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"THE SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE" (2006) (Tim Allen, Martin Short) (G) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons None Minor Heavy Mild None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor None Minor None None Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor None Heavy Moderate Mild QUICK TAKE: Comedy: While trying to fool his pregnant wife's in-laws that they're visiting Canada rather than the North Pole, Santa Claus must also contend with Jack Frost trying to usurp his role. PLOT: It's nearly Christmas, and thus Scott Calvin (TIM ALLEN), a.k.a. Santa Claus, is quite the harried figure at the North Pole. That's not only because he and head elf Curtis (SPENCER BRESLIN) are trying to get all of the toys ready for delivery, but also because Scott's pregnant wife Carol (ELIZABETH MITCHELL) is going to deliver their child any minute. Since they're otherwise surrounded by elves, Carol longs for additional human contact, especially in her state. Accordingly, Scott arranges for her parents -- Sylvia (ANN-MARGRET) and Bud (ALAN ARKIN) -- to be brought to the North Pole, but only as long as everyone agrees to mislead them -- in order to protect Santa's identity and whereabouts - into believing they're actually visiting Canada. Scott's niece Lucy (LILIANA MUMY) pleads to come along, resulting in her parents -- Scott's ex-wife Laura (WENDY CREWSON) and her husband Neil (JUDGE REINHOLD) -- accompanying her. However, things get even more complicated when an emergency council meeting is called. That's when Santa, Mother Nature, the Easter Bunny, Cupid, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and Father Time learn that Jack Frost (MARTIN SHORT) wants his own holiday. The others want to ban Jack, but Scott gives in and agrees to allow him to serve as his assistant. However, that allows Jack to learn of "the escape clause" where the latest Santa can get out of the job if holding his magic snow globe and reciting a certain phrase. From that point on, Jack tries to disrupt both Scott's professional and personal life, thus not only threatening Christmas, but also Scott and Carol's marriage. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they liked either or both of the first two "Santa Clause" films, they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: G Presumably for not containing material to warrant a higher rating. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: TIM ALLEN plays Santa Claus who's not only busy with Christmas quickly approaching, but also his wife ready to give birth at any minute. He thus becomes increasingly harried when Jack sets out to ruin his life so that he can usurp the position. MARTIN SHORT plays Jack Frost, a supernatural being with the ability to freeze anything or anyone with his frosty breath. He longs to be Santa and thus does everything in his power to disrupt Scott's professional and personal life to make him want to quit. ELIZABETH MITCHELL plays Mrs. Claus, a teacher who tells the film's story in flashback where she's pregnant, longs for additional human interaction, and becomes increasingly frustrated by Scott being so busy. ANN-MARGRET plays Carol's mother who's brought to the North Pole under the belief that it's Canada. She's concerned about why she and Bud rarely hear from her, and then is saddened seeing Carol being unhappy about Scott being so busy. ALAN ARKIN plays her blue-collar husband who doesn't mince words about how he feels about all of the above. WENDY CREWSON plays Scott's ex-wife who ends up also going to the North Pole for the first time. JUDGE REINHOLD plays her new age psychotherapist husband who's also excited about visiting the place. LILIANA MUMY plays Scott's niece who's similarly happy about getting to visit her uncle there. SPENCER BRESLIN plays the head elf at the North Pole who becomes increasingly frantic over all that's going wrong. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this G-rated comedy. There's no profanity, but various colorful phrases are uttered, some to depict bad attitudes, most of which come from the film's villain. There's no sexual dialogue or content, but one character briefly shows cleavage and a wife is pregnant and about to deliver a baby. Some comedy style violence is present (characters tackling or striking others in a comedy-adventure fashion), while we twice see flashbacks from the first film where the real Santa slips off a roof, lands hard on the snowy ground and apparently dies (his suit "deflates" until it's empty). That, and another moment of potential peril might be unsettling or suspenseful to the youngest of kids, but probably no one else. Tense family material includes a pregnant wife being upset that her husband is always so busy (and her parents' reaction to that and not having heard much from her), as well as talk of past divorces and such. Brief crude humor is also present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE None. BLOOD/GORE We hear one or more of Santa's reindeer fart several times, with Santa telling one to go easy on the alfalfa. As the Easter Bunny passes by, he states that he'll clean up the little pellets behind him later. