And so, once more, whither the KringleQuest?

2002 was probably one of the really hardest years in this website's history. First, we lost our beloved Dudley Moore; then, our colleague Hiphats made the painful decision to shut down his legendary Superman Web Central. "The world is a different place now, Anya," Santa warned his wife during his soliloquy in Santa Claus: The Movie. "You don't get to see it. Consider yourself lucky." If the Clauses could see today's world, they would discover, as Patch eventually does in the film itself, that the modern world is filled with trouble, frustration, strife --- and, definitely, changes in personal lives and patterns.

With the Web Central and Superman Cinema now just another set of memories, there now remain a handful of Salkind standard-bearers --- CapedWonder.com, the Christopher Reeve Homepage .... and, needless to say, us here at KQ5. We're here on the web because we were influenced by the legacy of Alexander and Ilya Salkind; consequently, we represent a handful of webmasters whose passion for the Salkinds has never waned, not even after the failure of Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (although, I will admit, one might be hard-pressed to locate a website for fans of George Corraface; happily, George himself has since set up his own website, which we are pleased to welcome into our inner circle!). It goes without saying that we were similarly influenced by the efforts of Hiphats and all his colleagues who were instrumental in bringing the Web Central to life.

Still, we are once again on our own. And that, of course, leads your humble Elf Without Jingles to wonder: What's next?

Well, let's start with us, this labor of love of mine which I have faithfully maintained since circa 1998. I started KringleQuest that early November, in the hope that there might be other fans of Santa Claus: The Movie out there. To those who have discovered this site and have expressed profound, heartfelt joy at its very existence, my thanks to you. The Superman Web Central and Superman Cinema may now be history, but I frankly can't afford to say goodbye to all of you. My passion for Santa Claus would never allow it. Besides, throughout the centuries Santa has repeatedly demonstrated a stick-to-it-iveness that few Immortals before or since have dared to even boast of possessing. It has long been this website's endeavor to live up to that reputation, and to do so with the same vigor and fearlessness Santa has always exhibited whenever he and his reindeer take to the skies every Christmas Eve.

That said, Fellow Elves, understand this: I promised you we'd be here for the long haul; and, darn it, we're gonna keep right on sticking it out! We will continue to welcome the contributions and support of Salkind and Santa fans throughout the cosmos!

So many of you have e-mailed us with your kind words and suggestions, it's kind of hard to take the magic in. But as a Professional Believer in Santa Claus, I know that, because of all of you, our Jolly Old Elf is still hangin' in, as the world expects him to do. As far as The Movie itself goes, we, like Dooley and his fellow Vendequm before us, owe Alexander and Ilya Salkind a debt of gratitude we will never be able to repay.

To Ilya himself, and to Jeannot Szwarc, let me say this: Some of us out there still appreciate the wonderful work you did between August and November of 1984. In those 77 days of shooting, you accomplished more Santa-related magic than any of us could hope to do in a lifetime. And since Ilya now knows about this website, and what it seeks to accomplish, one more hope remains: namely, that Jeannot will be able to see these pages as well. So let me repeat my thanks to you both for having made Santa Claus: The Movie possible in the first place.

To the future webmaster who might yet be inspired by KringleQuest, this simple comment of wisdom: I'm not Hiphats, but if you would follow in my footsteps, be prepared to commit yourself to the magic of Santa and the willingness to believe in the wonder and joy of the season, as invoked by one delightful holiday motion picture --- Santa Claus: The Movie.

And as for the rest of you: Like I said, we're here to stay, so count on KringleQuest.com to be your #1 source for EVERYTHING Santa Claus: The Movie. We'll be here EVERY November 27th and onwards .... and hopefully far, far beyond. Thanks again for your encouragement and support over these last few years. And, as always, Merry Christmas.

Sincerely yours,

RICHARD WASHINGTON

Senior Elf-in-Charge, KringleQuest.com, v.5