Skip to content
24 October · 62 days to ChristmasThe advent calendar opens 1 December →
A green toy workshop glows against a snowy mountain night, with snow globes and a rocking horse in its windows and a crooked maple-leaf flag above the door.

Essential Christmas · 2006

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

67/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 67 ↓
UK certificate Universal92 min
Comedy · Family

The third Santa Clause film has the busiest North Pole yet: a pregnant Mrs Claus, in-laws who must be told…

On Disney+ · UK subscription →
Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 11 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas all the way through.

Two paper elves inspect a snowy toy workshop model with glowing windows, snow globes, a rocking horse and a crooked maple-leaf flag above the door.

A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyChristmas drives it, firmly.25/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for most of it.15/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details4 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.6/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: substantially.15/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionA December regular (25,000+).6/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

77/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Warm in tone. Mild threat. A happy ending.

How we score →
What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →
Your next film night

Where to watch

United KingdomChecked

Disney+

Included with a subscription
Open The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause on Disney+ (opens in a new tab)

Apple TV

Rent or buy
See viewing options on Apple TV (opens in a new tab)

Prime Video

Rent or buy
See viewing options on Prime Video (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)

Rakuten TV

Rent or buy
Search the service for it

Sky Store

Rent or buy
Search the service for it

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause · Rental and purchase cost extra, separately from membership.

As an Amazon Associate, Cine Claus earns from qualifying purchases. Buying through a link helps pay for the site - it never changes a score.

Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Streaming availability information provided by Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night (opens in a new tab). Sky and Rakuten TV data by JustWatch.

The story

About The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

Twelve years into the job, Father Christmas is juggling a pregnant Mrs Claus, a visit from her parents, who have been told the North Pole is a toy factory in Canada, and a jealous rival on community service in the workshop. The rival finds a loophole in the contract that lets Santa resign, tricks him into using it and sends them both back to the night the job first changed hands, so that this time he gets the coat. The third Santa Clause film, with Tim Allen and Martin Short.

The CineClaus verdict

The third Santa Clause film has the busiest North Pole yet: a pregnant Mrs Claus, in-laws who must be told the place is a toy factory in Canada, and Martin Short as a jealous rival angling for the job. Once a loophole in the contract sends everyone back to 1994, it turns into a rerun of the first film with the jokes thinned out.

Tim Allen still looks happy in the suit, and younger children will enjoy it far more than their parents. The weakest of the three.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

U

Our take: rated U by the BBFC for very mild comic violence. The rough stuff is slapstick, a shovel to the face and a few tumbles, so the kids can watch this one.

Content advice & accessibility
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official U certificate, and never looser than it.

The series

The The Santa Clause films

2 films, in release order

  • 2002

    The film before

    The Santa Clause 2

    2002

    Third film in the series; follows the 2002 sequel.

    Not in our catalogue yet
  • 2006

    You’re here

    The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

    2006

    You’re on this film’s page
The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order
Martin Short mid-sentence, with swept-up grey hair, a black dinner jacket and bow tie, against a warm gold background.Martin Shortas Jack Frost
Close portrait of a woman with long wavy blonde hair and a black top, smiling and looking to one side in front of a blurred backdrop.Elizabeth Mitchellas Mrs. Claus / Carol
Head and shoulders photograph of a smiling woman with short, curly copper-red hair, wearing a burgundy velvet jacket.Ann-Margretas Sylvia Newman
Head and shoulders photograph of a man with short spiky light brown hair and stubble, wearing a navy shirt and a patterned tie, looking straight at the camera.Spencer Breslinas Curtis

Behind the camera

Directed by
Michael Lembeck
Original score
George S. Clinton
Writing & production credits
Writers
Ed Decter
John J. Strauss
Photo credits

Portraits via Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence, approved for this page by a person. Sources and full photographer credits:

Tim Allen · MingleMediaTVNetwork · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Martin Short · Library of Congress Life · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC0 (opens in a new tab).

Elizabeth Mitchell · Gage Skidmore · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.5 (opens in a new tab).

Wendy Crewson · gdcgraphics · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Ann-Margret · Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Spencer Breslin · Sterling Dee · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Michael Lembeck · Pop Goes The Culture TV · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Keep the Christmas feeling

Music & soundtrack

That tune you recognised. That score you loved. Take a little of the film into the rest of your Christmas.

Every track on the soundtrack album, in album order.

Behind the music. George S. Clinton composed the score.

Explore George S. Clinton →
About this music list

These are the songs and soundtrack we hold for the film, not a complete cue sheet, and they give no scene timings. Album track lists and durations come from MusicBrainz. Spotify and Apple Music links open the matched recordings; links marked Search open a search on that service.

wikidata.org ↗ (opens in a new tab) MusicBrainz ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapCalifornia

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

Open larger map ↗ (OpenStreetMap, opens in a new tab)

Map shows the selected place. Drag to explore; use + and − to zoom.

Location sources

California · Wikidata filming location (P915) (opens in a new tab)

Map pins mark the place, not a camera position or a route. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including any pin positions read from OpenStreetMap.

A little more The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

On set

A last film role for Peter Boyle

The story brings in a run of legendary figures, among them the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Mother Nature and Father Time. Peter Boyle played Father Time, and it was his final film role before he died in December 2006.

Read the story

Source: E! Online, 25 secrets about The Santa Clause ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

Releases and certificates
: In cinemas, rated U. UK cinema release, classified by the BBFC on 25 October 2006.
Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.

Good to know

Questions about The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

Is The Santa Clause 3 a Christmas film?

Yes. We class it as essential Christmas viewing: Father Christmas, the workshop and the Christmas Eve rush drive the whole story.

Who directed The Santa Clause 3?

Michael Lembeck, who also directed the second film, from a script by Ed Decter and John J. Strauss.

When was The Santa Clause 3 released in the UK?

It reached UK cinemas on 24 November 2006.

More like this

If The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is your kind of Christmas…

Find another favourite →

Fred Claus

2007 · UK certificate Parental Guidance · 116 min

A broad studio comedy that spends most of its running time on a sibling grudge and only occasionally on…

Festive Factor 88 out of 100: Christmas at its heart.
Swipe to browse all three →

Collections, stories & Christmas memories

Elsewhere on CineClaus

More places to find The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and a few good reasons to keep exploring.

In this collection

Best family Christmas films

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is in this collection

Explore the collection

Read a little further

Collection

The best Santa Claus films

Explore the collection
Stay for another story.All collections · The Christmas Edit