There are mixed reviews out there on this movie, and the reason being is, this movie starts out very good (not excellent, but very good) as it attempts to tell the story of how Santa Claus got started and established, to his first flight, and a few scenes down through the ages. But when it gets to our own time, the hero elf, Patch, turns against Santa and one of the corniest movie plots ever takes over.
This movie is NOT pure garbage, or bad on all levels. It is actually quite good. The cast selection and costumes are excellent (The inside of Santa's home may have a few too many garish toylike colours for adult tastes). The first part of the movie (all the sets, really) are beautiful, and especially the flight scenes, star scenes, our first glimpse of the magic city/kingdom/castle of the elves. But, if you watch this movie, let me warn you to turn it off as soon as it starts getting too stupid for you. Because, whether you hate it from the beginning or like it to the end, it definitely declines in plot, storyline, and standability. I saw most of the way to the end, and it may have had an ending worth seeing. But by that point, I was waaayyy too sick of it to watch any more.
Worth seeing is the beginning -- a family in a northern, Germanic/Teutonic house in the forest on a blizzardly-cold winter's night is telling the legend of the elves, little people who live at the north pole beneath the 'north star' (a huge, but beautiful phenomenon, nothing like tiny little Polaris as we know it) -- when Santa Claus (a mere man, but much loved) arrives.
The excited children delight at his gifts, and he departs to give gifts to children on the other side of the forest. But the blizzard picks up, and he can go no further. The reindeer halt and lie down in the blizzard, as Santa tries to coerce them to go on. The blizzard nears white-out conditions, when Santa gives up to help his all-but-dead wife. The two seem to freeze to death in the blizzard.
Then, Santa and his wife and two reindeer seem to wake up, with the gleam of the North Star, in a magical world concealed by the North Star's magic. An amazingly huge, snow-covered Nordic castle/town, home of the elves, proves to be the thousands-of-years-in-the-making place where the elves had prophesied their 'chosen one' would come to. Santa is given immortality, and soon sets about settling in and preparing for his fist flight, his first WORLDWIDE mission.
All is OK to this point.
A few scenes down through the ages are revealed, but ultimately, when Santa needs an assistant, the 'loser' of the the top two candidates strikes out on his own, goes to New York, and lands a multimillion dollar contract to produce a magic lollipop that makes people fly. Patch, the elf, usurps Santa in worldwide popularity , whom he has a grudge against. Soon, everyone loves Patch the Elf and Santa is forsaken, in the public's eye.
Patch seems to repent a little and want to go home, but is too wrought up in the fame and fortune and pressure of staying in the limelight, and his human agents have a plan to 'do away with Santa' once and for all, and become the new kings of Christmas gifts and commerce.
By this point, the movie had gotten so dull and monotonous and un-Santa like that I quit watching. I just cannot fathom the whole world hating Santa Claus over a lollipop by Patch the Elf.
There are many breathtakingly beautiful Christmas scenes in this movie: the stars, the North star, reindeer flight, New York, etc. But this movie was made in 1985, and while still very pretty, much of the eye-candy is VERY dated by today's standards. The Santa Clause, for instance, has MUCH better flight scenes. Polar Express is more credible, and Santa Claus is Commin' to town has a MUCH more moving Christmas message and theme.
My advice is, watch it for the pretty stuff at the beginning and for the novelty and the history. But once the movie gets too corny for you, (cornification is gradual, but it gets worse in definite stages) you might as well turn it off because it will only get stupider and stupider until it's an absolute headache-inducing bore -- like the stupid films your librarian showed the children at a birthday party (e.g. it gets like Santa Claus Conquers the Martians).
It was NOT AS GOOD AS I HOPED, but mildly worth watching for the pretty stuff and attempt at writing a faux history of Santa's mission.
This movie is NOT pure garbage, or bad on all levels. It is actually quite good. The cast selection and costumes are excellent (The inside of Santa's home may have a few too many garish toylike colours for adult tastes). The first part of the movie (all the sets, really) are beautiful, and especially the flight scenes, star scenes, our first glimpse of the magic city/kingdom/castle of the elves. But, if you watch this movie, let me warn you to turn it off as soon as it starts getting too stupid for you. Because, whether you hate it from the beginning or like it to the end, it definitely declines in plot, storyline, and standability. I saw most of the way to the end, and it may have had an ending worth seeing. But by that point, I was waaayyy too sick of it to watch any more.
Worth seeing is the beginning -- a family in a northern, Germanic/Teutonic house in the forest on a blizzardly-cold winter's night is telling the legend of the elves, little people who live at the north pole beneath the 'north star' (a huge, but beautiful phenomenon, nothing like tiny little Polaris as we know it) -- when Santa Claus (a mere man, but much loved) arrives.
The excited children delight at his gifts, and he departs to give gifts to children on the other side of the forest. But the blizzard picks up, and he can go no further. The reindeer halt and lie down in the blizzard, as Santa tries to coerce them to go on. The blizzard nears white-out conditions, when Santa gives up to help his all-but-dead wife. The two seem to freeze to death in the blizzard.
Then, Santa and his wife and two reindeer seem to wake up, with the gleam of the North Star, in a magical world concealed by the North Star's magic. An amazingly huge, snow-covered Nordic castle/town, home of the elves, proves to be the thousands-of-years-in-the-making place where the elves had prophesied their 'chosen one' would come to. Santa is given immortality, and soon sets about settling in and preparing for his fist flight, his first WORLDWIDE mission.
All is OK to this point.
A few scenes down through the ages are revealed, but ultimately, when Santa needs an assistant, the 'loser' of the the top two candidates strikes out on his own, goes to New York, and lands a multimillion dollar contract to produce a magic lollipop that makes people fly. Patch, the elf, usurps Santa in worldwide popularity , whom he has a grudge against. Soon, everyone loves Patch the Elf and Santa is forsaken, in the public's eye.
Patch seems to repent a little and want to go home, but is too wrought up in the fame and fortune and pressure of staying in the limelight, and his human agents have a plan to 'do away with Santa' once and for all, and become the new kings of Christmas gifts and commerce.
By this point, the movie had gotten so dull and monotonous and un-Santa like that I quit watching. I just cannot fathom the whole world hating Santa Claus over a lollipop by Patch the Elf.
There are many breathtakingly beautiful Christmas scenes in this movie: the stars, the North star, reindeer flight, New York, etc. But this movie was made in 1985, and while still very pretty, much of the eye-candy is VERY dated by today's standards. The Santa Clause, for instance, has MUCH better flight scenes. Polar Express is more credible, and Santa Claus is Commin' to town has a MUCH more moving Christmas message and theme.
My advice is, watch it for the pretty stuff at the beginning and for the novelty and the history. But once the movie gets too corny for you, (cornification is gradual, but it gets worse in definite stages) you might as well turn it off because it will only get stupider and stupider until it's an absolute headache-inducing bore -- like the stupid films your librarian showed the children at a birthday party (e.g. it gets like Santa Claus Conquers the Martians).
It was NOT AS GOOD AS I HOPED, but mildly worth watching for the pretty stuff and attempt at writing a faux history of Santa's mission.