Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: The Santa Clause (1994)

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There may be some bias on my part as I grew up with this movie, but in my mind, this is a real Christmas classic.  

The story line is probably very familiar to a lot of you. A divorced dad named Scott Calvin is watching his young son, Charlie, on Christmas Eve, when Santa Claus falls off of his roof. Santa disappears and all that is left of him is his clothes. The dad puts on the clothes and finds out that doing this means that he is the new Santa Claus. He wakes up the next morning believing that this is all a dream. However, his son also remembers it and wants to tell everyone that his dad is Santa Claus. As the next Christmas comes closer the dad is still skeptical that the whole thing happened, even when he starts to physically turn into Santa. 

To me the real charm about this movie is its sense of imagination. This is especially true about the scenes in the North Pole, which are very visually pleasing and feel like something that came from a child's imagination. The premise of a regular man becoming Santa Claus is a very clever one and the film take perfect advantage of it. I love how he matures and grows into the role as the film progresses. This character arc makes the character feel completely believable and heavily endears him to us. His relationship to his son is also very sweet and endearing. How much he loves his son also makes this character incredibly likable to us, even when he is in denial over what happened or fighting with his ex-wife's new husband. While much of the credit for this movie is often given to the adult cast, Eric Lloyd as Charlie is the real heart of this movie. He pulls on our heartstrings without every feeling cloying. 

Of course, with Tim Allen as the star, there is a lot of comedy throughout. For the most part it works quite well. The best comedic moments come from simple sight gags, such as when Scott is followed by deer or finds a whole bunch of children lining up to tell him what they want for Christmas. Judge Reinhold as his ex-wife's new husband also gets some truly great laughs here. The humor sometimes falls flat when the movie can turn into almost a stand-up routine for Tim Allen. I know Tim Allen is a very popular comedian and he was at the height of his career, but these bits seemed unnecessary, especially as with this movie Tim Allen proves he is a very good actor. When the movie asked him to play a scene straight, he does so seemingly effortlessly. 

With how well Tim Allen does in this role, it is strange to think that he wasn't the only one considered for playing Scott Calvin. Both Chevy Chase and Bill Murray where briefly considered. Chase wasn't able to do it due to scheduling conflicts and Murray didn't want to do another Christmas movie after Scrooged (1988). In November 1992 Disney's Hollywood Studios acquired the script and started reworking it as a vehicle for Tim Allen. 

Director John Pasquin was already familiar to Tim Allen as he had directed and produced episodes of Allen's popular sitcom, Home Improvement. He would continue working with Tim Allen with such movies as Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) and Joe Somebody (2001). He also was one of the main directors and producers of the later Tim Allen sitcom, Last Man Standing. He can be seen briefly in this movie as one of the Santa's in the line-up. 

Though this movie was originally going to be released under Disney's Hollywood Pictures but when Disney saw that they had a huge hit on their hands, the released it under the Disney banner. It was a massive hit. It grossed $19.3 million on its opening weekend become the second highest grossing opening weekend of 1994. 

One scene you will not see in the movie today involves Scott Calvin stating, "1-800-SPANK-ME. I know that number." This turned out to be a real adult hot line and it was pulled from DVD and streaming versions of the film as well as TV airings. 

Resources Used

 https://www.vulture.com/2011/09/the-lost-roles-of-chevy-chase.html

https://variety.com/1992/film/news/h-wood-aims-to-nail-allen-for-clause-101652/
  

Video Link: Abbott & Costello Christmas Show

Movie Review: Sisu Road to Revenge

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

An action packed and blood-soaked good time. 

This movie is one that prioritizes action over all else. There is little dialogue here with the movie almost playing as an ultra-bloody silent film. The storyline is very simple and is set up in the opening scenes and concluded in the closing scenes. Everything between that is just pure action. The action is extremely bloody and over the top, but it is so much so that it is a blast to watch (with the exception of a scene involving glass which was simple uncomfortable to look at). What also makes this blood-soaked action scenes work is that it keeps a good sense of humor throughout. Many of these gory scenes almost resemble an R rated Roadrunner cartoon. There is a lot of slapstick humor throughout that is simply hilarious. The mixture of action and slapstick makes for pure entertainment at its best. 

