Santa Christ

Santa Christ is a powerful and beloved mythical being, embodying the spirit of Christmas. He is played by Rob Walker.

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Production history

Rob dressed up as "Santa Christ" for the Christmas 2009 videos with The Nostalgia Critic and has subsequently made appearances here and there. Basically he's a combination of both Christmas icons: Santa Claus and Jesus Christ. He also played a pivotal role in the Kickassia movie. He gives presents to everyone since he knows what people want and does MANY great things like hanging out with Mr. T, making pancakes and generally being a jovial guy. He returned in To Boldly Flee giving back Spoony to the reviewers after the Critic apparently came knocking on his door and requested it. It's also revealed his base of operations is in North Jerusalem.

The origin goes like this. From the words of Rob himself: "Doug was finishing up his Ernest Saves Christmas Review and asked me if I wanted to play what could possibly be the most loved character on the site. I said I was intrigued and told him pompously to “Go on.” He said it would be a combination of the two most lovable Christmas icons – Santa Claus and Jesus Christ, to create some sort of perfect, lovable, super character. Needless to say, I liked it. By being disguised under heavy costume, it tapped into my M.O. of always being a “character” behind the scenes. So I said, “Do lemmings like cliffs? Sure!” And the rest was history. In retrospect, though, we shelved the idea until the Star Wars Christmas special because it worked better.

Although Doug and I co-write most NC things, the concept was mostly his. Though, I think we both took inspiration from ACE RIMMER, the fictional character from Red Dwarf who’s the personification of all that is good and perfect – a badass saving the galaxy one second and reading to orphans the next. I have a theory that’s where most of the song lyrics came from. Yes, by the way, I do love pancakes.

The character performance was based on three sources. The first two are pretty obvious. I based them on South Park’s portrayal of Jesus Christ and Santa Claus. Really, the character is just a combination of Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s interpretations of those two icons basically rolled into one. I totally love their version of Jesus Christ because he is such a legitimately “nice guy.” And their version of Santa manages to be both jolly, laughable, authoritative, and just a tad messed up when pushed too far. The third inspiration was my Grandpa, who had this sardonic, booming voice, and a sarcastic way of saying things when he was being a smart ass or annoyed. That side of Santa Christ comes out whenever I get kind of snippy, like when talking to Lindsay in the Kickassia series, or when shrugging and handing people a Sega Genesis like, “Whatever.” I’m basically just doing my childhood memory’s impression of him.

I’m not sure where the whole obnoxious laughter thing came from. I think it’s just a combination of about a zillion things I saw as a kid where characters would laugh too much for no good reason to make themselves seem lovable. See: David the Gnome, Falcor the Luckdragon, that freaky tree from those old 80s Sunkist Fruit Snacks commercials, Jabba the Hutt. People complained that I looked at the camera too much, but Santa Christ is all about breaking the fourth wall. He likes it when the audience is in on the joke. Either that, or he’s staring into your soul to see if you’ve been naughty or nice. I’ve probably said more than you’ve ever wanted to know about this character."

There is one bit of trivia he added: "One thing we considered early on was having a crown of thorns wrapped around the red Santa cap. I figured, “Why not?” I mean, it came with the costume. Doug nixed the idea as “going too far.” That’s probably why he’s the director and I’m not."

• The freaky tree from those old Sunkist Fruit Snacks Commercials
• Ace Rimmer on Wikipedia.

Appearances

• Star Wars Holiday Special (First Appearance)
• End of Days
• Kickassia: Part 5
• Kickassia: Part 6
• You're a Rotten Dirty Bastard
• Care Bears 2
• Santa Claus: The Movie
• Son of the Mask
• Top 11 Dumbest Lord of the Rings Moments
• Devil
• Alice in Wonderland
• A Christmas Story 2
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
• Cinema Snob: The Passion of the Christ
• Christmas with the Kranks
• Cinema Snob: Sex Trek
• Freddy vs. Jason
• Cinema Snob: Dear Santa
• I'll Be Home For Christmas
• 2017 NC Intro
• Jesus, Bro!
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
• 2018 NostalgiaWeen Intro

Gallery

Santa Christ in an elevator with the Nostalgia Critic, Satan and Rita Repulsa

Santa Christ in Jesus Bro