Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
76
(500) Days of Summer
49
2012
60
9
17
All About Steve
37
Amelia
53
Astro Boy
70
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
52
Blind Side
47
Box, The
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
55
Christmas Carol, A
43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
23
Couples Retreat
39
Fame
30
Final Destination, The
34
Fourth Kind, The
41
G-Force
46
Halloween II
73
Hangover, The
78
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
66
Informant!, The
69
Inglourious Basterds
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
66
Julie & Julia
34
Law Abiding Citizen
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
28
Pandorum
58
Pirate Radio
39
Planet 51
30
Saw VI
53
Shorts
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
46
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
71
Where the Wild Things Are
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
58
(Untitled)
96
35 Shots of Rum![]()
56
Adam
39
Adventures of Power
66
Afterschool
73
Amreeka
49
Antichrist
76
Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86
Beaches of Agnes, The![]()
71
Big Fan
65
Black Dynamite
76
Bliss
26
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
44
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81
Bright Star![]()
76
Broken Embraces
70
Bronson
62
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
60
Collapse
82
Cove, The![]()
75
Crude
82
Damned United, The![]()
53
Dare
50
Defamation
67
Departures
70
Earth Days
85
Education, An![]()
55
Endgame
88
Fantastic Mr. Fox![]()
31
Fix
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
xx
From Mexico with Love
28
Gentlemen Broncos
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo![]()
63
Horse Boy, The
74
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
26
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
43
Little Traitor, The
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
46
Love Hurts
84
Maid, The![]()
45
Mammoth
75
Messenger, The
55
Missing Person, The
59
More Than a Game
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
48
New York, I Love You
66
No Impact Man
26
Oh My God
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
Red Cliff
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
65
Skin
41
Splinterheads
42
Staten Island
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
58
Storm
82
Sun, The![]()
49
Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon
73
That Evening Sun
61
Trucker
49
Turning Green
83
U2 3D![]()
45
Uncertainty
67
Visual Acoustics
32
War on Kids
67
Way We Get By, The
65
Wedding Song, The
xx
White on Rice
59
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
74
Woman in Berlin, A
43
Women in Trouble
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Santa Clause 2, The
EMAILPRINTWalt Disney Pictures / Buena Vista Pictures

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 26 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 9 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Fantasy
Written by:
Leonardo Benvenuti
Ken Daurio
Ed Decter
Cinco Paul, Steve Rudnick and John J. Strauss
Directed by: Michael Lembeck
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 1, 2002
DVD: November 18, 2003
Running Time: 105 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: G for General Audiences
Starring Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Eric Lloyd, David Krumholtz, Spencer Breslin, Wendy Crewson, Judge Reinhold, and Peter Boyle
In this sequel to 1994's "The Santa Clause," a "clause" in Santa's contract is discovered that requires Santa to get married in order to keep his job.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause The Santa Clause
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Ellen A. Kim
While it lacks the original's streamlined core, the father-son relationship, the sequel gets by on assembled moments of sentiment
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The movie is not a special effects extravaganza like "The Grinch," but in a way that's a relief. It's more about charm and silliness than about great hulking multimillion-dollar high-tech effects.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
For an anonymous Saturday afternoon, it's the best lump of coal Hollywood can jam in your stocking.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Won't replace anyone's annual viewing of "It's a Wonderful Life." But your family could find a worse way to take a holiday break.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Frankly, if I were Mrs. Claus, I might be looking for Santa Clause 3, outlining the grounds for annulment.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Bill Stamets
Television director Michael Lembeck maintains a tidy pace suitable for commercial breaks, and though the committee-written script cites fuzzy logic, eBay, and Utah marital customs, it predictably avoids any mention of Christ.
