People are only just spotting bizarre hidden detail in The Santa Clause 29 years after it released

Christmas is once again just around the corner, and as such it is very much time to break out all those classics.

Whether you're a fan of 90s flicks like Home Alone, the many adaptations of A Christmas Carol, or controversial options like Die Hard or The Nightmare Before Christmas, there's no shortage of choice when it comes to festive movies.

But people have been left shocked after noticing something odd in the movie The Santa Clause.

Released in 1994, the Christmas film starts off pretty dark, by killing off Santa after the lead character Scott startles him and causes him to slip and fall off the roof.

Yikes.

Scott ultimately takes on the mantle of Santa and reconnects with his son Charlie.

But it's not Santa which has caught people's eyes.

There are, of course, elves present throughout the movie. What kind of Santa movie wouldn't have elves?

However, it turns out that there may be more elves in the movie than many people might first think.

Walt Disney Pictures

A closer look at many of the 'children' in the show reveals something truly sinister going on under the surface.

Eagle-eyed viewers will notice something not quite right about these children, something different.

That's because many of them have elf ears, suggesting that they have in fact been Santa's minions the whole time.

There's not just one either, there's a whole network of them throughout the movie.

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It certainly explains how Santa knows who's naughty and who's nice. It's not magic, it's the Elf Stasi.

There are several moments where the elves show up in the movie, and TikToker @otakuwu pointed some out.

On one occasion, an elf boy can be seen putting his coat on in a Denny's.

Then, there's an elf sitting right behind Charlie in class. Yes, they're in the schools.

Another excerpt shows an elf walking past Scott and Charlie in the park and looking at them suspiciously.

Walt Disney Pictures

Lastly, one can be seen when an increasingly Santa-esque Scott is surrounded by kids in the park.

It's like the 'Elf on the Shelf' idea where the elf is put there as a way to stop children misbehaving.

This is like the Panopticon, a prison where every prisoner is visible from a central tower.

In the Panopticon you can never know for sure if you are being watched at any one time, so you always behave yourself.

And with the threat of Santa's undercover elves watching your every move you'd be well advised to, unless you want a lump of coal for Christmas.