Tim Allen and Elizabeth Allen-Dick Talk Disney+'s 'The Santa Clauses'

Premiering on Disney+ November 16th is the new series ‘The Santa Clauses,’ which is a spinoff of ‘The Santa Clause’ film franchise.

The series once again stars Tim Allen (‘Toy Story’) as Scott Calvin/Santa Claus, who on the brink of his 65th birthday realizes that he can’t be Santa Claus forever, and that it’s not fair to his wife Carole (Elizabeth Mitchell), his two sons Charlie (Eric Lloyd) and Cal (Austin Kane), and his daughter Sandra (Elizabeth Allen-Dick). So, Scott soon sets out to find a replacement Santa, and meets game inventor Simon Choksi (Kal Penn), while his family prepares for life after the North Pole.

The series will also feature returning franchise star David Krumholtz as Bernard, as well as Laura San Giacomo as Befana the Christmas Witch.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Tim Allen and his real-life daughter Elizabeth Allen-Dick about their work on ‘The Santa Clauses,’ returning for the new series, why Scott wants to retire, Elizabeth’s experience working with her father, and what it was like for Allen to put the red suit back on one more time.

(L to R) Elizabeth Allen-Dick and Tim Allen star in Disney+'s 'The Santa Clauses.'

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Allen, Allen-Dick, Elizabeth Mitchell, Austin Kane, Kal Penn, director Jason Winer, and executive producer Jack Burditt.

Moviefone: To begin with, Tim, it’s been 16 years since the last time you put on Santa’s red suit, how does it feel to be back playing Santa Claus?

Tim Allen: Well, now it feels great because I'm not in the suit. When I'm in it, I have to get everybody used to me being very quiet because I get very hot. So, when I'm not doing my acting, I have to sit by myself. It took a while to get used to it. I'm not afraid to tell everybody I need to be left alone. All that part of it went away once we got on set and I had to work with my youngest, quite by accident. I keep saying it isn't something that her mom or I wanted. She read something, and it was so magical, we both went, "We'll let her read up the food chain," and she got the part.

There’re so many magical moments in this that it completely took me out of my discomfort. They got the makeup and hair very practical. It wasn't like last time. It wasn't six hours in it. They got it down to a much shorter time. That said, the script was so well done. This is a movie shot in six episodes. It was a marvelous experience.

MF: Elizabeth, you play Santa’s daughter, Sandra, but you are also Tim Allen’s daughter in real-life. What was it like working with your father on set?

Elizabeth Allen-Dick: Such a blast. It was just so amazing, and so much fun. I'm so grateful and honored to be on the set and to be part of this franchise because it's incredible. Growing up and watching these movies, having my dad play this character and impacting so many people, and then being on the fourth movie, it's just such an honor and so much fun. I did not work one day throughout the two months that I was on the show.

Disney+’s 'The Santa Clauses' stars Elizabeth Allen-Dick as Sandra. Photo: Disney/Justin Stephens.

MF: Elizabeth, were you even born yet when the last film, ‘The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause’ was released?

EAD: Nope, I was not.

MF: Finally, Tim, why does Scott think now is the right time to retire from being Santa Claus?

TA: There's a moment where I see one of the girls that I was in the very first movie and I hit her house. She's scared of me and her life is very different now. It reminds the character, Santa, the actual mythical figure who's timeless, even in his world time doesn't do the same. He saw her grown up and how things are different now. He tells his lead elf in the sleigh that things are different. It's different in his life and it's different in all of our lives, where maybe we start focusing on getting and not giving.

That's really what this is all about. You're getting stuff done, you're getting stuff for your family, and you forgot the other part of that. It seems subtle, but it isn't, the actual giving experience. It gets into this spiritual thing. We dance around it and it's all about reuniting with that feeling of giving. Then there's a wonderful scene with the old Santas. Scott's not the first Santa! He may be a magic part of Santa, and I'm not giving anything away, but there's a real wonderful story about how and why he is who he is, and it's all about reuniting with how it all started. It's also a very simple story, how it all started.

Tim Allen as Scott Calvin / Santa Claus in Disney+'s 'The Santa Clauses.' Photo: Disney/James Clark.