"In a certain time, in a certain land, once there lived and once there was...."
How do you do? I'm the one called Dooley. I'm part of an unusual group of magical beings known as the Vendequm --- but up here at the Top of the World, we would prefer that you refer to us as Elves. Now, we're not just any kind of Elves, mind you. It so happens that we work for the most magical person in the Multiverse. I believe you Humans refer to him as Santa Claus.
For those of you visiting this website for the very first time, let me take a moment to explain my duties. What I do, basically, as Santa's Senior Second-in-Command, is look after the community of Elves who live here; deal with all the letters we receive from you, the good children of the world [no matter how old you are!]; and, most famously of all, I'm the Elf in charge of that celebrated list of who is naughty and who is nice. I won't say who's on either list; that's privileged information!
At any rate, my job right now is to welcome you to KringleQuest.com Beyond --- the only website dedicated exclusively to the Alexander and Ilya Salkind Production "Santa Claus: The Movie." The film stars Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, David Huddleston (as Santa, of course!), Judy Cornwell, Burgess Meredith, Jeffrey Kramer; and introduces Christian Fitzpatrick and Carrie Kei Heim. (I should make a brief reference, by the way, to the contributions of John Barrard, who is one of Britain's finer veteran character actors. He it was who had the dubious honor of portraying me! Quite a noble calling, don't you think?)
Anyway, let me briefly tell you why KringleQuest.com Beyond is here on the web, as well as our specific purpose for being here. A very special Mortal named Richard Washington has assembled an impressive collection of Santa Claus-related stuff: films, books, photographs, clippings, articles and entire sections from various newspapers and magazines, Christmas catalogues, Mr. Washington's own original drawings, video footage --- and, believe it or not, no fewer than three Santa suits!
And always at the heart of it all has been director Jeannot Szwarc's incredible holiday odyssey, in which we are introduced to the wily, imaginative visionary elf Patch (played by the aforementioned Dudley Moore). The tale told in "Santa Claus: The Movie" follows Patch on a journey of discovery, as he becomes the first of Santa's Elves to experience first-hand the full spectrum of the human condition in all its forms.
The mission of this website is to bring you, from here in cyberspace, some of the major fragments from Richard Washington's Christmas collection, along with the most up-to-date news and information about Santa Claus: The Movie and the world of Alexander and Ilya Salkind. Here are some of the things which we share with you as we celebrate the magic of the holiday season:
And of course, KringleQuest.com Beyond is your one-stop source for the full saga of the making of "Santa Claus: The Movie"! You'll visit the incredible sets constructed for the film at England's Pinewood/Shepperton Studios, meet the Cast and Crew Principals, explore The Complete Credits, journey through Santa's Century at the Movies, sing along with The Lyrics to all seven original songs, relive The Unofficial Transcript of the Santa Claus: The Movie making-of documentary --- and, of course, shake hands with the unstoppable members of Team Salkind, whose combined efforts made the whole thing possible! In addition, our Official Guestbook is operational as well --- so, whether you wish to sign it or view it, you can venture into our exclusive forum where Santa Claus: The Movie fans can leave messages for Santa or myself, talk about their favorite scenes or characters from the film, and maybe reveal their own holiday traditions! Plus, take a look at some of the first few Guestbook Classic Comments, along with a very special interview with the aforementioned (and now grown-up) Carrie Kei Heim, and a few other very Special Features, one of which looks at Life After Santa Claus: The Movie; and another which explores Santa's Harley-Davidson Adventures. There's even an Official KQ Beyond Blog, where Richard shares with fans of the film tales of his most recent Santa-related journeys!
And in case you lose your way, simply click on the KringleQuest.com Beyond Sitemap to find whatever you want! What's more, you can now find out How to Link to KringleQuest.com Beyond as well, along with our KQ.com Beyond Banners.
Finally, and to speak seriously for the benefit of those of you who may or may not have known: Alexander Salkind, the man whose vision, persistence and awesome diligence helped to make this uniquely magical movie a reality, passed away on March 8th, 1997, at the age of 76. Needless to say, we have included herein our own little shrine to his memory. Alexander, you see, was more than just a good friend to us here at North Pole Headquarters. Why, considering the various ways whereby he helped our next-door neighbor here at the Top of the World --- some of you might know this particular fellow as Superman --- well, let us simply say that we Vendequm owe Alexander and his son Ilya a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to repay.
And in May 2002, we lost our one and only Patch --- Dudley Moore --- to the incurable brain disorder called PSP. Check out our tribute, Remembering Dudley.
Remember, you're always welcome to contact us at either electric_pirates@hotmail.com or blackbeardian@yahoo.com. Remember, too, that while I am a very patient Elf, I still have a responsibility to uphold the Rules and Regulations as set forth in our Elf Rule Book, and those Rules must be enforced, no matter what! I do hope I've made things clear to you.
So, now that you know what we intend to be up to around here, welcome to what we hope will continue to be THE ultimate online Santa site --- where you may discover almost everything you've ever wanted to know about the Distinguished Mr. Claus .....and a little bit more! Have fun exploring, but just remember: behave yourselves --- and no peeking!