Friday, March 14, 2014   Movie Review  The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
November 1, 2002  FILM REVIEW; Santa Cheers Up a School and
Marries the Principal  Published: November 1, 2002  Perhaps you
have been asking yourself: how can I fill up that dead time
between Halloween and Election Day? Well, the thoughtful people
at Walt Disney, fresh from their World Series triumph, have just
the answer: a Christmas movie, the very first of the season. I'm
obliged to report that ''The Santa Clause 2,'' which opens today
nationwide, captures the true spirit of the holiday. It's mildly
sentimental, unabashedly consumerist (with anything-but-
subliminal advertisements for McDonald's hamburgers and NestlÃ©
candy tucked inside), studiously inoffensive and completely
disposable.  It's like one of the heavily advertised, much
coveted toys that become garage-sale fodder before the tree has
even been dismantled. But the movie's early release is therefore
something of a mercy. Get it out of the way now, and by the time
the actual holida