The Santa Clause Why Bernard Didn’t Return for The Escape Clause

The Santa Clause: Why Bernard Didn’t Return for The Escape Clause

The Santa Clause franchise would be nothing without Santa’s head elf, Bernard, but why wasn’t his trusted confidant in the third entry?

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The Santa Clause Why Bernard Didn’t Return for The Escape Clause

The Santa Clause franchise has become a Christmas staple for many families enjoying the dozens of holiday pictures out there. Starring Tim Allen, the series follows his character, Scott Calvin, as he goes from being a single father to becoming Santa Clause. Scott learns of more duties that he must fulfill as Santa with each film to maintain the title, but through each obstacle, there has always been one person by his side, the Head-Elf, Bernard (David Krumholtz). However, he was not in the trilogy’s final film, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.

In the series, Elves are a cheery bunch who love making toys and are some of the kindest beings on the planet, so when Santa supports them, they have no issue performing their tasks to the best of their ability, yet for the Head-Elf, the job is far more strict. Acting as a liaison between the Elves and Santa, the Head-Elf must oversee day-to-day productivity and ensure that the workshop is running smoothly. As a result, Bernard is hardly as chipper as the other Elves. In fact, he is the most serious of the bunch, and he carries the weight of Christmas on his shoulders to the point that even Scott comments on how he should take it easy.

The Santa Clause Why Bernard Didn’t Return for The Escape Clause

In The Santa Clause, Bernard serves as a focal point to explain to Scott the many changes his body will go through after putting on Santa’s suit and accepting the role’s duties. He also gives Scott’s son, Charlie, a snow globe that allows him to see where his dad is at any point. It’s a sweet moment that shows how even though Bernard is one of the more serious Elves, he’s Head-Elf because of his heart of gold. For the eight years leading up to the sequel, he helps Scott ensure that many Christmas’ goes off without a hitch.

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In The Santa Clause 2, another factor becomes prevalent in Scott’s clause to becoming Santa. Scott will lose his power forever if he doesn’t have a wife. Naturally, this sends Bernard into a tailspin, but thankfully he has an assistant, Curtis. As the Number 2 elf, Curtis is able to help mitigate the stress and even creates a toy version of Santa while Scott goes off to find a bride. However, the toy Santa turns out to be more strict and wants to give every child coal. Though Bernard catches wind of his plot, he’s locked up before he can alert anyone. Thankfully, he’s able to get out and join the other Elves in a rebellion against toy Santa and his giant toy soldiers.

Although Bernard has played such an essential role in the franchise, his lack of presence in the third film is enough to raise the eyebrows of many longtime fans. From a story perspective, there isn’t a clear explanation given as to why the Head-Elf is no longer in the film. It could be inferred that Bernard is finally cutting loose on vacation or permanently retiring, leaving Curtis as the new Head-Elf. That being said, the behind-the-scenes reason is much more straightforward to explain. Krumholtz was unable to continue as Bernard due to scheduling conflicts with his series, Numb3rs, where he uses his mathematical genius to help his FBI agent brother solve crimes. Numb3rs ran for five years and was a hit with fans, but it’s still sad to see that Krumholtz could not return for one final adventure through the North Pole.

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While he couldn’t return for the third film, Bernard’s influence is felt throughout The Santa Clause series. His stern demeanor when it comes to work ethic earned him the reputation of not being as fun as the other Elves, but when it was time to be kind-hearted, Bernard was the best of the bunch. As for Krumholtz, Bernard was only the first of many memorable roles that have helped push the actor to new heights in films and shows that span multiple genres.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/why-david-krumholtz-bernard-didnt-return-santa-clause-3/

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