Synopsis

College student Jake Wilkinson is stranded in the California desert wearing a Santa suit after a prank by his rivals. With no money and only a few days before Christmas, he must cross the country to reach his family's home in Larchmont, New York, by Christmas Eve. His father's offer of a vintage Porsche gives Jake a powerful incentive to complete the journey.

Factoids & Trivia

• The screenplay was originally developed under the title "I Won't Be Home For Christmas." Disney later reshaped it as a starring vehicle for Jonathan Taylor Thomas, presenting Jake as a Ferris Bueller-style prep-school student.

• Principal photography took place from April 20 to June 27, 1998. Locations in Alberta, British Columbia, and California were used to represent Jake's cross-country route.

• Because production took place in spring and summer, artificial snow was used to create the film's winter landscapes.

• The production used Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles for the college campus scenes. Canmore, Alberta, and Fort Langley, British Columbia, also appear among the filming locations.

• The film's opening Walt Disney Pictures logo was given a Christmas-themed variation, with the arch over the castle formed from Christmas lights.

• The trailer included a gag in which a young boy urinates on Jake's lap. The scene was removed from the finished film.

• Although Jake and Allie are college students, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Jessica Biel were both minors during production.

• This was Jessica Biel's first Disney movie. She and Adam LaVorgna had previously appeared together on the television series "7th Heaven."

• Released theatrically on November 13, 1998, the film earned approximately $12.2 million in the United States and Canada against an estimated $30 million budget.