Warning: Spoilers ahead for Paramount+‘sDear Santamovie, and mentions of child death.Jack Black’sDear Santacharacter can grant wishes, and while the movie’s logic surrounding this particular plot point is fairly simple, there are a few little wrinkles regarding what the leader of theDear Santacastcan and can’t do. The family Christmas movie is a pretty lighthearted adventure for the most part, with enough compelling lore to keep audiences engaged, as well as invested in its characters.Dear Santa’s endingis unexpected given one of the established wish rules, but it’s at least heartwarming too.
The movie revolves around the premise of Robert Timothy Smith’s Liam Turner writing a letter to Santa, but things head south whenLiam’s dyslexia results in him addressing his wishes to Satan instead. This brings Jack Black into the movie, as he masquerades as the letter’s intended recipient, but later turns out to be a demon named Asmodeus. Interestingly,Asmodeus allows Jack Black to play a figure from real-world religious texts, which adds an extra layer toDear Santa. That being said, the whole wish thing comes from somewhere else entirely.
Dear Santa’s Demons Can Grant 3 Wishes Like Traditional Genies
Asmodeus’ Aladdin reference cements the comparison
Asmodeus tells Liam he can grant three wishes, and those wishes can achieve almost anything. The rules of a demon’s magic in this respect are essentially identical to those of genies in traditional folklore.Black’s character even indirectly accuses genies of stealing the three-wish framework from demons, implying that genies also exist within the world ofDear Santa. This is never confirmed, but it would make sense if it were true.
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Black’s character also informs Liam of at least one limitation when it comes to the wishes he can grant. In short,Asmodeus can’t change history. That being said, he does still raise Liam’s younger brother from the dead near the end of the movie, which means eitherDear Santahas a gaping hole in its lore, or Asmodeus was simply prohibited from altering history rather than being unable to. Either way, the moment still misses the point of the movie’s larger message of the characters growing around their pain.
Jack Black’s Dear Santa Character Tries To Trick Liam Into Making Selfish Wishes
There’s also a huge catch to making all 3 wishes in Dear Santa
Although he is pretending to be Santa Claus, who is never revealed to be real or fake in the movie, Asmodeus' motivations aren’t especially wholesome. He does want to grant Liam three wishes, but he wants them all to be self-centered. Of course, as a demon,it makes perfect sense that Asmodeus would encourage Liam to act so selfishly. He even gets Liam started down that path with his first wish, but the demon is unable to steer him completely in that direction.
Because only one of Liam’s wishes was selfish, his soul couldn’t be extracted.
Asmodeus tries to hurry Liam through his wishes, as there’s a potential reward at the end for Black’s conniving character. Not only does he get to become a full demon and get his actual horns, but he would also be able to take Liam’s soul back to the real Satan (Ben Stiller) as a prize. Because only one of Liam’s wishes was selfish, his soul couldn’t be extracted. AlthoughAsmodeus labels Liam as “incorruptible” in a frustrated rant to Satan, Black’s character develops a fondness for the young human, despite the demon being cast out of hell for his failure.
How Liam Spends His 3 Wishes In Dear Santa
Liam technically makes 4 wishes
Liam begins quite tentatively with his wishes, unsure of what’s possible. Eventually, he wishes for his crush at school to give him a shot at romance. As a result, Kai Marie Cech’s Emma becomes more open to the idea of hanging out with Liam, and the pair attend a concert together, which also opens the door forPost Malone’sDear Santacameo. The night appears to go well, butLiam’s ultimate goal of making Emma his girlfriend never actually happensdue to later events in the movie. However, the concert does help influence Liam’s second wish.
Liam tries to resist making his third wish, telling Black’s character that he is done and wants to keep his soul rather than hand it over to the demon.
After a bad experience caused due to the appearance of his teeth, Jaden Carson Baker’s Gibby becomes more self-conscious than ever. So,Liam uses his second wish to fix Gibby’s teeth. Weirdly, Gibby appears to have no idea how it happened but later suggests he had an idea that it could have been down to Liam and Asmodeus' collaboration. Liam tries to resist making his third wish, telling Black’s character that he is done and wants to keep his soul rather than hand it over to the demon. Unfortunately, Liam’s desire to have his parents stay together is too great.
All Of Liam’s Wishes In Dear Santa
Liam’s parents have been having issues set in motion by the death of their son, Spencer, before the events of the movie - a character eventually played by Leo Easton Kelly. Convinced their grief would cause them to part ways,Liam burns his final wish to try and prevent his parents' divorce, but with his mother and father already deciding they needed each other, the wish became “null and void,” because it had already happened.
Asmodeus only discovers that Liam’s wish about his parents has failed when the demon returns to Hell for a debrief with Satan. After being given an hour to wrap up his affairs and leave Hell,Asmodeus makes the executive decision to bring back Spencer from the dead, as that was what was in Liam’s original letter when he thought he was writing to Santa. As already mentioned, this doesn’t really align with the rule about wishes not changing history, but it happens anyway.
Asmodeus Uses His Powers Several Times Outside The Context Of A Wish In Dear Santa
Jack Black’s character nudges Liam’s first wish along with additional magic
The wishes about Gibby’s teeth and Spencer’s resurrection cause immediate changes, butLiam’s first wish isn’t just a matter of Asmodeus snapping his fingersand making Emma fall for Liam. Then again, the phrasing of Liam’s accidental wish did state he wanted her to “give [him] a chance.” The wish has its desired effect, but Asmodeus continues to use his magic to nudge the date along and make it more likely that Emma will become more to Liam than just a romantic prospect. However, Asmodeus never directly makes Emma fall in love with Liam.
Asmodeus' powers also seem to have an interesting effect on the memories of those who the wishes impact, but this isn’t represented consistently throughout the movie.
Asmodeus' powers also seem to have an interesting effect on the memories of those who the wishes impact, but this isn’t represented consistently throughout the movie. For example,Post Malone doesn’t remember the entire concert shown, as he was under Asmodeus' influence the whole time. Similarly, Liam’s parents have no memory of Spencer ever being dead after he is brought back to life, but Liam remembers it all. At the same time, Emma remembers all of her wish-related scenes inDear Santa, as does Gibby.
Dear Santa
Cast
Due to a mix-up, young Liam, a dyslexic 6th grader, sends a letter to Satan instead of Santa, leading Satan to appear at his door, delighted by his first-ever fan letter and interested in acquiring a portion of Liam’s soul.
