I thought doing a sequel to “The Santa Clause” was a huge mistake.

It’s been eight years since the premiere of the 1994 original, about a jaded toy company executive (Tim Allen), who transforms into Santa Claus. Now, in the same league as holiday classics “A Christmas Story” and “Miracle on 34th Street,” it seemed unlikely that a follow-up could ever match the charm and wit of the first film.

In the tradition of sequels, “The Santa Clause 2” tries to out-do its predecessor with the help of special effects. Mid-air, a battle is waged for control over the flying sleigh. An army of toy soldiers take over the North Pole. There’s even a farting reindeer to entice kiddies.

Luckily, “The Santa Clause 2” puts just as much effort into its characters and storyline as it does the bells and whistles of scenery and effects. The film rounds out a returning cast with welcomed additions, all of whom help to build a story full of heart and humor that will make even the most grinchy remember what it was like to be six years old.

As in real life, eight years have passed since Scott Calvin (Allen) first became Santa Claus. Since then, things have been running smoothly at the North Pole as Santa, his right-hand elf Bernard (David Krumholtz, “10 Things I Hate About You”) and the other elves prepare for yet another holiday season.

But the movie isn’t 10 minutes into its running time before Santa runs into all sorts of problems. The first being his son, Charlie (Eric Lloyd, “Deconstructing Harry”).

It seems that innocent little Charlie has grown into a nightmarish teenager who spray paints lockers and makes Santa’s naughty list. All of this to the worry of his mother Laura (Wendy Crewson, “What Lies Beneath”) and stepfather Neil (Judge Reinhold, “Beverly Hills Cop”).

The other problem is the “Missus clause,” a legal stipulation attached to the contract Scott accepted years before. Discovered by ambitious elf Curtis (Spenser Breslin, “The Kid”), the clause states that Scott can only remain Santa Clause if he finds a wife in under a month.

Faced with these problems, the rapidly shrinking Scott heads home to spend time with Charlie and look for a mate, who might just be Charlie’s cranky principal, Carol Newman (Elizabeth Mitchell, “Frequency”). Meanwhile, back at the North Pole, a toy Santa takes over production and threatens to ruin Christmas altogether by giving all the world’s children coal.

Allen, who has lately had a string of box office failures, returns to his signature film role with ease. He takes on two roles in the sequel — that of good-natured Scott and the evil plastic Santa.

As Scott, Allen is reminiscent of his “Home Improvement” character, playing a warm-hearted father with a quick wit. His scenes with Mitchell even border on romantic comedy. As the evil Santa, he gets to be more slapstick, chasing elves and lumbering around in clever makeup.

Mitchell lights up the screen as Scott’s love interest. The character itself is pretty one-dimensional — a cold and intimidating woman who soon thaws under the influence of our hero. But Mitchell makes this role. Her natural good looks and chemistry with Allen is enjoyable through the film.

One rule of any good sequel is to bring back familiar characters and, thankfully, “The Santa Clause 2” does just that in returning with Lloyd, Crewson, Reinhold, and Krumholtz. Audiences will remember them and take interest in their character developments from the first film. Well-cast in new roles were Breslin as the bookish Calvin and newcomer Liliana Mumy as the suspicious Lucy. “SNL” funny lady Molly Shannon also takes the screen in a funny cameo.

Directed by Michael Lembeck (director of such TV shows as “Everybody Loves Raymond”), “The Santa Clause 2” is a well-told tale, even though it loses some points for originality.

Again, the chemistry between Mitchell and Allen is important and their scenes together shine. Appearances by the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny were humorous and inventive. And I couldn’t get enough of the farting reindeer, Comet.

Granted, the film did have some problems. The evil Santa storyline wasn’t given nearly as much time as the Mrs. Clause storyline, which left the movie’s ending feeling undeveloped.

At the same time, the romance between Scott and Carol felt somewhat rushed. Carol goes from bitchy principal to giggling girlfriend in a matter of minutes. Those scenes could have used some more attention to guarantee a believable, satisfying ending.

Despite some technical difficulties and even though it’s still early November, “The Santa Clause 2” is the perfect film to get you into the holiday spirit.

Christopher Reilly is a junior magazine major. His reviews appear Fridays in The Daily Orange. E-mail him at passpopcorn@yahoo.com.

Published on November 7, 2002 at 12:00 pm