Martin Short overacts and underwhelms in equal merry measure.

By the time we reach The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, the franchise feels like it’s picking over the Christmas dinner leftovers, struggling to find fresh ideas while leaning heavily on slapstick humour and overstuffed storytelling. The result is a film that occasionally entertains but rarely recaptures the wit or heart of its predecessors.

The plot introduces a narcissistic, attention-hungry Martin Short as Jack Frost, a narcissistic, attention-hungry would-be addition to the council of legendary figures. Frost conspires to overthrow Scott Calvin’s Santa by exploiting the titular “Escape Clause,” a magical loophole that allows Scott to undo his transformation into St. Nick. While the premise offers potential, Short’s performance teeters uncomfortably on the edge of irritating rather than charming. His Jack Frost is designed to be over-the-top, but instead of injecting levity, he often overwhelms the screen with a relentless barrage of grating antics. What could have been a deliciously mischievous foil to Allen’s Santa instead comes across as more exhausting than engaging.

The central conceit of Scott being tricked into giving up his Santa role plunges the narrative into an alternate timeline, where Frost has turned the North Pole into a gaudy, corporate-driven amusement park, bringing a Clausian riff on Back to the Future Part II‘s alternate 1985, where a corrupt Biff Tannen reigns supreme. The film even revisits scenes from Scott’s earlier Santa adventures, echoing the time-bending sequences of the Back to the Future trilogy, but without the same level of creative energy or cohesive narrative structure. While these parallels are intriguing, The Santa Clause 3 fails to capitalise on them fully, leaving the alternate timeline feeling like a missed opportunity for more substantial storytelling.

Again, the movie feels like its trying to do too much, more than is necessary for this kind of sequel. Calvin’s ongoing equivocation about being Santa is an early precursor to the reticent heroics of Daniel Craig’s Bond and Chris Pine’s Kirk whose chief characteristics were their constant buring desire to quit their iconic jobs. But added to this latest career crisis is a subplot about second marriage parenthood as Mr and Mrs Claus await the arrival of a new baby Claus. Not content with keeping the extended cast hanging around with little to do, it introduces Carol’s parents (played wonderfully by Ann-Margret and Alan Arkin) to further bloat the cast, leaving everyone – including the council of legendary figures – vying for screen time.

Visually, the film maintains the franchise’s vibrant, whimsical aesthetic, but the North Pole set design leans heavily into a plastic, theme park-like feel, losing much of the magical charm that defined earlier entries. The reliance on juvenile gags—such as Frost becoming literally frozen to a pole—further undermines the film’s ability to resonate with audiences beyond younger children.

Despite its shortcomings, the film’s few redeeming moments come from the interplay between Tim Allen and Martin Short. While Short’s portrayal can be grating, his dynamic with Allen injects some much-needed energy into scenes that might otherwise fall flat. However, their comedic chemistry isn’t enough to save the film from its scattershot pacing and lack of emotional depth.

Ultimately, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause feels like a franchise overstaying its welcome. While it delivers some surface-level holiday cheer and chaotic fun, it lacks the soul and cohesion that made the original film a seasonal classic. For fans of the series, it’s a stocking filler at best, but for everyone else it’s a Christmas present you won’t be in a hurry to regift.