much less Disney’s larger “Santa Clause” franchise.
Scott then finds a business card among Santa’s belongings, entreating him to don the furry red coat and pick up the Christmas gig where Santa left off. Scott, in turn, returns the sleigh to the North Pole and is informed by the chief elf Bernard (David Krumholtz) that, in donning said coat, he has formally taken on the mantle of Santa Claus. (He didn’t read the fine print on Santa’s card, it turns out). Over the course of the next year, Scott slowly begins to mutate into Santa. He gains weight, his hair goes gray, and his beard comes in amazingly fast. There’s a darker, twisted, Cronenbergian version of this tale nestled inside the lightweight Disney fantasy in front of us, a movie wherein Scott is revolted by his slow bodily mutations. Of course, “The Santa Clause” doesn’t have the temerity to be wholly horrific.
Indeed, the makers of “The Santa Clause” ultimately had to cut a rather adult joke from their movie after its initial theatrical run and release on VHS. There is a scene early in the film wherein Scott’s ex-wife, played by Wendy Crewson, offers to give him a phone number. He quips, “1-800-SPANK-ME? I know that number.” (Tee hee.) Per a 1994 report in the Orlando Sentinel, however, “1-800-SPANK-ME” was a very real phone sex line, and it was flooded with dial-ups from curious kids after seeing the film.
