Santa Claus (1985)

The first half of this film, set hundreds of years ago, shows how the old man who eventually became Santa Claus was given immortality and chosen to deliver toys to all the children of the world. The second half moves into the modern era, in which Patch, the head elf, strikes out on his own and falls in with an evil toy manufacturer who wants to corner the market and eliminate Santa Claus.

Director:

Jeannot Szwarc

Writers:

David Newman (story), Leslie Newman (story),

Stars:

Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, David Huddleston

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dudley Moore	...	Patch
John Lithgow	...	B.Z.
David Huddleston	...	Santa Claus
Burgess Meredith	...	Ancient Elf
Judy Cornwell	...	Anya Claus
Jeffrey Kramer	...	Towzer
Christian Fitzpatrick	...	Joe
Carrie Kei Heim	...	Cornelia
John Barrard	...	Dooley
Anthony O'Donnell	...	Puffy
Melvyn Hayes	...	Goober
Don Estelle	...	Groot
Tim Stern	...	Boog
Peter O'Farrell	...	Honka
Christopher Ryan	...	Vout

Storyline

The first half of this film, set hundreds of years ago, shows how the old man who eventually became Santa Claus was given immortality and chosen to deliver toys to all the children of the world. The second half moves into the modern era, in which Patch, the inventing elf, strikes out on his own and falls in with an evil toy manufacturer who wants to corner the market and eliminate Santa Claus.

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Plot Keywords:

toy | santa claus | elf | toy making | toy factory | 

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Taglines:

The Legend Comes To Life.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 November 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Santa Claus: The Movie

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Calash Corporation, GGG, Santa Claus Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the U.S. trailers for the film, Dudley Moore gets top billing and David Huddleston gets third billing. In the international trailer, Huddleston gets top billing and Moore gets fourth billing.

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Goofs

When Cornelia leaves the plate of food outside for Joe the can of Coke is positioned so the word "Coke" is showing. When Joe picks up the plate moments later the can has turned to show the words "Coca-Cola" in cursive on the other side of the can.

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Quotes

Joe: [after he gets his present from Santa] Did Cornie get anything?
[pauses]
Joe: The er... little girl.
Santa Claus: Oh? Are you two seeing a lot of each other?
Joe: Actually yes
[blushes quite a lot]
Joe: Actually

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Connections

Referenced in Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: The Great Mouse Detective (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Shouldn't Do That"
Performed by Kajagoogoo (as Kaja)
Produced by Ken Scott
Lyrics by Nick Beggs
Music by Nick Beggs, Stuart Neale (as Stuart Croxford Neal) and Steve Askew
Published by Infinite Music/Intersong
Courtesy of EMI Records Limited

User Reviews

My best childhood memory!

I can not remember what age I was when I first seen this movie. But I do remember that it used to be played on Irish TV every year on Christmas eve.My best memory from childhood was sitting by the coal fire to let my hair dry and watching this movie.

My favorite part was always when Joe shouts Yo and the raindeer take flight! It still makes me shiver.

I am now 24 and only wish I could get it on DVD here in the UK so I could play it on a regional 2 player. I have a baby on the way and I would love someday for my children to enjoy the wonder of Santa Claus the movie as I did all those years ago.

This film gave me a lot of happy Christmas' Dx