The Christmas Secret is a TV movie that first aired on CBS on December 17, 2000, inspired by the book Flight of the Reindeer by Robert Sullivan.
Richard Thomas stars as Jerry McNeil, a zoology professor who becomes obsessed with the idea that reindeer may actually be able to fly. While flying through the Arctic in the hopes of witnessing one, he ends up getting much more than he bargained for when his plane crashes, and he's rescued by an elf who takes him to Santa's village, where he meets Santa Claus himself (Beau Bridges). There's just one problem: he can't leave. Santa gets his power from "true belief", the faith people have in his existence without any need for proof. If Jerry were to leave and tell people what he found, it might put an end to Christmas as we know it. His only hope to return to his wife and daughter is to learn what it means to truly believe.
The Christmas Secret contains examples of:
- Flat-Earth Atheist: Averted. Santa exists in this world, but Jerry's skepticism is justified because he has to play Santa with his family. Santa explains that he only delivers presents to families of true believers, because otherwise his existence would be proven, and the magic would fade.
- Santa's Existence Clause: Played With. Jerry is skeptical about Santa being real, but he's honestly trying to prove scientifically that, at the very least, reindeer can fly.
- Still Believes in Santa: Jerry's wife not only believes in Santa, but she's considered a true believer, meaning she doesn't need proof to believe in his existence. When she explains to the search and rescue team what her husband was doing when he got lost, she even says it's silly that he'd try to prove reindeer can fly because she considers it obviously true.