I also still feel that Jorma Tommila is simply a great action star. Without even saying a word he is incredibly compelling to watch. He also manages to feel like a real tough hombre while also being quite vulnerable at the same time. This vulnerability adds a bit of humanity and an emotional connection to this over-the-top movie. 

This is simply a heck of a good time at the movies. 

Movie Review: Fackham Hall

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

A really dumb and lowbrow but very funny comedy. 

Once again, I am very happy to see this type of incredibly silly comedy come back to movie screens. Sometimes when I go to a movie, I just want to laugh, and I don't care how dumb or lowbrow the humor is as long as it makes me do so. And this movie is pure dumb nonsense of the highest order. There are puns, slapstick gags, fart jokes, juvenile sex jokes, blink and you miss them background gags, movie and TV spoofs and even the occasional clever bit of satire. If you don't find one gag funny, there is probably one that will make you laugh in just a few seconds. What makes this movie work is that in the vein of Airplane or The Naked Gun, no matter how absurd or dumb the humor gets every actor plays their roles completely straight. 

The dangerous part of making a feature length comedy is that it is hard to remain funny for the whole runtime. There are a couple stretches here, where the movie loses its comedic footing. Luckily, it finds its way again each of these times. 

An excellent comedy. 

Silent Film of the Month: The Christmas Dream (1900)

Run Time:  4 minutes. Studio: Star-Film. Director: Georges Méliès. Main Cast: Georges Méliès. Original Title: Rêve de Noël. 

It should not come as a surprise that French filmmaker, Georges Méliès should have directed one of the earliest Christmas films. Georges Méliès was one of the early masters of fantasy films and magic played a major role in most of his films. With how fantasy and magic fit perfectly with the Christmas season, this a match made in heaven.

In this film, on Christmas Eve a woman tucks two little kids into bed and reads to them. A couple set pieces of Christmas go through the children's heads. The first involves a land of toys that come to life and dance. The second involves a church at wintertime. After these wonderful dreams, the kids awake on Christmas morning and rush downstairs to see a big Christmas tree with presents underneath. 

With a runtime of 4 minutes, naturally the storyline is very simple. Yet this is the real charm of this movie. In this short runtime, the film perfectly captures what it is like to be a kid at Christmas time. As a child there is nothing like going to bed on Christmas Eve and waking up Christmas morning. Like many of you, my mind would run wild as I went to bed on Christmas Eve night. I was excitingly thinking about the magic that Christmas brings. Then waking up Christmas morning was simply the greatest feeling in the world. To frame these imaginative set pieces with going to sleep on Christmas Eve and waking up on Christmas morning makes it feel all the more magical as it brings us back to our own childhoods. 

The set pieces themselves are fantastic. The set and backdrop for the Toyland scene is fantastic. It looks like a world that would come straight from a child's imagination. The church at wintertime gives a very peaceful and serene feel.

The visual filmmaking is very sophisticated for its time and even for today it looks great. This movie has many perfect uses of cross-dissolves, a filmmaking technique that would have felt new and fresh to audiences at the time. Such an effect was not easy to achieve at the turn of the century. Historian J.B. Kaufman (on his wonderful website) described how this was done. "This means that all of this picture would have been photographed on one continuous strip of film and must have called for meticulous preplanning. Once the first scenes had been photographed and the first dissolves were in place, there was no turning back. Méliès and company would have exactly one chance to film each scene in this little pageant, and if any mistakes occurred, retakes were not an option. That shoe at center stage, far from indicating a careless or slipshod filmmaker, is actually a testament to the pains Méliès took in crafting this and his other films."

If you want to watch this delightful film, you can do so below. 

This is a very underrated Christmas time treat. 


