Tim Allen (Scott Calvin), Judge Reinhold (Dr. Neil Miller), Wendy Crewson (Laura Miller), Eric Lloyd (Charlie Calvin), David Krumholtz (Bernard), Larry Brandenburg (Detective Nunzio), Mary Gross (Ms. Daniels), Paige Tamada (Judy), Peter Boyle (Mr. Whittle)
"Oh Christmas Tree", "Carol of the Bells", The Drifters - "White Christmas", Loreena McKennitt - "The Bells of Christmas", The Chipmunks - "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town", "Jeopardy Theme", Johnny Hawksworth - "Jingle Bell Ride", "Jingle Bells", ZZ Top - "Gimme All Your Lovin'", Brenda Russell and Howard Hewett - "Christmas Will Return"
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen (Reformatted 1.33:1 Fullscreen available separately) Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French, Spanish) Subtitles: English, Spanish; Closed Captioned Release Date: October 29, 2002 Single-sided, dual-layered disc (DVD-9) Suggested Retail Price: $19.99 (Reduced from $29.99) THX-Certified with Optimizer tests White Keepcase
This "Widescreen Special Edition" offers considerable improvement in picture quality. Whereas the film's original DVD was in non-anamorphic widescreen, this one also presents it in its original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio but enhances it for 16x9 televisions. (There is also a compromised fullscreen version sold separately, which sadly is the one that's much easier to find in stores.) For a mid-'90s film, there is nothing to age the movie in terms of its video, aside from a slightly drab Walt Disney Pictures logo at the start.
Beyond this, the colors are rich, the print never welcomes a single intruder, and sharpness is just right. You might be able to find something wrong with the visuals with higher standards or a mammoth television screen. Otherwise, this transfer registers as practically perfect and a clear upgrade over the previous disc, which itself would be deemed sufficient by non-home theater enthusiasts.
In the sound department, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack doesn't sound much different from the mix on the original disc, but it's highly pleasing. Family films don't often do a lot with sound to engulf you in a world the way an action movie might, butThe Santa Clause takes several efforts to make you feel as if you are in Scott Calvin's world with atmospheric effects that are well conceived and realized. From the opening multi-level building office party to the bustling activity of the elves at the North Pole, there's plenty to make the surround sound stand out beyond a basic stereo TV viewing. As is usual, the dialogue is crisp and the dynamics are consistent, but it is really the stellar design which makes the mix so commendable. French and Spanish 5.1 tracks are also provided.
This Special Edition fails to live up to its moniker with a truly underwhelming slate of extras. First, "So You Wanna Be an Elf?" (6:28) finds David Krumholtz in character as Bernard (on the set ofThe Santa Clause 2) training a new crop of elf recruits. He gives them some tips in gift-wrapping and mail-sorting before turning to moviemaking with some behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of the original movie.
There's some interesting content, probably enough to sustain a nice half-hour documentary based on the quickly-cut snippets, but here, they're drowned out by Bernard's narration and literally amount to 85 seconds. Like the hokey bonus features ofThe Santa Clause 2, this featurette plays on the notion that the real Santa Claus made the movie. If this short supplement had been something which aired on TV in 1994, I'd have called it a neat inclusion. But as something filmed in 2002 as the lone making-of bonus for a Special Edition DVD, it's quite a letdown.
Next is the set-top game "Santa's Helper." While the visuals seem kind of cool, the game's design soon wears thin. With your remote control, you navigate the airborne Santa and reindeer either up or down based on approaching obstacles, meanwhile pressing "Enter" to drop gifts down the occasional chimney. At times, you've merely got to guess where the obstacle will be and if you guess wrong, you start the round again. To win, you have to endure four levels of this, separated by some basic sets of trivia questions about the movie. Now, most people reading this review would probably not care too much for this game, but here's the kicker: if you get through it all, you are treated to the 1933 Silly Symphony shortThe Night Before Christmas (7:54), in full (minus a couple of racially insensitive gags which have often been cut). As of publishing, this is the only place you can find this vintage cartoon on DVD, outside of a heavily-and-oddly-butchered appearance onDisney Princess: A Christmas of Enchantment. Some players will let you access this Easter egg by going directly to Title 5. For those that don't, it's an awful lot of hoops you must jump through to see it, which makes your skill at DVD games never as important as it is here. Fortunately, with December's scheduled release ofWalt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies, such elaborate efforts shouldn't be required to watch this holiday short on DVD, and hopefully, in its entirety.
