While there’s a certain type of movie that allows you to get away with showing a swearing Santa, Disney’s The Santa Clause isn’t one of them. That didn’t stop actor Tim Allen from dropping some ho-ho-harsh language on The Santa Clause 2’s set, however, and it got to the point where someone from Disney needed to step in and talk to him about it.
If it weren’t for that moment taking place when it did, who knows if the former stand-up comedian would have secured the holly jolly legacy he enjoys today. During a recent episode of the podcast WTF with Marc Maron, the Home Improvement legend admitted to being pretty cranky on set. That choice of words is putting it mild, and Allen’s own description of his behavior best sets the stage. Said the actor,
I was a mean, horrible Santa Claus offstage. And when I wasn’t on camera that angry, made up comedian that didn’t have any idea what five hours of makeup was like. It was horrific, and then these kids wouldn’t behave and I’m swearing, swearing dressed like Santa Claus.
Tim Allen has a record of addressing the discomfort that arises from returning to the role of Santa/Scott Calvin. Most recently, Allen’s admission of a “crotchety” return for the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses only further dug into how much he was not looking forward to those hours of makeup becoming a part of his life again. Though that return did break in the favor of the Last Man Standing vet, as the transformation process is better and quicker now than back when the franchise first began.
But jumping back to The Santa Clause 2’s production, the 2002 sequel to the original runaway hit continued to build Tim Allen and his brand as the star of one of the best Santa movies ever. As such, it became time for a Disney employee to lay down an important lesson on why Tim’s behavior was more distressing than just an adult swearing in front of kids:
Even then, one of the Disney people says, ‘Tim, you can’t keep dropping the f-bomb dressed as Santa Claus around these kids.’ And of course I’m going, ‘I’m not goddamn Santa; I’m an actor!’ He said, ‘They don’t know that! You can’t tell these kids, [you can’t] literally scream there’s no such thing as Santa.’ And I went, ‘OK I got it.’
If Tim Allen was swearing in front of kids, it would have still been a troubling scenario, and this conversation would have probably still taken place. But with children seeing Santa Claus swearing in front of them, that was a whole other level of problems.
The Santa Clause experience did eventually have a positive effect on Tim Allen, both as a performer and a professional Santa. Further reflecting on how it all changed him, Allen's "pissy" nature eventually gave way to this sweet reality:
It was the most amazing experience for a guy like me. I don’t like kids much. But these kids loved being around this kind of pissy Santa. And I learned to be a pissy, nice guy.
It all adds up to a run that anyone with a Disney+ subscription can enjoy, as the entire The Santa Clause franchise is currently available to stream. The platform has also recently added Home Improvement to its library, which, along with all of the Toy Story movies, makes that service the go-to place for Allen devotees.
