Tim Allen is mainly known to the world for such hit sitcoms as “Home Improvement” and “Last Man Standing” — but the comedian also has managed to have quite a successful movie career over the decades.
He belongs to not one but two of the most beloved family-friendly franchises around.
His voice is behind the character of Buzz Lightyear in the “Toy Story” franchise, which has consisted of three hit films and has a fourth one on the way.
Allen also headlined the “Santa Clause” franchise, a Christmas-themed series that features three hit movies.
“The Santa Clause,” which was released in 1994 and found Allen as a regular guy recruited to take Santa Clause’s place, earned over $140 million domestically on just a $22 million production budget.
“The Santa Clause 2,” released in 2002, earned over $139 million on a $65 million budget, while “The Santa Clause 3: the Escape Clause,” released in 2006, earned over $84 million.
Even though the first film in the franchise was rated PG by the MPAA — the Motion Picture Association of America — and the two follow-ups were rated G, Tim Allen has now revealed that the original script for the “The Santa Clause” was a lot darker than what we actually saw.
“The original ‘Santa Clause’ is a little darker, written by two comedians, and I actually shot and killed Santa in the original movie. He fell off the roof because I thought he was a burglar,” Allen revealed to Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” this week.
Allen continued, “He gives me the card – the whole movie starts. The kid actually starts, ‘You just killed Santa.’ And I said, ‘He shouldn’t have been on the roof when he wasn’t invited.’”
In the final produced version of “The Santa Clause,” Allen’s character simply spooks old Saint Nick — and causes him to fall instead of any use of firearms.
The 65-year-old Allen joked about his place in the franchise, “I’m literally the last guy in the world who should be Santa Claus because I don’t like kids all that much. I’m not going to hurt them. I don’t say inappropriate stuff — just don’t like them.”
The “Santa Clause” franchise is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Allen’s Christmas movie filmography.
He also starred in 2004’s “Christmas with the Kranks” — rated PG — and last year’s “El Camino Christmas,” which was more adult-oriented.
Allen currently stars in the seventh season of the freshly revived right-leaning series “Last Man Standing.”
Check out footage from the new season below:
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