Trailer
Plot summary
Ernest P. Worrell drives a taxi in Orlando, Florida, and one of his fares is a man who says he is Santa Claus. Santa has come to the city to tell Joe Carruthers, a former children's television host known for teaching manners and integrity, that Joe has been chosen as his successor. A teenage runaway named Harmony Starr rides along with them. Santa carries only play money, so Ernest lets him ride free, and Ernest loses his job for it. Ernest discovers that Santa left his magic sack behind in the taxi and sets out to return it. Santa tries to speak with Joe at the Orlando Children's Museum, but Joe's agent, Marty Brock, interrupts and dismisses him.
Cast
- Key Howardas Immigration Agent
- Buddy Douglasas Pyramus
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Ernest Saves Christmas was the first major feature production filmed almost entirely in Orlando, Florida, at the Disney-MGM Studios, which was still unfinished when the film was shot there.
- Ernest Saves Christmas grossed $28.2 million, making it the highest grossing film in the Ernest series; the next film in the series, Ernest Goes to Jail, was released in April 1990.
- Exterior scenes set at the house of Ernest's friend Vern were filmed at a house on Residential Street at the park, which remained part of the Studio Backlot Tour until it was demolished in 2002.
- In its opening weekend, Ernest Saves Christmas placed second at the box office behind Child's Play, grossing $5.7 million from 1,634 theaters.
