Review of "The Santa Clause (Widescreen Special Edition)" by

Oh yeah, its shmaltzy and critics dismissed it as fluff, but its one of those movies you can watch with your kids and not feel like you're making a sacrifice. In fact, I bet you have a great time.

Scott Carpenter's marriage is over. Not only does he have to share custody of their son Charlie, but his ex is hooked up with a smarmy new-age psychologist who never stops preaching including lectures on why it's not healthy to let children believe in Santa Claus.

But it's the Christmas season and Charlie is staying with Scott over the holidays. On Christmas Eve, after a bedside discussion about Santa with Scott, Charlie is awakened in the middle of the night by - you guessed it! - hoofbeats on the roof. He wakes his father to have him investigate. Tim Allen as Scott, climbs to the roof in his underwear and pulls a Tim 'The Toolman' Taylor and knocks Santa off the roof - killing him. He looks through "Santa's" pockets for identification - not knowing he's looking at the real McCoy laying in the snowbank. Shivering in the winter cold, Scott puts on the Santa Suit and discovers he has become a victim of The Santa Clause. Much like "The Sword In The Stone," Santa's business card has a tiny inscription that says something like "whomsoever puts on this Santa suit is henceforth the one and only Santa Claus." He and Charlie are subsequently whisked away to Santa's Workshop at the North Pole by the reindeer where they learn the truth behind the legend. They face the fact that with the old Santa dead, millions of children are now dependent on Scott to save Christmas!

Okay, I'm a sucker for these. I still watch "Miracle on 34th Street" with Maureen O'Sullivan, Natalie Wood, and Edwin Guinn, and "The Bishop's Wife" with Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven. But this movie is charming without being sticky sweet, and Tim Allen makes the comedy work for kids and adults. You'll love Comet, the animatronic reindeer! Buy this video and I bet you watch it every year. The sequel, The Santa Clause 2, is excellent, too!