Customer Reviews

I Believe in Santa Claus

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't think that any film will ever dethrone "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" as the worst Christmas movie of all time...but "I Believe in Santa Claus" sure comes close. While not as absurd as "..Martians," this film is just as nonsensical. If you're looking for quality family entertainment, you're going to be extremely disappointed. However, if you've got a good sense of humor, have had a few drinks, and are looking for something worthy of the Mystery Science Theater treatment, you might just enjoy this train wreck captured on film.

Let me clear up one thing before we begin - the title on the DVD box reads "I Believe in Santa Claus." The title that appears when you pop the DVD into your player is "Here Comes Santa Claus." In actuality, the name of this movie is "J'ai rencontré le Père Noël" - it is a low budget French film from 1984 that has been dubbed (poorly) into English. The film is presented full frame, so you will be losing some of the image around the margins, but when the production values are so low, it hardly matters. The film definitely has an aged look, and the DVD was obviously produced from a tape master, as there is occasional video distortion, and the print has a very un-restored look to it.

The plot revolves around a young boy named Simon, whose parents are being held as political prisoners in Africa (we're never told why, but we can assume it's for an illogical reason). On a field trip to the airport (yes, a field trip to the airport), Simon and his friend Elodie stow aboard an airplane bound for Rovanemi, where they meet up with Santa Claus (I thought he lived at the North Pole - silly me). The children end up being captured by an ogre, while Santa Claus (an extremely grouchy Santa Claus) and his Fairy assistant go to Africa to free Simon's parents. Chaos ensues.

This movie is so hilariously bad, and I could go on all day about it, but here are my top ten favorite moments. 10) Actress Karen Cheryl breaking into song at the most inappropriate moments. At one point in the film, she is racing through the forest to rescue the children from an ogre, but spontaneously decides that she would rather change into a Red Riding Hood outfit and sing. 9) Students asking why Asian tourists are taking pictures of them. 8) Santa Claus swimming (fully clothed, with hat and all) in a mud pool, while being stalked by a crocodile. 7) Santa Claus being captured by African rebels and accused of espionage. 6) A complete disregard for time and continuity (we are told several times that the date is December 23rd, yet Santa Claus takes the children with him for his annual toy delivery, then drops them off at a church in the afternoon on Christmas eve - in that order) 5) Santa and his fairy friend delivering Christmas presents to a family of monkeys. 4) The groundskeeper at Simon's school pelting him in the face with a ball of putty for no apparent reason, other than to be a jerk (this is after he locks Simon in a storage cupboard, and threatens to eat him for Christmas dinner). 3) The ogre telling the good fairy that he's going to put whip cream on her and have her for dessert (earlier in the movie, Santa tells the kids to hop into his bed). 2) The ogre placing a puppy between two pieces of bread and attempting to eat it. 1) And finally, the best of them all - Santa Claus (apparently) throwing a puppy at the children to wake them up.

If any of this seems like a good time to you, then by all means pick this movie up (I wouldn't advise spending more than $10 though). If not, then stay far, far, Rovenemi far away from this DVD.

i am very glad i found this in DVD especially when i have an HD 46" tv now.
i had this in a VHS format and couldn't view it very well but now it looks great.

A very different film. It is about what Xmas is all about now material things but love.

Extremely painful to watch. This is an old French film (dubbed) that was made on a very, very low budget. The quality is as low as I have ever seen and the story is sooooo bad you just can't sit through it. Special Effects are so bad my 12 year old could do better. Do not waste your money here. In fact send me a prepaid return envelope and I will gladly give you mine.

YESSSSS!!!!!

This WAS and WILL ALWAYS be a nostalgic favorite for MY family. However, that may not be true for yours.

Let me qualify this by stating that 1) I saw this originally in 1985 or so and grew up watching it every year, then enjoyed watching my youngest siblings, nieces and nephews watch it year after year as well, 2) the songs are permanently etched in the collective memory of my entire family (we've been caught humming them), and 3) the VHS tape had wear and tear on it from the years of viewing pleasure so any quality issues with the transfer to DVD would be transparent to us.

It's bad. The story does not make sense. Things seem out of order. There's an OGRE? That never made sense, but somehow captivated our interest and held our attention and drew us back year after year. The kid's parents are in Africa for some unknown reason and can't be there for Christmas, and he's terribly sad for the majority of the movie, which is a lot for a kid watching this to comprehend.

I don't know what it is, but every kid in my family would sit mesmerized watching this movie.

The ogre is played by the same actor as the mean janitor who throws putty at the main character and locks him in a cupboard. The teacher is played by the same actress as the good fairy. The overlap makes sense as both pairs of characters seem to represent good and bad, yet I remember being confused by this and not really being sure what was "real" and what was "fantasy" or if it was meant to all be real.

The songs, oh my! They're weird because they're dubbed in English and some of the words seem to be forced in as part of the translation.

This may not be a great choice for the modern child, but if you're anything like me and my family (odd), and you grew up watching this, you'll be overjoyed to find a way to keep the tradition living on beyond the age of VHS.

I have been looking for this movie for ages! I am so glad I have finally able to watch it!

I love Christmas movies. That is why I purchased this one. I regret spending good money for it. First of all it was the worst visual movie I have ever seen. It looked like some high school kid filmed it. It was filmed in a different language and the english was dubbed in. A very bad job. It distracts from the movie when the words do not match the lips. The picture quality was fuzzie. The story was cute. The actors looked like they had never acted before.

Lovely film and the pleasure to see Karen Cheryl, one of France's major singers of the 70s and 80s in her cinema debut.
Ideal for the Holiday season by the fire!!! Enjoy!!!