Top 10 Greatest Santa Portrayals of All Time
These actors will make any doubter believe in Santa. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the best modern movie versions of jolly old Saint Nick.
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00:00 "Name? Chris Gregel. Name? Sinterklaas. Name? Pernoel."
00:10 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best modern movie versions of jolly old Saint Nick.
00:17 "I know what you want for Christmas now. I'll see what I can do."
00:22 Number 10. Paul Giamatti - Fred Claus
00:26 As a child in the 1800s, Nick became a saint because he was so good and kind.
00:31 Now as Santa, he's overworked and stressed out, and he still has his obnoxious troublemaking brother Fred to deal with.
00:38 "I want you to review those files, okay? If the kid strikes you as naughty, BAM! Stamp him naughty."
00:46 Paul Giamatti manages to make the character jolly and lovable despite the pressure he's under,
00:51 but he's also not a total pushover, and his cheerful exterior eventually begins to crack.
00:56 "You're gonna run me over! I feel you're gonna run me over!"
00:59 When an efficiency expert tries to shut down operations at the North Pole, that's the final straw.
01:09 Although this movie is full of magical whimsy, its portrayal of Saint Nick is one of the most grounded and humanizing.
01:15 "You gotta excuse the guys, you know? It's the month before Christmas, a very tense time. They get jumpy, you know?"
01:20 Number 9. James Cosmo - The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
01:25 Thanks to a witch's curse, Narnia has had years of winter and no Christmas.
01:30 When the witch begins to lose her power, Father Christmas is once again able to return to the magical land.
01:35 "The hope that you have brought your majesties is finally starting to weaken the witch's power."
01:42 He has gifts for the Pevensey children, the good ones anyway, but these aren't teddy bears or board games.
01:48 "These are tools, not toys. Bear them well and wisely."
01:54 He's preparing the children to do battle against evil.
01:59 This Santa is jolly but somehow solemn at the same time, and his arrival foreshadows a difficult fight to come.
02:05 He only has a few minutes of screen time, but his stately presence is unforgettable.
02:10 "Long live Aslan!"
02:12 Number 8. J.K. Simmons - Klaus. This gorgeously hand-drawn animated film imagines a new origin story for the big guy.
02:20 Klaus is a bitter, lonely woodworker in a remote Norwegian town.
02:24 His shed is filled with toys made long ago for the children he never had.
02:28 He doesn't have a workshop full of elves, and his reindeer don't really fly.
02:32 "I wear them down and you catch them."
02:41 Instead, this unique depiction of Santa, played just right by J.K. Simmons, is ultra-realistic.
02:48 He's a regular man who delivers toys to local children at night with the help of the newly appointed postman.
02:53 The joy and kindness that he inspires begin to transform the dingy town,
02:57 and eventually Klaus himself, until he becomes the jolly gift-giver we know today.
03:02 "They insisted and I didn't want to be rude. I don't know, what do you, it's a lot of red, what do you, is it too much?"
03:10 As he says, a true selfless act always sparks another.
03:14 Number 7. David Harbour - Violent Night
03:17 Santa is a Viking? That's a twist we've never seen before.
03:21 "Are you okay?"
03:22 "I'm good, uh, I was just wrapping something up."
03:26 This Santa is a jaded man who's completely lost his Christmas spirit.
03:30 Then a group of criminals take a family hostage while he's delivering presents,
03:34 and he has to summon his inner warrior to save them.
03:37 "I was a warrior, a raider, a thief."
03:41 It turns out a night of violence was exactly what he needed to put the magic back in Christmas.
03:46 Santa kicks the mercenaries' butts,
03:48 taking care of a whole group at once in a brutal scene set to a heartwarming Christmas soundtrack.
03:53 We can't exactly show it here, but it's intense stuff.
03:56 We didn't know we needed a merciless action hero Santa,
03:59 but thanks to David Harbour's convincingly layered portrayal, we're very glad we got one.
04:04 "Thank you."
04:06 "For what?"
04:08 "For believing in me."
04:10 Number 6. Ed Ivory - The Nightmare Before Christmas
04:13 When you think about it, there is something kind of terrifying about Santa Claus.
04:17 "For the ruler of this Christmas land is a fearsome king with a deep, mighty voice.
04:24 At least that's what I've come to understand."
04:28 Still, Halloween and Christmas were never meant to go together.
04:31 After Jack Skellington arranges for Santa to be kidnapped,
04:34 he learns the hard way that the Jollyman's job is more difficult than it looks.
04:38 It takes a lot of work to fly around the entire world in one night and get the right presents to the right kids,
04:44 and it's definitely not a job for a pumpkin king having a midlife crisis.
04:48 "The next time you get the urge to take over someone else's holiday, I'd listen to her.
04:53 She's the only one who makes any sense around this insane asylum."
04:57 Fortunately, Ed Ivory's Santa knows what he's doing.
05:00 As soon as Jack sets him free from Oogie Boogie's creepy lair,
05:03 he gets to work saving Christmas.
05:05 "Happy Halloween!"
05:08 "Merry Christmas!"
05:11 Number 5. Alec Baldwin - Rise of the Guardians
05:15 This isn't your typical jolly old Santa.
05:17 Nicholas St. North is Russian.
