It’s the season to be jolly, indeed. The holiday season is about to start, and Christmas is just next month. People from around the world are gearing up to spend some time at home watching holiday movies and television shows that keep their spirits up until the beginning of the new year. There will be a barrage of holiday films and television shows starting to make their way onto television and OTT streaming platforms, and most of them intend to spread the cheer that comes with the holiday spirit.
To keep up with the excitement, Disney+ released The Santa Clauses, a six-episode series based on the The Santa Clause film series originally conceived by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick in 1994. The new series was created by Jack Burditt and released on the streaming platform in 2022, right at the start of the holiday season. Season two of this beloved show, starring Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Kal Pen, will be released on November 8, 2023. This article will take the readers through the first season and what led Scott Calvin, aka Santa Claus, to go through a life crisis.
The Santa Clauses Season 1 began with Simon Choksi, a businessman who runs an e-commerce platform called ‘Everything Now!’ that delivered goods in the bare minimum time frame was going through tough times. He was on the verge of shutting it down due to the delivery system being a mess. He was one of the first to witness the miracles of Christmas when one of his rooms was covered with festoons unbeknownst to him. Scott Calvin, aka Santa Claus, has been doing the job of delivering gifts for many years, and it brought him immense joy to make kids happy. His work involved magic, and an elaborate delivery system run by the elves in the North Pole region, who provided him with presents, lists, and tasks. This system was running smoothly until Scott realized he was losing his magic, which led to several mishaps during the delivery.
Scott was always joined by Noel, his helper, who made sure they all returned to the North Pole safely and on time. Scott had a family of three to look after, and they had been supportive of the work he did. His wife, who had no identity to fall back on, was called Mrs. Claus for most of her life they lived in the North Pole. Meanwhile, his kids, Buddy Calvin and Sandra, were raised in North Pole as well but they’ve never been in touch with any humans other than their parents. Though Calvin showed an inclination towards wanting to lead a life like a regular human, Sandra was apprehensive because she was comfortable with her current surroundings.
Scott was initially in denial about losing the magic he had acquired after being chosen as Santa many years ago. He loved the job way too much, even though he was away from his family during this crucial time of the year. Scott was approached by his close confidant Betty, who was the head of the elves in the North Pole, and she suggested retirement. The show managed to bring up many issues about the work everyone does during the holiday season. Being a Disney+ show, The Santa Clauses talks about women getting their due as wives. Mrs. Claus finally got her identity back when the entire family moved to Chicago. She was now Carol Calvin, and she began working with a local school to regain her sense of importance she lost all those years ago when she was hidden behind closed doors. Carol had finally freed her hair from the tight bun, which was a sign of her independence from her closeted life. Carol was happy with Scott, but she craved a normal life where she could work and bring in money for the family, just like other women do.
Scott finally accepted his loss of magic was happening because children had started losing hope on Christmas because of their overdependence on technology. The children were not looking forward to the Christmas spirit, which led to Scott finally realizing he needed someone in his place. He conducted detailed interviews with a few chosen ones. Simon Choksi was selected to be the next Santa Claus based on his experience with his e-commerce website and the concern he showed for delivering products and gifts on time. There was hardly any explanation as to why Simon was chosen for the interview rounds. Simon, though, believed in making every day Christmas because he lost his wife to a terminal disease and wanted to celebrate the holiday with her family way before December.
With Scott out of the picture, Simon began his work as the new Santa Claus but refused to wear the Santa coat, which is essential for the holidays. He moved to the North Pole with his daughter Grace Choksi. Scott was having a hard time taking up the new job of being a stay-at-home father, as the rest of the family ended up finding a purpose for themselves. Back in the North Pole, Simon took gross advantage of the elf delivery system and magic. He merged them with his company to make sure everyone gets to celebrate Christmas daily.
Initially, it seemed like a good idea, but many elves started disappearing because they lost hope in the work they did. Most of them worked towards Christmas, but with Simon taking over, every day brought a workload they could not handle. Betty was the first to point out the stress of the job he had assigned. She was tired of informing him that the Christmas spirit would die and lose its exclusivity if he made it an everyday thing. Simon went from being a caring parent to a tyrant boss who refused to see the problem in his mechanism.
The last two episodes of the show were dedicated to Scott finally being shown the history of Santa Claus by taking him back to the time of Saint Nicholas, who began the tradition of sharing small gifts with people as an act of virtue that has been carried out for centuries. Scott was also made aware that Santa Claus, who presumably died in the first film of the series, was not an accident. He was blessed with magic sprinkles when he was a kid, which is why he was chosen as the next Claus and was anointed with the title of the best one there ever was.
Scott was given this title because, despite being a human, he understood the spirit of Christmas and the value behind it. He appreciated the amount of love and care dedicated to giving everyone the right kind of gifts for everyone celebrating the holiday. The makers of the show emphasized the importance of giving away during the holiday season and how one receives a lot of gratitude in return.
Scott realized he had appointed the wrong person as his replacement, and the final episode saw Simon Choksi being asked to step away from the job so that innocence and magic could be restored in the North Pole. Betty had disappeared because she had lost hope. With Scott back, Noel was happy to see Betty reappear in his life. Apart from the good vs. evil trope used in the show, Simon Choksi was not entirely an evil person. He was a good father to Grace; he only got carried away by the sentiments his wife lived on before she passed away. Simon was quick to understand the menace he had become. He had given up on the Santa coat and the orb that helped the residents of the North Pole understand the sentiments around Christmans from across the globe.
The Santa Clauses Season 1 ended with Scott taking the job of Santa Claus back again because he was not done being one. He believed in sharing the love and warmth that came with the holiday season. The next season might be about what other sets of obstacles Scott might come across as age caught up to him. It will be interesting to witness if his children and wife, Carol, will stay back in the North Pole or continue living in Chicago to retain some normalcy.
