Anyone buying a copy of this film should really get the wide screen DVD version. The flying sequences are so much better in widescreen as are the scenes in the North Pole toy factory. The "full frame" pan and scan version just can't hold a candle to the widescreen (I have both so have carefully compared them.)
There is an excellent director's comment track with questions being asked by the Special Projects Consultant for Anchor Bay (the company distributing the DVD) and answered and expanded upon by the director, Jeannot Szwarc. It is worth the price of the package alone. However there is also a great "making of" feature that was produced as a TV documentary at the time of the theatrical release of the film.
This is a really great Christmas film for the whole family. The first hour telling the story of how a simple wood cutter and toy maker become Santa Claus is completely charming. David Huddleston is a wonderful Claus. Dudly Moore is excellent as the elf, Patch, who is into everything and constantly inventing new gadgets. He shows his tender side as he grooms and takes care of the reindeer. It is really tragic that Mr. Moore now has the disease that make it impossible for him to perform any longer. That makes this film that much more of a treasure as it shows him at the top of his form as an actor. (Too bad the producers couldn't have used his musical talents in some way.)
John Lithgow is a delightfully hammy villain in the second portion of the film showing the early stages of the character he later does in "Third Rock From The Sun". The two children are also great, very real and not the cloying poor child actors that could easily have been used.
Trim the tree, light a fire in the fireplace, pour an egg nog and enjoy the very special Holiday treat!.
