Santa Who? is a 2000 American made-for-television fantasy-comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen and directed by William Dear, in which Santa Claus develops a case of amnesia right before Christmas.

Plot

Santa feels unwell and goes out for fresh air whilst on a flight in his sleigh. Because of bad weather, he falls out and lands in Los Angeles and is unable to remember who he is. A TV news reporter called Peter, finds him and uses him to increase his ratings, asking his audience to find the family of, who he assumes to be, the lost old man. Santa gets a job working in a mall and Peter's girlfriend's son, repeatedly tries to convince the adults that he is the real Santa Claus, which no one believes. Santa still remembers certain details about Christmas but is unable to recollect how he knows them, as typically happens with source amnesia. Meanwhile, Santa's elves are looking for him, but a couple have seen him on TV and think it could be their missing grandfather and claim him. Santa begins to realise who he truly is though and Peter gains salvation when he acknowledges that Santa is genuine.

Cast

Reception

Christopher Null of Filmcritic.com gave Santa Who? 2 out of 5 stars. Perry Seibert of AllMovie gave the film 3 stars out of 5. Laura Fries of Variety wrote "Santa Who?, an original Wonderful World of Disney film, does its best to imitate the great holiday classics, but in the end it's about as rewarding as a lump of coal in your stocking". Aliya Whiteley of Den of Geek gave it a mixed review.

Announced remake

In July 2021, Lionsgate, which holds rights to this film as the owner of the Hearst Entertainment library, told Deadline that it planned to remake it, alongside The Babysitter's Seduction, Sex, Lies, & Obsession, Blue Valley Songbird, Sex & Mrs. X, A Different Kind of Christmas, and other Hearst titles with MarVista Entertainment, which will work with Lionsgate in distributing these films. Neither studio released details about these remakes, which they plan to release to an undetermined streaming service.