Santa Claus: The Movie

1985 • 108 minutes

About this movie

Hundreds of years ago, an ageing peasant woodcutter (Burgess Meredith, Rocky, The Return Of Captain Nemo, Batman) and his wife (Judy Cornwell, TV's Eastenders, Keeping Up Appearances) kindly deliver presents to the children of their village with the help of their faithful reindeer Donner and Blitzen. Trapped in a terrible blizzard one night, they are led to safety by a group of magical elves who inform them that they have been given the gift of immortality - in order that every year they may create gifts in a fantastical toy workshop and deliver them to the good children of the world. Helped by the elves and flying reindeer, they get to work in preparation for their first Christmas. Flash forward to modern times, and the holiday season soon comes under threat when a rebellious but naïve elf called Patch (Dudley Moore, Bedazzled, Arthur) runs away to modern day New York. Lost in a world he doesn't understand Patch finds himself being exploited by a villainous toy manufacturer John Lithgow (Third Rock From The Sun, Shrek). Could this be the end of Christmas or will its spirit prevail?

Ratings and reviews

Worsted movie ever, repeated over again and again and again for the Christmas Eve, (which is) I didn't enjoy the movie [major] flop. Can we put something different movies of Christmas Eve.

My rose tinted nostalgia glasses are probably clouding my judgment here, but I think this is a great Christmas movie. Keep in mind that it's a product of the 80s, so no fancy CGI, and some dating in places, but none of that detracts from what is a superb film. Solid performances from Dudley Moore, John Lithgow and the supporting cast. And a genuinely believable Santa from David Huddleston.

Hey Google, just to let you know that in the description of the film it states. Burgess Meredith plays Santa, it was actually David Huddleston that played Santa. Burgess Meredith played father time in the movie. Thanks Tom 👍😀