05:19 He has tattoos. He carries a pair of swords.
05:22 "Can it be?"
05:25 "Dingle, make preparations. You're going to have company."
05:30 As the Guardian of Wonder, he spreads joy through his incredible toys,
05:34 which are built by the Yetis, not the elves, who work at the North Pole.
05:38 He's also responsible for protecting children all over the world,
05:41 along with his fellow Guardians, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and eventually Jack Frost.
05:47 "Hey, there he is. Jack Frost!"
05:51 Baldwin's version of the iconic character is brave, tough in a fight, and has an epic sleigh.
05:57 Suffice it to say, he stands out from your standard Santa.
06:00 Of course, that's exactly why he's so memorable.
06:03 We certainly wouldn't want to get on North's naughty list.
06:06 [Santa laughing]
06:11 Number 4. Kurt Russell - The Christmas Chronicles and The Christmas Chronicles 2
06:16 The Kris Kringle in this pair of Netflix original family comedies is a lot cooler than the one you're used to.
06:22 "Santa Claus is coming?" "Don't you tell me that I was Christmas, I'm pretty baby."
06:29 Sure, he delivers presents and eats cookies, but let's just say he's not the type to say "Ho, ho, ho."
06:35 "I don't go ho, ho, ho, that's a myth."
06:37 He's more like a rock star version of Santa, complete with spontaneous musical performances to get the Christmas spirit flowing.
06:44 Although he lives in a village in the North Pole populated by tiny elves, he still feels like a Saint Nick from modern times.
06:50 After all, he's Santa Claus with the charisma of Kurt Russell, and he still gets to be married to Goldie Hawn.
06:56 What more could you want?
06:58 "Well, bye."
07:00 Number 3. Ed Asner - Elf
07:06 For an actor well known for playing grumpy characters, the late Asner pulls off a surprisingly genuine and jolly Santa.
07:13 "Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas, ho, ho, ho."
07:22 He only has a few scenes, but he manages to stand out in a movie full of memorable and hilarious characters.
07:28 Asner's Santa comes across as wise and realistic, yet not overly world-weary, and his encouraging words to Buddy the Elf seem totally sincere.
07:37 "Well, there are some things you should know. First off, you see gum on the street, leave it there. It's not free candy."
07:44 Plus, with his white hair, rosy cheeks, and shorter stature, he absolutely looks the part.
07:50 In fact, he's one of the most traditional and classic versions of Santa on our list, which we checked twice.
07:55 No wonder Buddy's so excited to see him.
07:58 "Santa! Oh my God! Santa here? I know him."
08:04 Number 2. Richard Attenborough - Miracle on 34th Street
08:08 This performance is good enough to make anyone who's lost their faith believe in Santa again.
08:13 "Tell me, Mr. Kringle, uh, do you believe that you are Santa Claus?"
08:18 "Would I be here if I didn't?"
08:20 After getting a department store Santa fired for being drunk, the true Kris Kringle is convinced to take his place at the last minute.
08:27 What follows is a magical journey that helps people regain their Christmas spirit.
08:31 "And the state of New York, by a similar demonstration of the collective faith of its people,
08:39 can accept and acknowledge that Santa Claus does exist, and he exists in the person of Kris Kringle."
08:49 Edmund Gwynne was the first person to take on this version of Santa in the original 1947 film,
08:54 and he brought Oscar-winning merriment and sincerity to the part.
08:58 The late Attenborough, for his part, projects such incredible warmth and kindness,
09:02 and seems truly invested in the children's happiness.
09:05 He's so good as Santa, how could you not believe?
09:08 "If you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for life."
09:19 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:23 David Huddleston - Santa Claus the Movie
09:26 This film is undeniably from the 80s, but its Santa is timeless.
09:30 "You really are Santa Claus, ain't you?"
09:33 "Yes, but I still don't know who you are."
09:36 Anna Kendrick - Noelle
09:38 Who says Santa has to be a man?
09:40 "Sorry, sorry, sorry. Go back to sleep, go back to sleep."
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10:02 Number 1. Tim Allen - The Santa Claus Franchise
10:06 For many kids who grew up in the 90s or aughts, Tim Allen's Scott Calvin is the definitive Santa Claus.
10:12 "What?"
10:13 "I want some ballet slippers."
10:18 The role is thrust on him when the previous passes away following an accident on Scott's roof.
10:23 Although it takes Scott a while to accept that he has indeed become Santa Claus, once he does, it's like he was born for it.
10:30 "Shh."
10:32 "You're father this year."
10:36 "Thank you very much."
10:38 He not only begins to look the part, he finds himself filled with joy and enthusiasm for his new job.
10:43 The original 1994 film was such a hit that it spawned two sequels and a TV series,
10:48 keeping this iconic version of Santa alive for a whole new generation of kids.
10:53 "Once a year, I get to spread joy and magic to people everywhere.
10:58 But I couldn't do it without all of you, especially you two. Joy and magic."
11:02 Which movie Santa puts you in the holiday spirit? Let us know in the comments below.
11:07 "Give me the whip."
11:08 "You are intoxicated, sir."
11:10 "Yeah, and you are a pain in the butt. Now give me that whip."
11:12 "I'll tell you something, you are a disgrace."
11:14 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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11:23 [music]