“Santa Claus: The Movie” is a classic holiday film that has captured the hearts of audiences for decades. Released in 1985, the movie tells the tale of how Santa Claus came to be, and the journey of a toymaker who becomes his helper.

The film opens up introducing us to a woodworker named Claus (David Huddleston) who, along with his wife Anya (Judy Cornwell) and their two reindeer, Donner and Blitzen, delivering handmade toys to children in a village on Christmas Eve. When they leave, they get lost in a blizzard and are rescued by elves who take them to their workshop to live.

The following Christmas Eve Claus is renamed Santa Claus and it’s explained to him that he has all the time in the world to deliver toys to children all over the world. During one of his trips, Santa befriends Joe, a cynical homeless boy in NYC. Joe also befriends Cornelia, a well-to-do little girl who lives with her nanny and rich uncle B.Z. (John Lithgow), the cheap, unethical owner of B.Z. Toy Company.

As time goes on Santa realizes he needs an official assistant and holds a contest among the elves to see who it will be. The winner turns out to be Patch (Dudley Moore), who created a machine to speed up production. Unbeknownst to Patch, the machine is not working properly and a lot of the toys being produced have something wrong with them. When toys begin coming back to the North Pole as they are worthless and broken, Patch’s role as assistant is removed. Feeling bad, Patch runs away from the North Pole.

He goes to New York where he finds work with B.Z. Toys and lends his toy making abilities to the mean B.Z. Cornelia, living with her uncle, overhears his plans to destroy Santa. Joe is kidnapped by B.Z. and Cornelia learns of exploding candy canes that Patch has created which make people fly. She tells Santa and in the end, he saves the day, as well as Patch and Joe. B.Z. ends up flying off into space somewhere, never to return. Joe and Cornelia agree to live with Santa and the elves at the North Pole.

Although the film received negative feedback, it’s still considered a cult classic by many, myself included. Again, it’s a film I saw in the theater when I was a teen so it’s always been a big part of my past.