Tim Allen’s Santa Claus franchise is one of the most beloved holiday movie series of all time, but even the most jolly of films are not immune to controversy, as Allen found out last year. Shortly after the debut of his new Disney+ series, The Santa Clauses — which is a continuation of the beloved franchise — the holiday joy around the show quickly dissipated into criticism, as one line of dialogue made viewers feel as if Allen was digging up the longstanding “Merry Christmas” debate. In one of the two premiere episodes, Allen’s Santa Claus says, “Merry Christmas is suddenly problematic.”
This sparked some conversation on Twitter, with filmmaker Scott Weinberg being one of the first to point it out by quipping how it is “actual dialogue from the new Disney+” series. “Well it is a Tim Allen vehicle,” someone replied, seemingly commenting on Allen’s outspoken conservative views. “Santa had the red hat all along and we just ignored it,” another user jokingly tweeted, implying Allen’s Santa would be a MAGA Trump supporter. Scroll down to read more reactions to Allen’s “Merry Christmas” quote.
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“Nonsense”
“What’s this War on Christmas nonsense doing in my Disney Santa movie,” someone tweeted.
“Truly Upset…”
“Where? Who’s truly upset by someone saying Merry Christmas?” another user asked.
“Ugh”
“Ugh. There would be a line [in] his films like that,” a Twitter user groaned.
“Naughty List”
“Oh my god how did I not see that coming,” one person joked, then adding a laughing-crying emoji.
“Complaining”
“Tim Allen really soured that series for me, I remember really enjoying the first two but I haven’t touched them in years…” someone said of the Santa Clause franchise.
“Dear Tim…”
“This is what I get for willfully going to see the first two Santa Clause movies in theaters when I was younger,” quipped another person.
“Skipping Christmas”
“Bro literally starred in a movie about skipping Christmas,” one other Twitter user noted, referring to Allen’s 2004 film, Christmas with the Kranks.
“Correct”
Notably, not everyone has been critical of Allen’s “Merry Christmas” line in The Santa Clauses, as one fan defended him by tweeting, “Crazy that this is what bothers y’all.”
