There are a lot of great Christmas movies. From the sort of creepy Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to Elf and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, people love their holiday favorites. However, certain films stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. The two Home Alone movies stand out as yearly must-watches, but the best is The Santa Clause, starring Tim Allen as the man in red.

In a way, The Santa Clause is a Santa origin story. Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) was going about a typical Christmas Eve with his son when he heard something on the roof. He ran outside to see Santa Claus, but when he yelled, Santa fell and died. That set a crazy set of events into motion, and it wasn't long before Scott was ushered in as the next Santa Claus. However, it's possible there was something nefarious going on. It's possible that the elves offed the old Santa.

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The Previous Santa Claus Was Terrible at His Job

The Santa Clause Tim Allen

The theory proposed by u/jrm2003 on Reddit starts with the general attitude toward Christmas throughout the movie. On multiple occasions, someone mentions that the magic of Christmas is dwindling. For some reason, people don't believe in Santa anymore. At first glance, that seems like the beginning of every Christmas movie, but The Santa Clause actually explains why people lost faith -- Santa was bad at his job.

At one point, Neil and Laura told Scott the gifts that they had wanted as children. Neil wanted an Oscar Meyer Weenie Whistle, and Laura wanted a Mystery Date board game. However, neither of them got what they wanted, which was why they stopped believing. While the movie doesn't say how long the previous Santa served, the implication is clear.

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The Elves Killed Father Christmas in The Santa Clause

The Santa Clauses Scott and Charlie

The thing is, the Elves would only have put up with Santa's shortcomings for so long. The theory states that at the beginning of The Santa Clause, Bernard and the Elves were fed up. But they couldn't fire Santa, so they offed Santa at the house of the person they wanted to take over. The idea that the Elves would have killed Santa is pretty morbid, but there is some compelling evidence. First, an experienced Santa wouldn't have woken Charlie and Scott up by walking on the roof, and second, he shouldn't have been spooked so badly that he fell. The alternative is simple: the Elves sabotaged him. Maybe they got him drunk, or the Elf special forces caused him to fall.

And all of this is compounded by the fact that no one batted an eye when Scott shows up at the North Pole instead of the old Santa. Tim Allen thought that was a plot hole, but maybe it wasn't. The way they moved on to Scott without mentioning what happened to the previous Santa proves they had been through the whole new Santa ordeal before. And it makes even more sense if they were expecting a new Santa, as they had intentionally gotten rid of the old one. Of course, all of this is ridiculous and totally contrary to the spirit of the film, but it's a theory with some backing.