Houdini's Magic Movie Ticket

What an amazing film! It's got everything. The origins of Santa, centuries of gift-giving, a corporate tycoon, magic, candy that makes you float, a homeless kid makes friends with a wealthy girl, and the kids get to stay at Santa's workshop!

The cast is brilliant. Dudley Moore plays an elf, John Lithgow is the Scrooge of toys, and David Huddleston plays Santa! I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, and at the end there was the most phenomenal Santa Claus I've ever seen. He looked exactly like the real thing. It was like a mall Santa is a blurry, out-of-focus TV Santa from the 70's, and this guy in the parade was Santa in HD, 2007. Brilliant. He even had the gestures down and everything. And the sheer joy radiating from his face was incredible. "Santa Claus" the movie reminded me of him. The movie Santa was believable as well.

Dudley Moore faces of against another elf to be Santa's assistant. So many modern children necessitate a more efficient toy-making process. Moore's opponent uses Old World values of care, attention to detail, and fine craftsmanship. Moore puts his helpers to work on a colorful machine that when complete, operates as an automated toy assembly line. It cranks out heaps of toys, and Moore wins the assistant's job. However, on Christmas day, many children discover their toys are faulty, and Santa's reputation takes a turn for the worse. Disgraced, Moore takes off for earth, where he meets up with Lithgow, and strikes a deal to bring one special gift to all the children of the world the next Christmas. Hoping to prove to Santa that he really can do a good job, Moore uses magic to create a lollipop that makes eaters float. Moore even created his own rocket sled of sorts for speedy deliveries. The gifts are all free, but Lithgow has plans to charge gobs of money for the next one, a more powerful (and deadly) candy cane, available everywhere on March 25, or as he likes to call it, "Christmas Two!!!"

Meanwhile, Santa befriends a homeless kid and helps turn his life around. It's a really great movie, packed with action. It's like a Bond film. It keeps you interested, even as you feel years going by. They're years of joy!

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