Santa Clause 2 Review

Scott is now well entrenched in his arduous work at the North Pole until he learns that he has to find a Mrs. Clause quickly, otherwise he'll lose his powers; he also learns that his teenage son, Charlie, Eric Lloyd, is in trouble back home. So a substitute Santa is created in his image while Scott heads back to suburbia to find a wife and help his son. This belated sequel provides little genuine Christmas cheer. Seven writers worked on this very heavy-handed piece of Christmas whimsy from the Disney stable; the production design is unusually ugly and suffocating, the special effects, including some grisly-looking reindeer, are resistible, and the humour - and sentiment - are leaden. The only bright spot is the character of the Tooth Fairy, amusingly played by Art Lafleur as a rough diamond who thinks that both his name, and his little wings, are a trifle sissy. Tim Allen is amiable enough, but not enough to amuse the adults in the audience.