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Jack wants his own holiday, but when the others deny that, he sets his sights on usurping Scott's role as Santa. He does so by sabotaging various bits of North Pole machinery, and fooling Curtis into giving up some secrets about the escape clause. He also makes Carol question her relationship with the perpetually busy Santa (asking if it's worth it), and then tricks Scott into verbalizing the escape clause (after breaking into the snow globe room and stealing Scott's), meaning Jack can grab the role. Some viewers might not like the brief bits of magical or supernatural powers. To protect the secret of Santa, Scott arranges for Carol's parents to visit the North Pole, but only as long as they're fooled into believing they're actually in Canada. About Cupid (a guy) in a short top and no pants (nothing is seen), the Easter Bunny says, "Hey Cupid, nice skirt." Jack purposefully pushes a cart in front of an elf, causing her to drop a stack of plates that break on the floor. Jack sneakily removes one of the bottom supports on Carol's Christmas tree, thus causing it to fall over when Scott puts the top piece on it (that piece and others break when they hit the floor). All of which only makes Carol further upset with Scott (just another point of stress between them, despite the tree incident not being his fault). Jack uses various disparaging comments toward Scott regarding his weight, including "Where's fat boy?" "Blubber ball" and "Adios, fatty." Scott finds himself in an alternate future where he's no longer Santa, and Jack has heavily commercialized both himself in that role as well as the North Pole. He also hears angry parents and children snipping at each other over commercial items and such. FRIGHTENING SCENES We see a very pregnant Carol seemingly going into labor and then being rushed through the North Pole village to the delivery room, but it turns out to be a false alarm (and it's all played in a comedy-adventure fashion, although younger kids might not understand that). Lucy sees Jack freeze her parents with a blast of frosty breath (until they're encased in ice) and then menacingly forces her into a closet with them. After the escape clause is evoked, Scott and Jack end up falling through the time-space continuum and land hard on the snowy ground, twelve years ago. There, we see a flashback to the scene from the first film where the original Santa Claus slips off the roof, lands hard on the ground, and apparently dies (we just see the Santa suit "deflate" after Santa's body disappears - some younger kids might be unsettled by that sight that we see repeated again later in the film). GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Is there an echo in here?" "S-O-S" (secret of Santa), "Where's fat boy?" "Molarator" (or something sounding liking that), "Silver bells," "Nice skirt" (what the Easter Bunny says to the male Cupid in his short top and no pants), "You herald a season, not a holiday," "You have to be a Jack Frost of all trades," "That's awesome," "The bearded wonder," "Listen here, frost-face," "Very butt-like" (said by Scott after feeling the edge of a door that Bud has announced is as smooth as a baby's bottom), "Okay, okay, chill" (followed by "I invented chill"), "Eh?" (said with a Canadian accent), "You divine little kitten, you," "Last one up is a glazed ham," "Blubber ball," "Adios, fatty," "For the love of candy canes," "Why don't you chill out?" "Give me a break," "This show stinks," "I'm gonna kick the coal out of whoever did that," "Whoa, freaky" and "It's a little freaky." JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) Some dramatic and a bit of suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY None. SEX/NUDITY Mother Nature shows a little bit of cleavage in one scene. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Seeing Carol for the first time in a while, Sylvia announces that she's sure her daughter has a perfectly good reason for shutting her and Bud out of their lives (it was done to protect Scott's secret of being Santa). We're reminded that Laura is Scott's ex-wife. When someone tries to explain Scott not being around by saying it's the busy season (Christmas), Carol says it's always the busy season. Lucy sees Jack freeze her parents with a blast of frosty breath (until they're encased in ice) and then menacingly forces her into a closet with them. Jack sneakily removes one of the bottom supports on Carol's Christmas tree, thus causing it to fall over when Scott puts the top piece on it (that piece and others break when they hit the floor). All of which only makes Carol further upset with Scott (just another point of stress between them, despite the tree incident not being his fault). After things get tense, Bud and Sylvia state that maybe they shouldn't have come to visit, with Scott angrily agreeing that maybe they're right. That prompts Carol to say that maybe she shouldn't have come either (meaning to live with him as his wife). Scott finds himself in an alternate future where he's no longer Santa, and his personal assistant says he (Scott) rarely sees his own family and never mentions them. He then goes to visit Laura and their teenage son Charlie, neither of which are happy to see him. He also learns that Laura and Neil are now divorced. He also travels to the North Pole that's been turned into a theme park and hears angry parents and children snipping at each other. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The commercialization of Christmas. Santa Claus. How busy work schedules affect familial relationships. Pregnancy and labor. The Christmas Carol angle the film takes in showing what life would be like if one let setbacks make one give up. VIOLENCE An elf purposefully kicks Scott in the leg. Jack purposefully pushes a cart in front of an elf, causing her to drop a stack of plates that break on the floor. Jack sneakily removes one of the bottom supports on Carol's Christmas tree, thus causing it to fall over when Scott puts the top piece on it (that piece and others break when they hit the floor). After the escape clause is evoked, Scott and Jack end up falling through the time-space continuum and land hard on the snowy ground, twelve years ago. There, we see a flashback to the scene from the first film where the original Santa Claus slips off the roof, lands hard on the ground, and apparently dies (we just see the Santa suit "deflate" after Santa's body disappears). Scrambling for Santa's jacket, Scott tackles Jack who then hits Scott with a snow shovel, knocking him to the ground. Scott swings in on something from off-stage and kicks Jack aside. He then uses a large candy cane prop to hit Jack and some guards. After the escape clause is evoked once more, Scott and Jack again fall through the time-space continuum, land hard on the snowy ground, and Scott trips and then pins Jack to the ground as they watch the real Santa fall off the roof again (as occurred above). Reviewed November 2, 2006 / Posted November 3, 2006

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