed.

It is late in the 14th Century. Claus, a simple peasant, and his wife, Anya, have just finished making their deliveries to the children of their village when they and their faithful reindeer, Donner and Blitzen, are unexpectedly engulfed by a violent blizzard. Instead of freezing them to death, however, the storm somehow transports them to the ice mountains at the top of the world, where they are greeted by a long-lived race of beings called the Vendequm --- or, as they themselves prefer, Elves. Leading this welcoming committee is venerable old Dooley, who shows Claus and Anya their new and eternal home.

But the true stand-out elf is the far-seeing visionary named Patch. He loves the future but is not really aware of the difficulties and harshness the future can often reveal. Still, he is anxious to get right into the thick of things, even when he introduces Claus to the six additional reindeer who will join Donner and Blitzen in pulling what will soon be refitted into the most famous sleigh on Earth!

In the first expanded montage sequence, set to the film's signature tune, "Making Toys," we are treated to an inside look at how --- well, how the Elves make toys. These, as we all know, will be Santa's raison d'erte --- his purpose for all eternity: to deliver these presents to the children of the world. This is followed moments later by the solemn appearance of the oldest and wisest Elf of them all: their spiritual leader, the Ancient One, who had foretold of Claus' coming many years before. In his mantra, the Ancient One declares the kindly woodcutter Santa Claus --- and the spectacular first flight leads into the second major montage sequence, in which we travel across the years with Santa, as he makes his Christmas Eve journey. Along the way, we discover the origins of the naughty-or-nice list, Santa's first reaction to "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", and his constant passion for cookies --- and much more.

Finally, we find ourselves in present-day New York City, where, in her elegant townhouse, a young girl named Cornelia is observing the actions of a 10-year-old street urchin named Joe. Meanwhile, back at the Pole, Santa selects both Patch and Puffy as the two leading candidates for the newly-announced position of Santa's Official Assistant (based on a suggestion made by Anya). This leads into the film's third montage sequence, as Patch and Puffy use their toymaking skills to battle it out for the right to be Official Assistant to Santa.

Patch's passion for the future ultimately sees him through; and, in the end, it is he who wins the contest. Later, on Christmas Eve, Santa makes his appointed rounds, soaring merrily over the Manhattan skyline. Noticing Joe, however, he decides that here is a poor kid in need of that most magical element of life, fun. So, after a rather convincing conversation, Joe hops aboard Santa's sleigh, and finds himself flying over the skies of the city. This sequence, "Sleigh Ride Over Manhattan," later had a powerful impact on executives at New York's Radio City Music Hall to the effect that they chose excerpts from the scene to open their annual Christmas Spectacular, starring the Rockettes.

Later, Joe, with the aid of Santa's magic, encounters Cornelia face-to-face for the very first time. A temporary romance blossoms, and the two kids become friends. Christmas morning, however, becomes a scene of unprecedented chaos, as billions of toys, manufactured under Patch's supervision, return unwanted to Santa's headquarters. A brokenhearted Patch, fearing that not even Santa likes him, quietly abandons his duties as Santa's Assistant, and after bidding Donner and the other reindeer a tender farewell, leaves the North Pole --- determined to prove his worth again, whatever it takes.

It's at this point that we meet the villain of the piece, an unscrupulous toy manufacturing executive named B.Z., who cares not a whit about toymaking per se, so long as there's money to be made from it. Joined by his Head of Research and Development, Dr. Eric Towzer, B.Z. soon discovers Patch and the secrets of Elf magic. Patch, in turn, proposes to offer his services to B.Z. to create "something special" with a "secret ingredient." The result proves to be a rather tacky television commercial, broadcast live over the world's major networks, and even Joe and Cornelia find themselves hooked (to a point).

But though Patch remains determined to work the magic of Christmas without Santa or his fellow Elves, B.Z. is secretly working to use the elf as part of a larger scheme to take over Christmas once and for all! Can anyone stop him? Well, let's put it this way: Do you believe in wonder.....?

