Retroist Santa Claus the Movie Podcast
This Christmas season, I want to shine a little light on this overlooked mid-eighties gem.
The hype around Santa Claus the Movie put it at the top of my must-see list in 1985. My family were big Dudley Moore fans and McDonald’s was pushing it with a Happy Meal tie-in. So we drove a few towns over to see it the weekend it opened. It was a great movie-going experience with a very well-decorated theater and an appearance by Santa Claus. I was convinced this was going to be a huge hit, but unfortunately it wasn’t in the United States (the people in the UK were more impressed).
I start the episode talking about when my family went to see the movie and how disruptive Santa’s appearance was there. How could you expect a kid to concentrate on on anything when Santa was around? Then I move on the film itself. I discuss the plot, its production, the stars of the film, its reception and much more.
There is a lot of Christmas movies and specials you can watch, but I wanted to talk about Santa Claus the Movie because it is often overlooked. In the United States it doesn’t get a lot of replays. No 24 hour marathon. Nothing. It might not be, A Christmas Store, but I think as a holiday film its charming and deserves to be remembered.
Listen and download Santa Claus the Movie Podcast
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Production Notes
This is the 332nd episode of the Retroist Podcast and episode 7 of the new season. This is my holiday offering this year on the main feed, but you can get another Christmas-centric show on the Patreon feed.
At the video store, I always wanted to play this movie, convinced it would help move copies. It didn’t cause much of a stir, but hardcore fans would always speak up.
The Happy Meals from McDonald’s were great. I like a holiday themed Happy Meal and Happy Meal tie-in.
While this film is available to stream, I recommend picking up a physical copy. This is the type of film that could easily disappear from streaming services.
I was recently reading that John Lithgow was up the role of Frasier on Cheers. I imagine he would have done a great job in that role.
I like that they tried to tackle the idea of a growing population for Santa to service. It was something I thought about a lot as a kid.
I am not sure about Brian Dennehy as Santa Claus, but I was really happy with Ed Asner as Santa in Elf. Good actors can just make things work.
I can’t remember the last time I just stumbled across this film on TV. Maybe the 90s?
On of my favorite parts of the film is the idea of Christmas II. If people like Christmas, why not add another just a few months later?
Feel like I need to rewatch Starchaser.
After seeing movies do you sit up at night thinking about it? I did this a lot as a kid and still do it nowadays. Usually that is how I can tell how much if I like it. If it is really stuck in my head, its a better or at least more interesting movie.
I’ll see you at the Clam Casino!
Ricky Schroder and Santa!?
Bonus Clipping should be up on Patreon tomorrow.
Music on the show is, as always, by Peachy.
Thanks for listening to the show and I hope you have a great weekend.
Oh man, I missed this podcast episode. I always wanted to watch this movie. Even though Christmas passed, it's still technically the '12 days' of Christmas :) I'll give this a listen now.