20 facts you might not know about 'Jingle All the Way'

Many people can relate to the pressure and insanity of trying to get the popular toy of the year for their kid. Screenwriter Randy Kornfield was no different. He saw his in-laws go to a toy store at dawn in order to try and get his son a Power Ranger, and that sparked the idea for the plot of “Jingle All the Way.”

Chris Columbus was a producer on this film, and he also did a pass at the script to ratchet up the satire. Anytime you can have Columbus on your Christmas movie it tends to pay off. He wrote “Gremlins” and directed the first two “Home Alone” movies. On top of that, he was the original director of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” but left the project to avoid working with Chevy Chase.

The odds are you have seen at least a couple Brian Levant films, either as a kid or with your kids. Before he directed “Jingle All the Way,” he helmed the movies “Beethoven” and “The Flintstones.” After his Christmas film he directed “Snow Dogs” and “Are We There Yet?.” Levant also directed “A Christmas Story `2,” a forgettable direct-to-DVD sequel of the holiday staple.

In the mid-‘90s, Schwarzenegger was supposed to star in a remake of “Planet of the Apes.” However, it kept getting delayed, and another delay coincided with the production of “Jingle All the Way.” As soon as the massive actor was available, the production worked quickly to get him on board.

Sinbad ended up cast as Myron, Schwarzenegger’s rival for the Turbo Man doll. This wasn’t the original hope, though. Columbus had wanted Joe Pesci, who had of course worked with him on the “Home Alone” films. Ultimately, they moved away from Pesci in part because Sinbad was a better height match for Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger’s agent suggested Sinbad for the part of Myron, and obviously he had some sway given who he represented. That being said, the producers were hesitant, thinking that Sinbad’s clean, family-friendly reputation made him unsuited for being the ostensible antagonist. He still got a chance to audition, but he then missed that audition for a USO tour. Columbus waited to give Sinbad a shot to audition, though, and in the end he got the role.

In the ‘90s, Schwarzenegger was at the peak of his powers. That was so true that he could command a huge paycheck for a holiday comedy. Schwarzenegger was reportedly paid $20 million to star in “Jingle All the Way.” In total, the film had a budget of $75 million.

The third-billed actor in the film is Phil Hartman, who is a “Saturday Night Live” legend. He’s not the only person with sketch comedy bona fides in the cast. Other “SNL” alumni in the movie include Chris Parnell, Jim Belushi, and Laraine Newman. On top of that, Harvey Korman is in the film, and he was part of “The Carol Burnett Show.”`

Hartman’s tremendous talent was sadly snuffed out when he was murdered. He left behind a great career, including some work that was released posthumously. However, this was the last of Hartman’s films to be released when he was alive.

Howard Langston, Schwarzenegger’s character, is determined to get a Turbo Man doll for his son Jamie. His son is played by Jake Lloyd. Any “Star Wars” fan knows that name. He played a young Anakin Skywalker in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.” That…didn’t go great for him.

There are Santas of all heights in the world of “Jingle All the Way.” One of the Santas in the movie is played by Paul Wight, who was known as The Giant in WCW at the time and would go on to wrestle as The Big Show in WWE. On the flip side, an uncredited Verne Troyer also plays Santa. This was before “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” hence the lack of notoriety or credit.

Relying on his comedic chops, Sinbad improvised a lot of his dialogue in the movie. As a professional comedian, he was able to handle that. On the other hand, his improvising often happened when he was doing scenes with Schwarzenegger. This led to Schwarzenegger having to improvise as well, which he wasn’t quite trained for to the same degree.

The movie takes place in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and much of the filming was done there. In fact, they even filmed in the actual Mall of America. They were able to take some unused stores and turn them into Christmas stores, which was necessary given that there were filming in April.

Minneapolis and St. Paul are the Twin Cities, but the emphasis there is on “Cities.” They may be right by each other, but they are decidedly different entities. For “Jingle All the Way,” though they decided to treat them like a single city to make things easier on them. For example, the police are members of the “Twin Cities Police” force, which is not an actual thing.

“Jingle All the Way” didn’t just shoot in Minnesota’s famous mall. It’s also where the premiere of the film was set. At the same time, Schwarzenegger donated memorabilia from the film to the Planet Hollywood that was in the Mall of America at the time.

The Wintertainment Parade wasn’t all that wintery. While it was based on the real Holidazzle Parade in Minneapolis, the movie shot their parade scene on a backlot in Hollywood due to logistical and safety concerns. They also shot some of the store interiors in Los Angeles as well.

When Myron and Howard are at the radio station, the DJ (played by Martin Mull), is hosting a contest to name Santa’s reindeer. The contestant incorrectly names three of the reindeer as Randy, Tito, and Jermaine. These are not reindeer, but instead three members of the Jackson Five.

There was a quick turnaround on “Jingle All the Way” to get it out in time for the holiday season in 1996. Schwarzenegger signed on in February and it was released on November 22. That may have played into the fact the movie wasn’t a huge hit. It was fourth in the box office in its opening weekend, and overall it made $129.8 million worldwide. While that means it made money, it wasn’t a hit by any means.

In 1998, Murray Hill Publishing sued Fox over accusations of plagiarism. They claimed that the screenplay for “Jingle All the Way” was stolen from a script called “Could This Be Christmas?” they had purchased and sent around Hollywood. In 2001, 20th Century Fox was found guilty and ordered to pay $19 million. However, that was then reduced to $1.5 million on appeal, and then after that in 2004 the verdict was overturned entirely. The current legal record states that “Jingle All the Way” is not based on a stolen idea.

In 2014, a full 18 years after the release of “Jingle All the Way,” we got a sequel. “Jingle All the Way 2” was a direct-to-DVD release produced in collaboration with WWE Films. The movie features none of the original actors or characters. Instead, it stars Larry the Cable Guy and then-WWE wrester Santino Marella.