The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

"'Twas the fight before Christmas..."

2006 1h 32m EN

😐

5.6

MID

🥫

17%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

4.9

IMDB

★5.6TMDB · 1,201🥫17%Rotten Tomatoes●32Metacritic★4.9IMDB · 45,055

ComedyFamilyAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Now that Santa and Mrs. Claus have the North Pole running smoothly, the Counsel of Legendary Figures has called an emergency meeting on Christmas Eve! The evil Jack Frost has been making trouble, looking to take over the holiday! So he launches a plan to sabotage the toy factory and compel Scott to invoke the little-known Escape Clause and wish he'd never become Santa.

“'Twas the fight before Christmas...”

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Cast

Tim Allen
Santa / Scott Calvin
Elizabeth Mitchell
Mrs. Claus / Carol
Judge Reinhold
Neil Miller
Wendy Crewson
Laura Miller
Ann-Margret
Sylvia Newman
Eric Lloyd
Charlie
Spencer Breslin
Curtis
Liliana Mumy
Lucy Miller

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Lembeck
Writers: Ed Decter, John J. Strauss
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 7.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Santa Clause Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Lembeck, shot by Robbie Greenberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George S. Clinton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Finfer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell and Judge Reinhold carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "'Twas the fight before Christmas...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Lembeck directs. Robbie Greenberg behind the camera. George S. Clinton scores. David Finfer cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 7.0× over at the box office.
2Released 20 years ago.
3Part of the "The Santa Clause Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Michael Lembeck, shot by Robbie Greenberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by George S. Clinton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor David Finfer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell and Judge Reinhold carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "'Twas the fight before Christmas...".
9IMDB entry: tt0452681 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "winter", "holiday", "santa claus", "deception".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robbie Greenberg
Original score: George S. Clinton
Editing: David Finfer
Production design: Richard Holland
Costume design: Ingrid Ferrin
Makeup / hair: Michael Key
VFX supervisor: David Lingenfelser
Stunt coordinator: Tim Trella
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $12,000,000
Box office: $84,500,122
Return: 704% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes: 17% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 32/100
IMDB rating: 4.9/10 · 45,055 votes
MPAA: G

Awards

4 wins & 9 nominations total

Part of

The Santa Clause Collection

What starts as a freak accident on a snowy roof turns into a decades-long legal odyssey in the North Pole. When cynical toy executive Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) inadvertently causes Santa to slip, he doesn't just inherit a red suit.. he inherits a binding, life-altering contract known as "The Santa Clause." This trilogy follows Scott’s transformation from a skeptical, divorced dad into the world’s greatest icon of joy, proving that becoming Santa isn't just about the beard and the belly: it's about surviving the fine print.

Also by

Michael Lembeck

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2020-10-02
★ 7/10
Well I'm in the minority with this... I actually, admittedly narrowly, enjoyed <em>'The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'</em> - terrible title, mind. Most other reviewers clearly didn't and I respect that, but I genuinely found it alright. It's definitely the weakest entry of the series, yet I still found it entertaining enough. Martin Short (Jack Frost) is the star of this second sequel to 1994's <em>'The Santa Clause'</em>, outshining lead Tim Allen; who is still decent, by the way. I love Short's character design, he looks ridiculous in the nicest possible way and Frost (why him, I'm not sure I admit) makes for a relatively good villain. All the other cast members take a backseat, while the storyline of Alan Arkin's Bud is very forgettable and arguably needless. I was expecting to dislike this and the preceding follow-up, but to my surprise they are actually - at least to me - harmlessly fun festive films.

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