Warning! SPOILERS about The Santa Clauses episodes 1 & 2 ahead. Disney’s The Santa Clause, The Santa Clauses sees Scott (Tim Allen) decades after he took over the role of Santa Claus. However, as his Santa Claus magic starts failing and his family seems heavily affected by having to live at the North Pole, Scott’s decision to retire for their sake means he has to look for a Santa replacement.
The Santa Clauses episodes 1 and 2 show how societal opinion and feelings toward Santa Claus drastically shifted in the 28 years since Scott became Santa Claus, depicting a world where Christmas magic is fading. In the couple of years that in The Santa Clauses episodes 1 and 2, fewer kids write letters to Santa Claus, and a new challenge is presented by the Christmas magic orb showing a dark spot. As Santa Claus tries looking for a solution by visiting past believers who wrote letters to Santa, he realizes that many losing the Christmas magic are 30-somethings, seemingly pointing the blame at millennials.
How The Santa Clauses Pokes Fun At Millennials With Sara
The Santa Clauses episode 1 seems to be poking fun at millennials being at fault in the character of Sara. In The Santa Clause, Sara clearly believed in Santa and left him soy milk instead of dairy, prompting an amusing exchange about bitter milk, which made Santa her quite fondly. However, entering Sara’s house unannounced, Santa Claus finds her fully grown, as a 30-something woman that seems to be struggling.
In The Santa Clauses episode 1, Sara (Casey Wilson) explains to Santa her situation as a woman still living at home with her parents. Considering how millennials are stereotypically portrayed as struggling and leaning on their parents for help and how The Santa Clauses episodes 1 and 2 showed decreasing numbers of people believing in Christmas magic, it feels as if The Santa Clauses is making fun of millennials. Simultaneously, the Disney miniseries also offers an explanation for the fading magic, as disillusioned millennials stopped believing and are not teaching their children to believe in Santa.
Who Is Really To Blame For The Lack Of Christmas Spirit In The Santa Clauses?
While The Santa Clauses episode 1 might seem to take a jab at millennials, the reason behind the fading Christmas magic might actually be found somewhere else. The Santa Clauses episode 2 shows aspiring tech mogul Simon Choksi (House MD’s Kal Penn) trying to convince his investors not to cut his company off. Although his belief in Christmas magic seems vacillating, his daughter is a firm believer, and when he thinks of having witnessed Santa’s sleigh in action, he wants to replicate Santa’s delivery system.
Simon’s willingness to exploit Santa’s methods to make his company succeed could point to him possibly decreasing the Christmas spirit. However, The Santa Clauses episode 2 firmly paints as villains his board of investors, who have no faith in his project, while Simon, despite wavering, still does. It’s highly likely that the reason the Christmas spirit is decreasing in The Santa Clauses depends on big corporations pushing people not to believe, as Simon’s chart in episode 1 shows how they dominate the Christmas delivery market. Hopefully, The Santa Clauses will unveil the culprit behind the diminishing Christmas spirit and find a Santa substitute soon.