Santa Claus: The Movie may have made $23.5 million at the end of its initial run when it was first released in 1985, but 20 years later, there's still a sort of magic that separates this film from all other holiday epics of its kind --- and the feat is even more astounding when you remember that the film was made at a time when computer animation was not the big deal that it is now. In those days, you had to rely on animatronic puppets, models and miniatures, and matte paintings on glass to bring this kind of spectactular moviemaking art to life. These days, when CGI is so much of the rage now, it's interesting to see just how much of an impact Santa Claus: The Movie made when its first audiences sat back, had fun, and (one hopes) allowed themselves to suspend belief and believe in the wonder of Christmas again.

The overall performances of the principal actors are magical, poignant and often hilarious. Dudley Moore as Patch is the naive hero of the piece --- eager to embrace the modern world of today, yet ignorant of the harsh realities and often horrifying stupidities humans often possess. His only desire is to prove to Santa how good an assistant he can be; it is difficult to dismiss the shock that he experiences when a vengeful Joe rants that his, Patch's, own blinded pride, almost ruined Christmas.

John Lithgow's B.Z. is a man obsessed totally with making money. To him, the toy is OK, but the profits it gives him are all that matter. When, for example, Towzer reveals that candy canes made by Patch's magical ingredient only explode when exposed to extreme heat, B.Z. dismisses this potentially dangerous situation as little more than recklessness on the part of certain radiator-owning people. He then decides to escape to Brazil, with Towzer at his side, leaving the unaware Patch to take the rap for what could at some point be a potential international incident!

As for the Clauses, David Huddleston is probably the most huggable Santa the screen has seen yet! At turns, jolly, then wistful, and even at one point depressed, Huddleston's Claus is a wonder to behold, and it seems a strange irony that, at the time of the film's release, he was achieving his greatest popularity in a series of commercials for a popular brand of orange juice. Anya, meanwhile, finds her perfect reflection in British comedienne and character actress Judy Cornwell. She it is who makes the proposal that sets the events of the film's story into motion (without meaning to, of course --- keep in mind, after all, that she IS Mrs. Claus!). And she's really no-nonsense when she reads the letter that inspires her husband to invent that naughty-or-nice list; to say nothing of how she reacts to Santa's love for cookies!

Best-known for his roles as the tragic Henry Bemis in the Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough at Last;" and even more legendary for his recurring role as the nastily quacking Penguin on Batman, Burgess Meredith here makes the most of his one scene, in which he tells, fleetingly, of how his character, the Ancient One, foretold the coming of the man who would be Santa Claus. "The night of the world is a passage of endless night for you until your mission is done," he promises a wondering Santa. Clearly, our crimson-clad champion takes that mantra to heart.

Some critics hated the two kids' performances in the film, calling overly cutesy, but this was Christian Fitzpatrick's first starring role, while Carrie Kei Heim had been chosen from several young 10-year-old girls who had auditioned for the Cornelia role. Together, Chris and Carrie make for a charming, adventurous pair --- and we are almost tickled pink by Chris' response when Santa asks Joe if he and "Corny" are seeing a lot of each other.

Overall, the visual effects, done by several of the same indivduals responsible for the visual thrills of the Superman movies, are again top notch; Henry Mancini's score, highlighted by 5 original songs with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, are magnificent; and the spectacular Workshop set --- one of the biggest wooden indoor sets ever constructed at England's Pinewood Studios --- takes your breath away! Clearly, Santa Claus: The Movie is a magnificent treasure, to be enjoyed by a new generation of believers, who can then, one hopes, pass it on to the next generation and beyond.

- Richard Washington

copyright © 2005 Richard Washington, all rights reserved

Video/DVD availability: VHS/DVD (Anchor Bay Entertainment)

Want to learn more? These websites will help you figure it all out:

KringleQuest.com Beyond!
The Salkind Company!
Carrie Kei Heim's Home page!
Wikipedia!