Movie Musings: Disney and More

Santa Claus Blog

Throughout the history of holiday movies, Santa Claus has been portrayed by numerous actors. From both film versions of Miracle on 34th Street (1947 and 1994), to Elf (2003), to The Santa Clause Trilogy (1994-2006), the actor always brings their own unique qualities to the performance and each of the performances always manage to be asset to the movie. In this blog, I thought we could explore the actors who have donned the red suit (and elderly makeup if they need it), and always managed to be endearing when they say “Ho! Ho! Ho!” Please feel free to tell me who your favorite is.

• The very first actor who portrayed Santa Claus on the Silver Screen was Edmund Gwenn in the original Miracle on 34th Street (1947). Gwenn won a well-deserved Academy Award (for Best Supporting Actor) for his performance. When he received the award his acceptance speech was “Now I know there is a Santa Claus.” Each of Gwenn’s cast mates in the film were very fond of him. Maureen O’Hara (Doris Walker) said “By the time we were halfway through the shoot, we all believed Edmund really was Santa Claus. I’ve never seen an actor more naturally suited for a role.” Alvin Greenman (Alfred the Janitor) said that he was “a dear, dear man,” who always took time to mentor him, and Robert Hyatt (Thomas Mara Jr.) said “He was a really nice guy, always happy, always smiling. He had this little twinkle in his eye.”     
• When Fox remade “Miracle,” in 1994, the role of Kris Kringle was assumed by Lord Richard Attenborough starring alongside Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, and Mara Wilson. Much like Edmund Gwenn’s cast mates, Attenborough’s were also fond of him. When Lord Attenborough passed away on August 24th, 2014 at the age of 90, each in the cast tweeted their condolences. McDermott tweeted “Rest in Peace Richard Attenborough. U were the best Santa ever” and Wilson tweeted “Sir Richard Attenborough was the only Santa Claus I ever believed in. A wonderful man. Still in shock. May he rest in peace.” Also, Perkins tweeted “Terribly sad. He will always be my Kris Kringle.” Although the principle cast members who worked on this movie had a good time working together, their movie was critically panned in its initial release, and Fox offered a refund to any viewer who didn’t enjoy it and received approximately 1,500 tickets to the movie returned to their studio. There was also reviewer named Desson Howe who said the film “it will not be found on television half a century from now,” which is ironic because the film has gained popularity since its release and is consistently aired on television all throughout Christmas.
• The same year that Fox remade “Miracle,” Disney produced The Santa Clause (1994) starring Tim Allen (his first leading role in a movie). His collective contributions to Disney, including the Toy Story franchise, Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), The Shaggy Dog (2006), and other various TV roles, earned him the title of “Disney Legend” in 1999. (His award set the record for shortest time between first contribution to Disney (Allen’s was in 1991 with ABC’s Home Improvement) and being named a legend. Ironically, Tim Allen’s “Toy Story” cast mate, Tom Hanks was considered for the role of Scott Calvin in “The Santa Clause” franchise, but Allen got the role and reprised it in two sequels: The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006).
• Edward Asner, who is best known for playing the role of Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) and Lou Grant (1977-1982) which earned him five Golden Globes and five Emmys actually is a Santa Claus veteran. He first donned the red suit in an episode of the television series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989). His next portrayal was in The Christmas Star (1986) which is a made-for-television produced by ABC and The Story of Santa Claus (1996), Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999), and an episode of The Ellen Show (2001-2002). The first time he played it in a theatrical movie, however, was in the comedy cult classic, Elf (2003). You Disney fans might also remember that Asner is known for providing the voice of Carl Fredricksen in Up (2009) and portraying Hank Cooper in Disney’s Gus (1976), starring opposite sit-com legends Don Knotts, Tim Conway, Harold Gould, and Tom Bosley. He has also done voices for numerous animated series for Disney, including Bonkers (1993-1994), Recess (1997-2001), and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-2001).        

There are many other exceptional actors who have also played Santa Claus and not quite enough time to make this lengthy discussion about all of them. Leslie Nielsen in All I Want For Christmas (1991) and Santa Who? (2000), Paul Giamatti in Fred Claus (2007), Jim Broadbent in Get Santa (2014), and Kurt Russell in The Christmas Chronicles (2018) all come to mind…no doubt movie buffs continue to benefit from their talents.