The Santa Clausehas more than earned its place in thepantheon of classic holiday movies.
That’s a surprisingly dark hook for a holiday movie especially one made by Disney but it works.
Yet for all of its holiday trappings,The Santa Clauseis hiding some rather adult jokes underneath its wrapping.
Via Walt Disney Pictures
What takes the cake is a throwaway joke early in the movie that concerns a fake-sounding phone number.
That phone number was actually real, and connected to a real-life sex hotline.
What Was ‘The Santa Clause’s Naughty Joke?
Scott, who has custody of Charlie, is talking with his ex-wife Laura (Wendy Miller).
Upon receiving it, Scott snarks, “1-800-SPANK-ME.
I know that number.”
When a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.
As adult jokes go, it’s fairly tame and easily flies over the heads of the younger viewers.
But that wasn’t the case with Shirley Dearth, a grandmother living near Cleveland.
Eventually,Disney decided to scrub the line from all versions ofThe Santa Clausein 1999.
That includes the DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as the version streaming on Disney+ and all broadcast versions.
The original number, hilariously enough, remains in operation to this day.
He fell off the roof because I thought he was a burglar.
He gives me the card, the whole movie starts.
The kid actually starts, You just killed Santa.
And I said, He shouldnt have been on the roof when he wasnt invited.'"
…and he said, We cant start a Disney movie with you murdering Santa.’
Im a comedian why not?
Its funny,…You kill all the parents in all your other movies!
It’s even implied that some Santas crashed into planes!
This direction wasn’t exactly a great outcome for the films.
But the biggest clue that things weren’t the same was the reindeer.
Season 2 of the family comedy series returns on November 8.
The Santa Clauseis available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