Read Full Review >Variety Scott Foundas
Festooned with cute, mugging kids; lots of jazzy redos of beloved Christmas tunes on the soundtrack; and enough tug-at-your-heartstrings moments to make an entire theater feel warm on a blustery winter afternoon.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Tony Burrough's vast Toy Workshop and Elf Village at the North Pole is the film's strongest asset. The workshop is a dazzling and accurate display of the Art Nouveau style in sinuous full flower.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
The only parts of the film that ring true -- and they sometimes ring touchingly true -- are the ones that give Mr. Allen simple human themes to work with.
ReelViews James Berardinelli
Entirely inoffensive, so it makes for perfect family fare - but only if the children are young enough to be indiscriminating about what they're seeing.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
No question, the new movie is amiable family entertainment, and Allen is such an affable actor that maybe kids won't begrudge him seeking romantic fulfillment in order to remain their favorite Santa.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Steve Simels
You have to have a certain affection for any movie in which a stressed-out Mother Nature announces ominously, "Don't mess with me -- I'm pre-El Niño."
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Keith Cassidy
This sequel, while lacking the freshness of the original, shares much of its charm and for the most part rises above some trite, syrupy dialogue.
Read Full Review >New York Post Jonathan Foreman
There's not a moment in it that feels fresh or authentic or inspired. But neither is it offensive.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Has the disjointed feel of a bunch of strung-together TV episodes.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Jon Strickland
While the film is not entirely successful, it still manages to string together enough charming moments to work.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Allen has fun with all his roles -- The rest of the acting is bland, but the movie's preteen target audience won't mind, and adults will find occasional grown-up jokes to chuckle at.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
Captures the true spirit of the holiday. It's mildly sentimental, unabashedly consumerist (with anything-but-subliminal advertisements for McDonald's hamburgers and Nestlé candy tucked inside), studiously inoffensive and completely disposable.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky
Once more, Tim Allen drops a lump of coal down the chimney.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
Despite the obviously mercenary nature of this sequel, there's a thimbleful of clever ideas at work here, most notably in the way Allen's RoboSanta begins to turn his toy factory into a tiny dictatorship.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
The movie is as padded as Allen's jelly belly.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
If you value your time and money, find an escape clause and avoid seeing this trite, predictable rehash. The 90 minutes could be better spent doing holiday shopping.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Allen, who's a natural charmer, seems to be at half-strength here.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mary May A. gave it a 10:
It was a good movie i love it and i really love eric lloyd keep up the good work. i love you.
Matt J. gave it a 6:
I was dragged to this film, but found that I did enjoy it somewhat.
The Ghost Of Mulroneycakes Past gave it a 7:
Yes. It IS for the youngsters. It's a Children's Movie. It's. For. Children. Why do people object to that? It works, it's good, it's entertaining...though it is a shame that it comes right when Tim Allen had nearly exorcised the ghost of Home Improvement. Ah well.
ElJefe gave it a 3:
Not all that funny , or entertaining , wait til video and someone else rents it , Allen not all that he can be in the movie.
Cole S. gave it a 10:
Its the best Christmas movie ever.
Nicole S. gave it a 10:
This was a great movie! I thought it had about everything a movie should have in it, comedy, romance, action exc. I coulden't say any more besides how great it was! Tim Allen is one of my favorite actors, and Eric Loyld is too a great actor and is really hot! This movie is an automatic 10!
Michelle P. gave it a 4:
The only people you could like in this movie are Tim Allen and the guy who played the tallest elf with black hair. But the boy who played the "smart" elf was TRYING to make his voice sound "grown-up", and made the worst gestures. The girl who played the elf who brought Santa's cocoa was an awful actress. Did you notice that when she screamed it looked like she was smiling? ..... And those giant toy soldiers he made were absolutely disturbing (especially the look on their faces...yikes!) This film had its moments, but the lines were stupidly written. Epecially when the pilot says, "I hear something. It sounds like little hammers." Little hammers? What KIND of pilot says that?! Yes, this movie was definitely made for the youngsters, though it had some adult-humor in it.
