A long time ago I did a list of my favorite Santa’s in movies and TV. About time I did the reverse. These are five Santa’s which just rubbed me the wrong way, and I never liked them. Santa Claus is a tricky character to get right. Do it wrong and it can come off as creepy or even worst. Some succeed. And others fail.
One rule, there will be lots of obvious choices not on here, including the bad Santa pictured on the top, but I wanted this to be Santa’s I have seen and hated over the years. Feel free to comment below on the one’s that you feel should also be here. This list may not make me popular, just remember this is all opinion and just for fun.
Elmo’s Christmas Countdown
I talked about this at length when I reviewed this special, but man there’s just no way I can do this list and not mention it here. If you didn’t see this, it was an awful special that aired a few years. In the end Kevin James comes in as the worst Santa ever! James plays it like it’s Doug Heffernan as Santa. And he sings a ridiculous song like he was Elvis!!. Santa has to be kind and nice, not to mention older, and James hits absolutely none of these things. Just painful.
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Silly Symphonies
Sometimes you can do everything right and still get it wrong. I hated this Santa that appeared in some very old cartoons from Disney. Two at least. Ok “Santa’s Workshop” isn’t so bad but I hated “The Night Before Christmas”. He’s creepy as hell, and I don’t get his priorities. How in the world does he have time to unpack all his toys and just play with them? With no one hearing him? The kids all do of course and he has to scramble to get out of there. Genius. And that laugh is horrible, rather than saying HO HO HO it’s a regular laugh and it sounds like he is laughing at the kids! This cartoon is awful, there’s even a blackface joke. Ughhhhhhhhhh
A Christmas Story
Yeah yeah, hate me all you want! We did not like this movie when it came out, and if there is any one moment that always stood out as the worst it was of course the Santa scene. What the heck? I can live with a “bad” Santa, but this guy is way over the top! What department store wouldn’t have fired this jerk instantly? He’s rude and obnoxious and doesn’t seem to care at all about his job. Ralphie practically has to force the jerk to hear what he wants (and don’t get me started on that idiotic slide display he’s sitting on).
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
This guy is just a jerk for most of the film. I think that most people get this these days, not matter how much you love this special the facts are there. He’s impatient, he’s irritable, and he’s downright rude to the elves before and after they sing their song. He is patronizing to Rudolph and seems more concerned with himself than the fact Donner and his wife may be in danger. Obviously for the story to work the other reindeer needed to me mean to Rudolph, but why was it decided Santa had to be a jerk?
Ok so we’ve seen these Santa’s are here because they were all jerks in one way or another. Is it possible for me to not like a Santa who is lovable and kind?
Ernest Saves Christmas
There are a few things I disagree with Nostalgia Critic about. And this is a big one. Yeah it’s true that Douglas Seale was a real sweet guy and he does a nice job in the movie and all. But the best Santa Claus ever? Yeah the heart is there but it just doesn’t feel right to me. I just can’t picture this guy making toys and doing all that Santa stuff. Maybe it’s because he is old for the role (that’s the plot of the movie, he’s looking for his replacement) but for me a kind heart is important for Santa but there needs to be more to it than that. Where is the big broad belly? I just don’t buy it. He comes off as a kind but confused grandpa more than Santa. The replacement feels right at the end, but Seale just never did. I know it’s a guilty pleasure for some but I never liked this movie, Santa included.
So those are my five. Comment and let me know what Santa you never liked from TV and movies.
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