This is the story of a master toymaker who discovers a magical kingdom of elves at the North Pole. He is entrusted with special powers to become Santa Claus! He meets Patch (Dudley Moore), an eager-to-please elf who becomes mixed up with a dastardly toy tycoon's (John Lithgow) plans to take over Christmas.

Special Features
12 Page 20th Anniversary Commemorative Booklet
Featurette: Santa Claus - The Making of the Movie

The producers of the Superman movies took a shot at revitalizing the myth of Santa Claus with this 1985 feature. Unfortunately, the results were much less compelling than the flagship Superman feature, despite a script by one of the latter's key writers (David Newman) and a story structure that is essentially a carbon copy of the Man of Steel's movie. The first half of Santa Claus: The Movie is a ponderous origins tale, in which we learn that Santa was actually a woodcutter saved from certain death by elves and taken to the North Pole to begin life as the chimney-dropping hero of children everywhere. The second half involves a world-class villain (John Lithgow) who recruits an outcast elf (Dudley Moore) in a scheme to sabotage old St. Nick. While it aims to become a Christmas classic in the hearts and minds of generations to come, the film never really engages an audience, partially because Santa himself is merely a supporting player in the drama. Jeannot Szwarc (Supergirl, Jaws II) directs with a disabling lack of vision, and the special effects are terrible for such an expensive production. Sorry, but it's coals in the stocking for this flick. --Tom Keogh