A story about a deadbeat dad that’s also a heartwarming Christmas family classic? Seems unlikely. Yet, Disney – the studio that uses broken family relationships as go-to plot points – achieved it with 1994’s The Santa Clause.
Tim Allen is at his best as Scott Calvin, a divorced advertising executive who struggles to keep it together when he’s in charge of his son on Christmas Eve – a night that ends with the accidental murder of Santa Claus. Scott and his son are transported to the North Pole, where he is (unwittingly) transformed into the new big man with the red sack. Despite his little boy’s insistence and some obvious physical changes, Allen’s character refuses to accept his new occupation and his ex-wife questions his sanity.
The film was a super-sized hit and spawned two sequels, to which all four members of the main cast returned. Here’s what the cast has been up to in the 21 years since Allen put on that iconic suit.
Tim Allen – Scott Calvin
By the time Allen stepped into Santa’s shoes, he was already Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, which is, easily, his most iconic role. He remained on Home Improvement from 1991 to 1999, during which he re-teamed with Disney and lent his voice to Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story and appeared in Jungle 2 Jungle.
Other career highlights include Galaxy Quest, Christmas with the Kranks, and Wild Hogs. The actor, 62, has recently found television success again as a sitcom dad with the long-running ABC series Last Man Standing, which is on its fifth season.
In his free time (if you can believe he has some), Allen still travels and performs stand-up.
Judge Reinhold – Dr. Neil Miller
Reinhold, who has the fortune of a highly pun-able first (nick)name, appeared in Beverly Hills Cop III with Eddie Murphy the same year as The Santa Clause. His career started coming down from its peak in the ’90s, and he appeared in films like Family Plan and Homegrown.
The 58-year-old has popped up in guest roles on television series here and there (Monk, for example), but some of his most memorable appearances have been when he’s poking fun at himself. On Arrested Development, for example, he appeared on faux-courtroom show Mock Trial with J. Reinhold. The “honorable” Judge Reinhold even had William Hung as a band leader for the two-part appearance.
Up next is sports biopic My Many Sons, in which he plays NCAA coach Don Meyer (Reinhold even shaved his head to get in character), and, in June 2016, a comedy called Highly Functional with Missi Pyle, Bruce Campbell, and Annabeth Gish.
Wendy Crewson – Laura Calvin Miller
Wendy Crewson, now 59, has been in just about everything. She was the FLOTUS in 1997’s Air Force One (the wife of grumble king Harrison Ford), and then appeared in hits like Gang Related, What Lies Beneath, Disney flick Eight Below, and Channing Tatum rom-com The Vow.
She arrived for 24‘s third day/season as Dr. Anne Packard, and appeared on sci-fi series ReGenesis, and the original, Canadian version of The Bridge before taking a turn on the soapy ABC drama Revenge.
The actress is set to appear in the pilot of an upcoming horror TV series called Slasher in 2016.
Eric Lloyd – Charlie Calvin
Lloyd, now 29, has had a sparse adult career in film after his turn as Charlie, but he worked steadily as a child. He headlined 1996’s monkey movie Dunston Checks In, appeared in Woody Allen’s Deconstructing Harry in 1997, and with Billy Crystal in My Giant.
He was Christina Applegate’s son on Jesse from 1998 to 2000, but other than some voiceover work and the Santa Clause sequels, his focus moved beyond Hollywood.
In a 2014 Reddit AMA, Lloyd revealed that he was opening a film and music production studio called LP Studios and plays in a band called RadioMason.
He also revealed how much those residuals add up to every time The Santa Clause flicks are shown (not that much):
“It depends on how much it’s being shown & if all 3 of them, or just one of them is being shown But residuals are funny – they will send you a check for less than a dollar if you made that money since you can sue. So sometimes they’re nice, other times, they’re minuscule, but it’s not as much as you would think.”
David Krumholtz – Bernard the Elf
Krumholtz was only a teenager when he took on the role, which continued his already-successful acting career as a child star. Many will remember him as Michael in teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, but most know the 37-year-old from CBS series Numbers.
From 2005 to 2010, he portrayed the mathematical genius who aided the FBI in solving crimes using math. In the meantime, he had turns in films like Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Ray.
More recently, he starred in the famously short-lived The Playboy Club in 2011, and equally brief Partners. He’s also had arcs in shows like The Good Wife and Mom.
While he’s currently playing a 75-year-old woman named Gertrude Gigi Rotblum with the help of prosthetics on IFC’s new Gigi Does It, Krumholtz will next appear on the big screen in the Coen Brothers’ star-studded Hail, Caesar!
Peter Boyle – Mr. Whittle
Peter Boyle, who played Allen’s boss in The Santa Claus, sadly passed away in 2006 after a battle with multiple myeloma and heart disease. He was 71 at the time.
In the years following the 1994 film, Boyle nabbed an Emmy for his role in one of the most beloved episodes of The X-Files, before becoming Frank Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, the character he was known best for.
From 1996 to 2005, Boyle charmed as Ray Romano’s cantankerous father.