Resources Used

https://www.jbkaufman.com/movie-of-the-month/r%C3%AAve-de-no%C3%ABl-1900

Cowboy Church #244

 Hello my friends and welcome back to another service of Cowboy Church. 

Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with the medley Remember Whose Birthday It Is/Happy Birthday, Gentle Saviour. There is no problem at all enjoying all of the presents, decorations and movies that come with Christmas (and no one loves them more than me), but we must always remember that Christmas is all about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and it is important every Christmas to remember what Jesus gave up by coming down from heaven to be a human here on Earth. Most importantly it is important to remember why he did it. He did it because of his love for us and his desire for us to be able to spend eternity in heaven with him. This wonderful recording comes from Roy and Dale's 1967 Christmas album, Christmas is Always.

This is followed by Brenda Lee with Papa Noel. This 1958 recording was the B-side to Brenda's biggest hit, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. 

Afterwards is The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1947 recording of The Sea Walker. This song was written by Tim Spencer, one of the group's founding members. Music was a major part of Tim's life from very early on. In fact when he was only 3 years old he was already singing at the church he grew up in. His love of things cowboy and western related also began very early as he had grown in awe of western movies and screen cowboys like Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson, William S. Hart and others were his boyhood heroes. With this it is no surprise that in 1931, he went to California to see how his talents could be used in Hollywood. Yet music always remained a major passion for him. As he worked in a warehouse, he would spend his weekends and time after working going around to all the country music radio shows, getting to know all the people he could. This is how he met fellow founding members of the Sons of the Pioneers, Bob Nolan and Leonard Slye (later Roy Rogers). The Sea Walker as well as being written by Tim also features him as the lead singer. The great Bass vocals in this song are courtesy of Hugh Farr.

Then comes The Chuck Wagon Gang with It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.  The song was written by Edmund H. Sears. This hymn first appeared in Boston's Christian Register, on December 29, 1849 (yes after Christmas). That version has a verse that does not appear in this version, "But with the woes of sin and strife the world has suffered long; Beneath the angel-strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong; And man, at war with man, hears not the love-song, which they bring: O hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing!" This verse reflects the state if America at the time this song was written. The Civil War was approaching, and Sears found himself concerned with the division in our country. Unlike many Christmas songs, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is not a song about peace on Earth but rather a plea for it. With the division and anger that is so prevalent today, this is a perfect Christmas song for our time as well. This song has been put to different tunes over the years and the two most prevalent are Carol (by Richard Storis Willis in 1850) and Noel (by Sir Arthur Sullivan in 1878). Carol is the preferred version of this song in the U.S. This recording of the song comes from The Chuck Wagon Gang's 1970 album, Going Home for Christmas. 

Next is Mississippi John Hurt with his 1928 recording of Blessed be the Name.

Now for Doc Watson with What a Friend We Have in Jesus.  This hymn still has an important message for us today. When it seems like there is no one to turn to at any moment of our lives, Jesus is always there. He is always there to listen to us, no matter what. More than that though he deeply cares about every single one of us. A better friend than Jesus could never be found no matter how hard we try. What a friend we have in Jesus indeed. 

 Today's musical selection ends with a true Christmas classic, Gene Autry's 1949 recording of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. After Gene had a hit with Here Comes Santa Claus, it seemed natural that he needed a Christmas follow-up. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer ended up being that follow-up. Rudolph as a character made his debut in a children's book by Robert L. May, that was a free booklet that was handed out to kids at Montgomery Ward. The song was written by May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks. Marks would later say about writing this song, "I thought about it for a while and sat down to write a song about it. That song was easily one of the worst songs ever written. Then about a year later I was walking down the street when a new melody came to me. It's the only time that ever happened to me, and I have to admit it is a great melody." When this song was sent to Gene, he was originally hesitant to record it. He was not a fan. However, his wife Ina loved the song. It is widely believed that Ina talked Gene into recording this song. With all the recordings of this popular Christmas carol over the years, Johnny Marks said Gene's version was his favorite. In 1961 he told Gene, "What I sent you in 1949 were ink dots on a piece of paper. You had to translate this into a sound, lyrically and musically, that people would like. How many great songs have been lost because of the wrong rendition? Many people have said 'Any one could have had a hit with Rudolph.' My answer has always been: 'We'll never know. I only know that Gene Autry did do it, and that all the other followed." (quotes from Public Cowboy no.1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry by Holly George-Warren)

Now for a Christmas sermon from Charles Spurgeon. 

