The Correct Order To Watch Tim Allen's Santa Clause Franchise

The premise for John Pasquin's 1994 hit Christmas film "The Santa Clause" is amusingly morbid at its heart. On Christmas Eve, divorced schlub Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) hears a clatter on his rooftop. When he goes to investigate, he finds that it's Santa Claus himself, scuttling down his chimney. Scott startles Santa, causing the jolly old fellow to slip off the roof and fall to his death. Yes, a delightful family comedy begins with the death of Santa.

Following some written instructions hidden on a business card in Santa's sleigh, Scott puts on the big guy's red coat and, lo finds he has to take Santa's place for the night. Once all the gifts are delivered, Calvin is taken to the North Pole, where he learns there was some fine print on the business card. In putting on the coat, Scott agreed to become Santa Claus in perpetuity, and will now have to serve the same role every year. Throughout the following year, Scott begins to resemble Santa more and more, growing a long white beard, gaining weight, and, most disconcertingly, becoming more jolly.

The central conceit of the "Santa Clause" movies is that there is some vast, unseen, godlike bureaucracy at work, demanding that the participants in the titular clause perpetuate the Santa myth in a very precise fashion. Not only does the universe require a Santa Clause, but it also demands that he wear red, have a long gray beard, and live at the North Pole. One can almost picture a cadre of men in white shirts, pulling levers behind the scenes like in "The Cabin in the Woods."

"The Santa Clause" was a massive success (earning over $190 million on a mere $22 million budget), and like so many Christmas movies, it has since become a yearly staple in a lot of people's homes, trotted out every December. Despite the initially grim premise, many audiences like the light warmth and inoffensive humor of "The Santa Clause." 

The film ultimately spawned two film sequels and a TV series continuation. Let's break them down.

It took several years, but sequels eventually came forth. The "Santa Clause" movies and TV series are easy to keep track of, seeing as they are numbered and will only make sense if you watch them in their release order. This includes:

• "The Santa Clause" (1994)
• "The Santa Clause 2" (2002)
• "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" (2006)
• "The Santa Clauses" (2022) (TV Series)

"The Santa Clause 2" reveals that Santa has to be married, fulfilling ... ahem ... the Mrs. Clause. "The Santa Clause 3" involves a magical snow globe that allows Scott Calvin to renounce his title as Santa and return to humanity. (As the title says, it's an escape clause.) That film also features the machinations of the magical being Jack Frost (Martin Short), who aims to take over Christmas on his own, along with cameos from other minor deities like the Sandman (Michael Dorn), the Tooth Fairy (Art LaFleur), the Easter Bunny (Jay Thomas), and Mother Nature (Aisha Tyler). This was six years before the release of "Rise of the Guardians," an animated film that assembled the same deities.

Of course, treating Santa's Workshop as a bureaucracy is nothing new. Two years after "The Santa Clause" came out, author Terry Pratchett published "Hogfather," a fantasy novel wherein Death has to stand in for Santa Claus for a night. The Tooth Fairy also plays a major role in that story. Santa, it seems, is just as beholden to red tape as the rest of us.

Finally, "The Santa Clauses" debuted on Disney+ in 2022 and features a six-episode reunion of most of the original film's cast. The new series sees Calvin trying to find a successor due to his advancing age, and returned for another six-episode season in 2023. It is not yet slated to come back for a third season at the time of writing, although it hasn't been officially canceled either.