The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
Carol/Mrs. Claus is teaching a class of young elves and begins telling them a story of her life with Scott Calvin/Santa Claus. The couple are expecting their first child as Christmas Eve approached. Scott invites his in-laws, Sylvia and Bud Newman, to the North Pole, along with Scott's former wife, Laura, her husband, Neil, and their daughter, Lucy. Meanwhile, he is summoned to a meeting of the Council of Legendary Figures, consisting of Mother Nature, Father Time, the Easter Bunny, Cupid, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman. Jack Frost also arrives, jealous that he has no holiday or special occasion in his honor. Because he has been promoting himself during the Christmas season, Mother Nature suggests sanctions against him. When Santa says he is dealing with how to get the in-laws to come without revealing that he is Santa, Jack Frost negotiates a light sentence of community service at the North Pole, helping Santa and the elves put up various Canadian-themed paraphernalia, as Carol's parents believe Scott is a toymaker in Canada.
However, Frost's ultimate goal is to trick Santa into renouncing his position. When elf Curtis inadvertently reveals the Escape Clause, Frost sneaks into Santa's hall of snow globes and steals one containing Scott as Santa. If Scott holds the globe and says, "I wish I'd never been Santa at all," he will go back in time and undo his career as Santa. When Lucy discovers this, Frost freezes her parents and locks her in a closet. He then orchestrates situations that make Scott think he must resign to make things better.
Frost tricks Scott into invoking the Escape Clause and both are sent to Scott's front yard in 1994, when Scott caused the original Santa to fall off of his roof and had to replace him. Frost causes the original Santa to fall off the roof and grabs Santa's coat before Scott can, making Frost the new Santa. Scott is sent back to the present day, where he has been CEO of his old company for the last 12 years and business takes priority over family. Laura treats him coldly and explains she and Neil divorced, revealing that the new timeline has affected other people as well. Scott also learns he and Carol never married and Carol moved away years ago.
Scott goes to find Lucy and Neil, who are vacationing at the North Pole, which Frost has turned into a touristy resort. Christmas is now "Frostmas", the elves are miserable, and the reindeer are confined to a petting zoo. When Scott finds Lucy and Neil, Neil expresses his resentment for Scott's causing the separation between Neil and Laura. Scott confronts Frost as Santa Claus and tricks Jack Frost into recording his voice stating the Escape Clause. Scott has Lucy steal Frost's snow globe and bring it to him; when Frost finds out and takes the globe back, Scott plays the recording of Frost saying, "I wish I'd never been Santa at all", invoking the Escape Clause and causing Scott and Frost to be sent back again to 1994. Scott restrains Jack long enough to let the Scott Calvin of 1994 get the coat, making him Santa Claus again and taking him back to the North Pole in the present and the family where no time has passed.
Scott as Santa reconciles with his family and Jack is arrested by elf police. He reveals he cannot unfreeze his victims unless he is unfrozen himself. Scott convinces Lucy via a snow globe he had given her earlier of her warmly hugging a snowman, to give Frost a "magic hug" to unfreeze and reform him. The "Canada" ruse is dropped and Scott appears as Santa to Carol's parents. With two hours remaining before Santa must leave for his Christmas deliveries, Carol goes into labor.
Back to the present time, while Carol is telling the tale to her students, Scott walks in to reveals his baby boy, Buddy Claus.
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