Rounding out the video content is "Making Santa Snacks with Wolfgang" (15:40), in which the heavily-accented Austrian-American "celebrity chef" Wolfgang Puck guides a group of "elves" (kids) through making Santa's favorite foods: "snowman pizza", cookies, and hot chocolate. It relies on some visual and aural gimmicks to make it more exciting, from an "Elf TV" set-up and Puck's feeble attempts at comedy to some mechanically-delivered lines from the kids (whose parents surely work for Disney) and Puck's inane motto which is adopted as a form of grace ("live, love, eat"). In short, while a certain demographic might appreciate this more than a standard electronic press kit (EPK) piece, for most of us, it's pretty much a waste of time (both ours and those who produced it). Anyone who intends to try these out in the kitchen would benefit the same from the 19 pages of recipe text screens which are provided along with a 2-page measurement conversion table. Of course, how many people have a DVD player in their kitchen? A booklet inside the case holding this stuff would have made more sense.
The final two bonuses are limited to DVD-ROM. They are "25 Days Till Christmas" and "Letters to Santa." The former is a film-themed Advent calendar that you're much more likely to go through in one sitting than to actually countdown to Christmas.
The numbers 1 through 25 are scattered about and you have to click them in order, each one reveals a basic little Flash animation, with a few accompanied by sound clips from the movie. As for "Letters", surprisingly, you actually get to compose your very own letter to Santa. You're supposed to get a response, but my request for a betterSanta Clause DVD (penned today) has yet to be answered. Some may appreciate that both features offer lengthy excerpts from the film's memorable instrumental music.
About as important as any of the bonus features here is the one from the movie's previous DVD, which does not resurface here. I'm referring to the movie's original theatrical trailer, which is plenty cool in its own right, but even more so since it contains glimpses of scenes that were not in the final cut. Now that it's obvious that deleted scenes exist, this Special Edition DVD loses points not only for inexplicably dropping the trailer but for not providing those never-before-released deletions.
The main menu features excerpts of Michael Convertino's hard-to-find score as the listings appear on a snowglobe. An unlabeled snowflake icon does not take you to an Easter Egg, it just makes the central globe snowy, which also happens when you move to a different selection screen. The Bonus Material menu, the only other one that is animated, takes you closer to the snowglobe, with the option to produce a snow-blowing gust still present. On the whole, the menus are pretty clever and the kind that you can leave on for a while without going too mad, perhaps even putting you in the holiday spirit somehow.
The disc launches, predictably enough, with previews of other Disney properties. These promoteThe Santa Clause 2,The Jungle Book 2,Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas Special Edition,Lilo & Stitch,The Country Bears, andInspector Gadget 2. The Sneak Peeks menu holds additional previews forWinnie the Pooh: Very Merry Pooh Year,Atlantis II: Milo's Return, and (sensing a trend yet?)101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure.
Oh, and one final incentive worth mentioning but unusable now is a movie ticket voucher granting free child's admission to seeThe Santa Clause 2 in theaters. While its expiration decreases the package's value, a subsequent $10 price drop has more than made up the difference.
It's too bad thatThe Santa Clause was revisited in a Special Edition that was a flimsy way to promote the sequel rather than one which actually paid due to this well-liked holiday classic. Still, the movie is perfect for perennial viewings and this DVD, though far from satisfying, is the best and easiest way to own it. If you only have the movie's original DVD or are still relying on VHS or laserdisc, you can afford to wait another year and see ifThe Santa Clause gets the DVD treatment it deserves whenThe Santa Clause 3 comes to disc. If it doesn't, then this will have to do and, based on the excellent movie and its fine feature presentation, deserves a spot in your collection. Just be prepared for major disappointment in the bonus features department.
