The Santa Clauses Disney Series Review

Scott Calvin has been Santa for almost thirty years, but his magic is fading so he's thinking about retiring. The Santa Clauses series on Disney+ takes viewers on a journey, showing us what life looks like since The Santa Clause movies ended. Here's a look at the TV series to help you decide if this show is worth watching.

About The Santa Clauses TV Series

Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) has been Santa for twenty-eight years. He and his wife Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell) have raised their two children Sandra (Elizabeth Allen-Dick) and Cal (Austin Kane), at the North Pole, surrounded by just Elves. And they are living a life devoted to Christmas 365 days a year. They all start to think about what life would look like if they lived a normal life away from the North Pole.

When Santa starts to lose his magic, he begins to wonder if it's time to hang it up and pass the torch to a new Santa. So he sets out to search for a new Santa, and get him trained before next Christmas.

For Carol, Sandra, and Cal there are mixed emotions about leaving the North Pole. Carol is excited to get her identity back. She has lived as Mrs. Claus for twenty years and no one even calls her by name. She longs for the days when she was a High School Principal, and her life was filled with purpose and friendships.

Sandra is the only one in the family who is reluctant to leave the North Pole. She loves her life up there. And although she doesn't have any friends to hang out with, she has the animals to keep her company.

How will the Calvin family cope with life in Chicago? And, will the “new Santa” (Kal Penn) do a good job when he takes over for Scott? These are the questions that The Santa Clauses tackles in the 6 episode series.

The Santa Clauses Review

Disney Plus started airing The Santa Clauses on November 16, 2022 and the last episode aired on December 14th. I wanted to be able to binge watch them all, so I waited until all episodes had aired before I started watching.

I watched The Santa Clauses with my 13-year old daughter and we both enjoyed the series. During November we both re-watched The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2. The original The Santa Clause movie is my favorite and a Christmas movie that I watch every year. So I was excited to see a continuation of the story.

One of the things that is nice about using a TV series as a follow-up to the movies, is that it gives more time to explore the story. After all, it's almost 6 hours so it's as long as three or four movies. Much more fun and enjoyable to watch in one hour increments than to watch several movies.

The serial format also lets each episode focus on a particular part of Scott's transformation. From the first episode that shows him losing his magic, and questioning what's happening in the world. To the final episode that shows a resolution (that I won't spoil for you).

Like the original movies, The Santa Clauses series is fun, and entertaining. There were a few things that I didn't like as much, namely the elves and Santa. Let's start with the elves. In the movies I felt that there was something more magical about the elves. Whether it was their age, the costumes, casting, or something made them more special and magical in the movies.

I also thought that Santa looked better in the movies. There was something about the face of Santa in the show that seemed more plastic. It reminded me of the movie when there's a fake Santa. The Santa in The Santa Clauses had that plastic face like the fake Santa, and I was not fond of it as much. But that's just me being picky because it was great to see Tim Allen as Santa again.

And lastly, I don't think the North Pole was as big and beautiful as it was in the movie. I think there are several things at play here. First, I'm guessing that there were a lot more Elves in the movie scenes vs the TV scenes. And second, perhaps the sets were bigger as well. The movie sets just seemed a bit bigger, more detailed, and therefore more magical.

A Recap of The Santa Clauses

Although it's not perfect, I did enjoy The Santa Clauses. It was fun to see Tim Allen back in the Santa suit. There's just something magical and nostalgic about his character, and it was great to see how things have changed for the Calvin family over the years. Disney announced that it has renewed the show for a second season, so hopefully this time next year we'll be taken on another journey with Santa Claus. Until then, I hope you enjoy watching the first season.

Watch on Disney+