What happened in The Santa Clause 1, 2 and 3? Full trilogy recap

This month, we find out where the character is today as Disney Plus premieres The Santa Clauses, a new miniseries set in the same continuity as the original trilogy and featuring several returning cast members.

If you're looking to partake in a touch of festive programming but don't have the time to revisit those family offerings, read on for a concise overview of The Santa Clause series to date.

The Santa Clause (1994)

The Santa Clause introduced us to Scott Calvin, a divorced toy company executive taking care of his young son, Charlie, one fateful Christmas Eve.

In the middle of the night, Scott hears a disturbance on the roof and investigates and begins yelling at who appears to be an intruder, causing him to slip and fall to the snowy ground. Scott just killed Santa.

In true Jedi Master style, the body disappears and a big red coat is all that remains, along with a card instructing a bemused Scott to put it on.

Little does he know that by doing so, he becomes entangled in a legal clause – the Santa clause, to be precise – that dictates he must take the place of the late Santa full-time.

With the obligation comes a superhuman ability to grow a fluffy white beard and big belly, as well as the magic that allows Santa to squeeze down even the smallest of chimneys.

Understandably, Scott is apprehensive at first but eventually embraces his new persona, although his ex-wife Laura and her new partner Neal take a bit more convincing – even threatening to take away his custody of Charlie at one stage.

Fortunately, things end on a happy note, with the entire family coming together in support of Scott's new calling. He relocates to the North Pole, but can be contacted anytime through use of a magical snow globe.

The Santa Clause 2 (2002)

The second film in the series picks up eight years later, with Charlie now a teenager and getting into trouble at school for repeated vandalisation, which has landed him on *gulp* the naughty list.

His father is also facing something of a crisis, as the elves reveal to him that if he doesn't find himself a Mrs Claus before the coming Christmas Eve, then he will permanently stop being Santa – a role he has come to truly love.

So, Scott heads back to the USA, both to check-in with his wayward son and see if he can find a solution to his own quandary, undergoing a magical process that reverts him to his original form to help him blend in.

In his absence, an artificially intelligent Toy Santa is installed as head of the North Pole workshop, but quickly goes haywire and becomes tyrannical.

Over in the States, Scott attends a parent-teacher meeting and starts getting close to the headmistress of Charlie's school, Carol Newman, who seems very much like Mrs Clause-material.

However, she assumes Scott is making fun of her when he tells her about his alter-ego.

Later, Charlie admits that he has felt distant from his father since he became Santa, which is one reason why he has been acting out in such rebellious ways.

A pep talk from his young half-sister Lucy is instrumental in helping him see the light once more, which leads Charlie to lend a hand in proving to Carol that his father is indeed the real Santa Claus.

United once more, the family head to the North Pole to defeat the fake Santa and his army of toy soldiers, with Scott and Carol marrying shortly after.

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)

The trilogy-closing entry in The Santa Clause film series sees a menacing foe emerge and almost steal everything that Scott has worked so hard to build.

Jack Frost is bitter that he doesn't have a day of celebration all to himself, so he hatches a plan to usurp the position of Santa by making use of something called the 'escape clause'.

Frost creates a series of unfortunate events that cause Scott to become disillusioned with his magical job, before presenting him with a way out using a magical snow globe.

Wishing that he had never been Santa whilst holding the object transports Scott and Frost to the night that the former became Santa, but this time, the latter steps in to take his place.

This is soon revealed to have terrible consequences, with a new reality born where Scott is trapped in a soul-sucking corporate job, his family are miserable, and the North Pole is a shadow of its former self.

With help from Lucy, Scott is able to trick Jack Frost into triggering the same escape clause that put him in power, sending them back to the year 1994 once more, where he ensures that the timeline is corrected.

Frost is taken to jail by the elf police, but not before his soul is purified with a loving hug from Lucy. The film ends with the reveal of Scott and Carol's first child, named Cal 'Buddy' Claus, who is seen all grown up in The Santa Clauses.

The Santa Clauses premieres on Disney Plus on Wednesday 16th November 2022. New episodes weekly. Sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year.

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