Whither KringleQuest?

Fellow Elves, it has been a rather hard period for us here at KringleQuest.com. We have not only lost our beloved Dudley Moore, but now Hiphats' legendary Superman Web Central has been shut down, at least for the time being. "The world is a different place now, Anya," Santa warned his wife during his soliloquy in Santa Claus: The Movie. "You don't get to see it. Consider yourself lucky." If the Clauses could see today's world, they would discover, as Patch eventually does in the film itself, that the modern world is filled with trouble, frustration, strife --- and, definitely, changes in personal lives and patterns.

With Hiphats' decision to close down the Web Central, there now remain a handful of Salkind standard-bearers --- Superman Cinema, Vartox's Superboy Page, DMWC's Superboy Page .... and, needless to say, KringleQuest.com. We're here on the web because we were influenced by the legacy of Alexander and Ilya Salkind; consequently, we represent a handful of webmasters whose passion for the Salkinds has never waned, not even after the failure of Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (although, I will admit, one might be hard-pressed to locate a website for fans of George Corraface; if, however, such a site exists, we happily welcome its webmaster into our inner circle!). It goes without saying that we were similarly influenced by the efforts of Hiphats and his various colleagues who were instrumental in bringing the Web Central to life.

Now, we're on our own. And that, of course, leads your humble Elf Without Jingles to wonder: What's next?

Well, let's start with us, this labor of love of mine which I have faithfully maintained since circa 1998. I started KringleQuest in the hope that there might be other fans of Santa Claus: The Movie out there. To those who have discovered this site and have expressed profound, heartfelt joy at its very existence, my thanks to you. The Superman Web Central may be history (for now, at least), but I frankly can't afford to say goodbye to all of you. My passion for Santa Claus would never allow it. Besides, throughout the centuries Santa has repeatedly demonstrated a stick-to-it-iveness that few Immortals before or since have dared to even boast of possessing. It has long been this website's endeavor to live up to that reputation, and to do so with the same vigor and fearlessness Santa has always exhibited whenever he and his reindeer take to the skies every Christmas Eve.

That said, Fellow Elves, understand this: I promised you that we'd be here for the long haul; and, darn it, I'm sticking it out! English translation: as noted on the main page, we're here to stay! And, as before, we welcome the contributions and support of Salkind and Santa fans throughout the cosmos!

So many of you have e-mailed us with your kind words and suggestions, it's kind of hard to take the magic in. But as a Professional Believer in Santa Claus, I know that, because of all of you, our Jolly Old Elf is still hangin' in, as the world expects him to do. As far as The Movie itself goes, we, like Dooley and his fellow Vendequm before us, owe Alexander and Ilya Salkind a debt of gratitiude we will never be able to repay.

To Ilya himself, and to Jeannot Szwarc, let me say this: Some of us out there still appreciate the wonderful work you did between August and November of 1984. In those 77 days of shooting, you accomplished more Santa-related magic than any of us could hope to do in a lifetime. So if you ever see this website, and I hope you do, I just want to thank you both for having made Santa Claus: The Movie possible in the first place.

To the future webmaster who might yet be inspired by KQ.com, a simple comment of wisdom: I'm not Hiphats, but if you would follow in my footsteps, be prepared to commit yourself to the magic of Santa and the willingness to believe in the wonder and joy of the season, as invoked by one delightful holiday motion picture --- Santa Claus: The Movie.

And as for the rest of you: Like I said, we're here to stay, so count on KringleQuest.com to be your #1 source for EVERYTHING Santa Claus: The Movie. We'll be here on November 27th, 2005, when the film turns 20 --- and hopefully far, far beyond. Thanks again for your encouragement and support over these last few years. And, as always, Merry Christmas.

Sincerely yours,

RICHARD WASHINGTON

Senior Elf-in-Charge, KringleQuest.com

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