The Santa Clauses pulls an Elf and needs to re-fill Claus-o-meter in new trailer

Despite all the handwringing about “Disney being too woke for consummate truthteller Tim Allen” earlier this year, Tim Allen is back for The Santa Clauses, a six-part Disney+ series based on his long-running Disney franchise. Seeing as those pesky college kids who demand he “treat them with respect and dignity” won’t let him comedians perform on stage anymore, he now has to return on his hands and knees to the Mouse House a mere six months after the release of Lightyear, a Pixar a movie that recast Tim Allen with Chris Evans.

In The Santa Clauses, the big red boy is retiring. Apparently, all the kids on his list are growing up, and he hasn’t bothered updating since he took the job 25 years ago. Honestly, Santa’s retirement sounds more like a failure of logistics. Why weren’t the Elves keeping up with the kids?

Unfortunately, the real problem is in human resources and, more specifically, the North Pole’s hiring manager. It makes sense because, if Pixar has taught us anything, it’s that kids love movies about bureaucracy. You see, Santa hired “the wrong guy” to take over the role, and now elves are disappearing, and Christmas cheer is depleting. He’ll need to fill up that Claus-o-meter if they’re going to keep Christmas going. As a result, Santa is going to do what baby boomers do best and come out of retirement.

The old gang is joining Allen for his triumphant return to Disney. Franchise MVP Elizabeth Mitchell returns as Carol Calvin, better known as Mrs. Claus, and, much to the immediate enjoyment of Santa fans (Fantas?) everywhere, David Krumholtz will return as Bernard the Elf. As for who’s playing the new guy, Laura San Giacomo is featured in the trailer as Befana the Christmas Witch. Could she be Santa’s new hire? If so, why would he hire a Christmas Witch to be a Santa?

All will be revealed when the first two episodes of The Santa Clauses drop down the chimney and on to Disney+ on November 16.