Warning: Spoilers for The Santa Clauses episodes 1 & 2
With The Santa Clauses, Disney has made a few changes to the franchise to reflect its 2022 setting. Set 16 years after the events of the third and final film in Tim Allen’s The Santa Clause trilogy, the new Disney+ series sheds reveals what Scott Calvin has up to since his last big screen outing. It would seem that while he’s still active as the modern-day Saint Nick, certain aspects of the world aren’t what they once were.
Disney+'s The Santa Clauses directly acknowledged how different the world is in 2022 from what it was when Tim Allen's Scott Calvin first donned the red suit and hat in the original 1994 film. One of the ways it accomplished this was through Scott’s meeting with the elves about the Christmas list. According to Betty, it’s no longer deemed appropriate for Scott to refer to kids as “naughty,” and that even these children receive Christmas gifts now. This wasn’t regarded as a serious issue in the 1990s, but sensitivity toward it as well as several other terms – for better or worse – is at a much greater level in 2022. Clearly, this reality hasn’t been lost on the characters of The Santa Clauses.
Will Santa Really Stop Using "Naughty Or Nice" In The Santa Clauses?
It’s worth wondering if the exchange in Disney+'s The Santa Clauses show is a sign that words like “naughty” will be avoided in order to go along with the more modern setting. Such a change is at least possible, but not likely to happen. It makes sense that the conversation in the episode was less about establishing new rules and more about poking fun at the need for political correctness. The scene served as a moment that directly acknowledged this notion that some terms that were once regarded as innocent are now deemed as unnecessarily insensitive or inappropriate altogether. It could be that as Scott Calvin’s story continues in The Santa Clauses, similar comments and jokes will follow.
What Else Has Changed In The Santa Clauses?
In addition to characters like Betty potentially needling Scott for being politically incorrect in future episodes, other noticeable shifts have taken place as well. As evidenced by Simon’s story in the first two episodes of The Santa Clauses, big business and improvements to technology will be major factors going forward. Simon’s apparent envy of Scott’s ability to travel around the world via wormholes could result in a clash between the corporate world and the magic of the North Pole.
Also, one particular change in The Santa Clauses appears to be the basis of the entire story. Though Scott’s decision to retire from the role as Santa was motivated by concerns about his family, what put him in this position in the first place was his loss of magic. In 2022, significantly less kids believe in Santa and more and more children are being removed from the Christmas list each year. Whether or not The Santa Clauses decide to relate the cause for all of this to real-world issues remains to be seen.
The Santa Clauses releases new episodes on Wednesdays on Disney+.