As December 26th dawns, an exhausted but merry Santa Claus looks around at the scene before him: his humble home, filled with all the simple items a man of his stature would always desire, from whittling knives and carving tools to good-sized clothes and the Vendequm's unique version of "casual wear."
Yes, another Christmas Eve has come to an end. And as always, the journey has been successful, interesting and filled with wonder. Now, all that remains is bedtime, when he and Anya can at last be alone and lost in a sea of happy dreams.....
As for us mere Mortals, we have our own problems to deal with, our own hopes and dreams, our own wishes yet to be fulfilled. Still, for all our faults, only when we properly learn how to take stock in just how much unconditional love we Humans are truly capable of do we really learn to appreciate exactly what it is that Christmas --- and, for that matter, Santa himself represents. That is why, then, each Christmas Eve, we, the writers, researchers and editors who make KringleQuest.com possible take stock in how far we've come during the holiday season .... and with every New Year, we always find a way to make the best of a film buff's situation better than it should be.
Y'see, kids, here, as well as at other sites with similar themes, we continue to try and tell you everything we can, both good and bad, about the life and times of the House of Salkind. Even now, there remain a good many of you for whom Alexander and Ilya Salkind were among the most ruthless, buccaneering filmmakers of their generation. Perhaps, but we've since had time to assess the concept of "international co-production" in terms of moviemaking. A lot of times, we never really got to understand the Salkinds' side of the story. One scholar of their history has suggested, in fact, that they were probably more American as filmmakers than they were European. All of which makes me wonder: what, ultimately, would Santa have made of all this?
Well, if I were Santa, one of the first things I'd say is this: "Really, folks, one must give these good people the benefit of the doubt before you put them down first. If ol' Kal-el could give these wonderful men access to his Fortress of Solitude, I see no reason why they shouldn't have had access to my North Pole Headquarters back in 1985."
So for now, let us say --- even if, in our hearts of hearts, we don't want to say it --- that we have both succeeded and failed in making our big Kringle dream a reality. We failed because not many of you connected with us in the way we would have liked; and yet, we succeeded because there were, at the very least, some of you who have discovered this website, and have found much information from its pages. As its Founding Webmaster, I'd go so far as to suggest that maybe, if every Christmas Eve allows this site the chance to do so, I'd like to try to suggest that this film be returned to the big screen where it truly belongs .... for there is now an entire generation that has experienced Santa Claus: The Movie in the one way that it's been available --- that would be on the TV screen. I, for one, would like to hear the words I heard when I first saw the original release trailer for the now-classic Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition: ".... But if you've only seen it this way, you haven't seen it at all!"
So let me close by saying that we're still gonna be here, no matter what. We are grateful to everybody who has supported this website over our nearly 30 years here; the very fact that even Ilya Salkind himself has linked to us speaks volumes! We live to be THE ultimate Santa Claus site, as well as the definitive site on Santa Claus: The Movie; through your continued faith in us, we'll stay the only one! And as for where this website will journey next: well, what if I said to you: "Salkind fans, you ain't seen nothing yet!"
And on that note, from all of us on the KringleQuest.com Team, our fondest wishes to you for the best of everything this season. Merry Christmas to all!