Ernest Saves Christmas

Ernest Saves Christmas
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Cherry
Screenplay by	Ed Turner B. Kline
Story by	Ed Turner
Produced by	Joseph Akerman
Starring	Jim Varney Douglas Seale Oliver Clark Noelle Parker Gailard Sartain Bill Byrge
Cinematography	Peter Stein
Edited by	Ian D. Thomas
Music by	Mark Snow
Production companies	Touchstone Pictures Silver Screen Partners III Emshell Producers Group
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date	November 11, 1988 (1988-11-11)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6.5 million
Box office	$28.2 million

Ernest Saves Christmas is a 1988 American Christmas comedy film directed by John Cherry and starring Jim Varney. This is the third film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell, the second film in the Ernest series, and the highest-grossing film in the Ernest series. The film chronicles Ernest's attempt to help find a replacement for an aging Santa Claus.

Plot

A man claiming to be Santa Claus arrives in Orlando, Florida, where Ernest P. Worrell works as a taxicab driver. Santa informs Ernest that he is on his way to tell a local celebrity named Joe Carruthers that he has been chosen to be the new Santa Claus. Joe used to host a popular children's program that emphasized manners and integrity.

During their drive, a runaway teenage girl named Harmony Starr joins Ernest and Santa in the taxi. Upon reaching their destination, Santa realizes he has no real money and only possesses play money. Ernest lets him ride for free, resulting in Ernest losing his job. Ernest later discovers that Santa left his magic sack in the taxi and decides to find Santa and return it to him.

Santa tries to talk to Joe at the Orlando Children's Museum but is interrupted and dismissed by Joe's rude agent, Marty Brock. Santa becomes worried when he discovers his sack is missing and feels discouraged due to his increasing forgetfulness at the age of 151. Marty refuses to believe Santa's predicament and has him arrested.

To help Santa escape from jail, Ernest pretends to be an employee of the governor, and Harmony poses as the governor's niece. They convince the police chief to transfer Santa to a mental hospital. Santa explains to Ernest and Harmony that he became Santa Claus in 1889 and has enjoyed the role, but the magic weakens over time. To restore its full strength, he must pass the job on to someone else, which is why he needs to find Joe and make him the new Santa Claus before 7:00 PM.

Ernest disguises himself as a snake rancher to sneak Santa into a movie studio. Marty pressures Joe to abandon his focus on teaching goodness to children and instead take a role in a horror film called Christmas Slay, which deeply offends Santa. Santa punches the director in response.

Meanwhile, two holding dock workers receive crates marked for release to "Helper Elves." The workers argue over the shipping papers and the crates' contents, which are revealed to contain flying reindeer. They seek help from animal control, but the reindeer amaze them by walking on the warehouse ceiling.

Santa finally tracks down Joe at his home and explains the importance of passing on the Santa Claus position. Joe initially declines but later changes his mind when he refuses to use foul language in front of the children on the film set. Ernest and Harmony discover the magic of Santa's sack, but Harmony, whose real name is Pamela Trenton, abuses it. She steals the sack but eventually returns it after her conscience prevails.

On Christmas Eve, Ernest and the helpers meet Santa's elves at the airport, retrieve the reindeer and sleigh, and fly to the children's museum. Although Ernest initially struggles to control the sleigh, they eventually make it to the museum. Joe witnesses the flying reindeer and sleigh, confirming Santa's claims. Joe turns down the acting job and decides to become the new Santa Claus.

The new Santa uses his magic to make it snow in Orlando. Ernest and the helpers arrive just in time, and Pamela decides to go home after calling her mother. The new Santa chooses Pamela as his special helper and promises to take her home after their journey. Ernest becomes the sleigh driver for the night. The old Santa resumes his identity as Seth Applegate and spends Christmas Eve with a museum employee named Mary Morrissey.

At 7:00 PM, the new Santa takes off to deliver gifts. The movie ends with two holding dock workers receiving a crate marked "E. Bunny," hinting at a future adventure.

Cast

• Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell
• Douglas Seale as Santa Claus / Seth Applegate
• Oliver Clark as Joe Carruthers, The New Santa Claus
• Noelle Parker as Pamela Trenton / Harmony Starr
• Gailard Sartain as Chuck, Storage Agent
• Bill Byrge as Bobby Tulip, Storage Agent
• Billie Bird as Mary Morrissey
• Key Howard as Immigration Agent
• Jack Swanson as Businessman
• Buddy Douglas as Pyramus The Elf
• Patty Maloney as Thisbe The Elf
• Barry Brazell as Cab Passenger
• George Kaplan as Mr. Dillis
• Robert Lesser as Marty Brock
• Zachary Bowden as Boy In The Train Station

Production

Filming locations

This was the first major feature production filmed almost entirely in Orlando, Florida, at the then-unfinished Disney-MGM Studios. Exterior scenes set at the house of Ernest's friend Vern were filmed at a house located on Residential Street at the park, and which was part of the Studio Backlot Tour until it was demolished in 2002.

The remainder of the scenes were filmed in various locations in the greater Orlando area, including Orlando International Airport, Epcot Center Drive, Lake Eola, Church Street Station and Orange Avenue in Downtown Orlando, a toll booth on the Bee Line Expressway (now known as the "Beachline Expressway"), the original Orlando Science Center which is now the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (used as the "Orlando Children's Museum" in the film), and the Orlando AMTRAK station.

The Lake Mary studios of then-Fox affiliate WOFL-TV (channel 35, which is now owned by Fox itself) were used for the Christmas Slay film scenes, as the station already had a promotional relationship with Jim Varney and the Ernest character. Other smaller scenes were filmed in Nashville.

Reception

The film was not a critical success, though it was commercially successful, being the highest-grossing of the five theatrical Ernest films. In its opening weekend, Ernest Saves Christmas was #2 at the box office behind Child's Play and grossed $5,710,734 from 1,634 theaters. Its domestic total was $28,202,109. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 36% approval rating with a 4.9/10 average rating, based on 14 reviews.

Home media

The DVD was released on September 3, 2002 from Touchstone Home Entertainment. Ernest Saves Christmas is the only Ernest film out of the original "Disney Four" to not receive a release on Blu-ray.

The film was added to Disney+ on November 26, 2021.

See also

• List of Christmas films

External links

• Ernest Saves Christmas at IMDb
• Ernest Saves Christmas at Rotten Tomatoes
• Ernest Saves Christmas at the TCM Movie Database
• Ernest Saves Christmas at Box Office Mojo