Today's movie is The Utah Trail (1938) starring Tex Ritter. 

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

    where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—

    he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel

    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—

    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,

    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—

    he will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

    both now and forevermore.

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again. 

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #257

 Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons. 

Today's cartoon selection begins with a Christmas classic, Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952). Like many of the post-1930's Mickey Mouse short films, Mickey is not really the star of this cartoon. Instead, the movie centers around Pluto and Chip and Dale. Though Chip and Dale are mostly recognized for fighting with Donald Duck, they did make their film debut as antagonists for Pluto in Private Pluto (1943). This movie features a great cast of animators including, George Kreisl, Fred Moore, Bill Justice, Volus Jones, Blaine Gibson and Dan MacManus. Dan MacManus animates the opening scene of the cartoon. Fred Moore is recognized as one of the greatest Mickey animators of all time and he gets to show that off here as he animates Mickey chopping down the tree, Mickey decorating the tree, Mickey with the Christmas gifts, Mickey's reactions to Pluto's antics, Mickey holding the chipmunks and him and Pluto looking out the window. Bill Justice and Volus Jones animate much of the Chipmunks. Justice also animates the cameo of Minnie, Donald and Goofy at the end. George Kreisl animates much of Pluto's antics. Blaine Gibson animates very little in this movie with the tree lights going off and on. This cartoon was directed by Jack Hannah, who directed the majority of the Chip and Dale shorts. 

Now for our good friend Mighty Mouse in When Mousehood was in Flower (1953). In this short film, Mighty Mouse helps a pretty young mouse when an evil cat tries to get her to marry him. As one can tell from the title, this familiar story takes place back in the days of knights and castles. Like many Mighty Mouse cartoons of this era, this short is presented in an operetta style. To me this style suited these period pictures, even better than the modern-day ones. This cartoon was directed by Connie Rasinski.

Next comes the Aesop's Sound Fables cartoon, House Cleaning Time (1929). 

Santa's Surprise (1947) is an especially delightful Christmas cartoon from Famous Studios. This cartoon is best remembered as the first cartoon to feature the character of Little Audrey. Little Audrey was an original character for the studio and also a replacement for Little Lulu, who the studio had made a series of cartoons within the past. Little Lulu was not created by the studio but was the star of a comic strip by Marjorie Henderson Buell. When Paramount decided not to renew the license for Famous Studios to use that character, Little Audrey was created. The character was designed by veteran Disney animator Bill Tytla (possibly my favorite Disney animator), who was now a director at Famous. This short's lead animator was Myron Waldman, who specialized in cute animation (often shining his best in the studio's Casper series). Myron would later remember this cartoon as one he was especially happy with.

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now we join Heckle and Jeckle in The Lion Hunt (1949). This short film was directed by Eddie Donnelly. Producer Paul Terry said about Eddie Donnely, "Eddie Donnelly was a very hard worker. I remember we used to wash the cels and use them over again in [the 1930's], and Ed even used to that at night so he could make a little extra money. [He Started] at Fables, and he got to be a very good director. He was on par with Connie Rasinski, and Connie was the best." 

Next is Mickey Mouse in Mickey’s Christmas Crisis (2000). This cartoon would later be used on the House of Mouse episode, Clarabelle's Christmas List (2002). 

It is now silent movie time with Felix Lends a Hand (1922). 

Now let us close with a song. 

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry. 

Resources Used

Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin

https://afilmla.blogspot.com/