‘MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET’ (1994)

Please feel free to comment on my review.

Do you believe in Santa Claus?

It’s time to talk about the 1994 remake of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’! 🙂

In 1947, the film ‘Miracle on 34th Street’, starring Maureen O’Hara and John Payne, was released. I’ve only seen that film once and I didn’t grow up with it as a kid. I grew up the 1994 film, starring Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott and Mara Wilson (who played ‘Matilda’).

Mind you, you might know her for being in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’, ‘A Simple Wish’ and ‘Thomas and the Magic Railroad’. 😀 1994’s ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ is a film my parents and I cherish whenever we get the chance to see it over Christmas. It has a certain charm about it that my parents and I enjoy. 🙂

I know that’s something people won’t entirely agree on, since some would prefer the 1947 film over the 1994 film. I understand that, as that was the original version. But I haven’t really seen the 1947 film enough to appreciate its originality. The 1994 film sticks in my mind more, since I saw it as a kid.

And this might be an unpopular opinion on my part, but I think the 1994 film is better than the 1947 film. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the 1947 film when I saw it on DVD one time. But it wasn’t exciting enough compared to the 1994 film. I’d need to re-watch the 1947 film in order to be sure. 😐

It came as a surprise to me that John Hughes was the producer and the writer for the 1994 film. John Hughes is well-known for writing and producing the first three ‘Home Alone’ films as well as other films like ‘Beethoven’ and ‘Baby’s Day Out’. This film is quite a contrast to some of his previous films.

Usually in a John Hughes film, there are some slapstick comedic moments to be featured. Whilst there are a few of them in this particular film, I think the level of slapstick comedy is toned down and restrained. There’s more drama in the film, which could reflect on what the story is all about here. 😐

Incidentally, I’m sure John Hughes was a fan of the original 1947 film, especially as a clip of the film was featured in the first ‘Home Alone’ film. It’s just as well that John Hughes credited the film’s screenplay as being co-written by him and George Seaton, the writer and the director of the original.

The issue of Santa Claus being real may also be debatable in this 1994 film compared to the 1947 original. I imagine more of a point is made that Santa Claus is real in the 1994 film than the 1947 original. It’s not extravagant or anything like that, but there seems to a higher level regarding that. 😐

As you’re probably aware, Santa Claus isn’t someone I consider to be a major part of Christmas as the Nativity is more at the forefront for me due to my Christian upbringing. But I enjoyed how the Santa Claus angle is tackled in this film. It isn’t done in an over-the-top manner like other films do it.

In films like ‘The Santa Clause’ film trilogy, ‘The Santa Paws’ film trilogy, ‘Elf’ and ‘Noelle’, Santa Claus is considered as a real thing and more on a whimsical nature. Here, the notion of Santa Claus being real in a down-to-earth setting is very intriguing, especially as the argument is raised in a courtroom.

In the 1994 film, like in the 1947 original, an old man called Kris Kringle becomes a department store Santa Claus in New York, though he claims to be the real deal. A six-year-old girl named Susan Walker has doubts about Santa Claus being real, since her mother told her about the ‘secret’ of him.

When Susan meets Kris Kringle as Santa Claus in Cole’s Department Store, her beliefs are put to the test when she asks Santa for three impossible things she wants for Christmas. Susan also helps attorney Bryan Bedford to prove Kris Kingle’s case in court that he is the real deal and he’s not crazy.

The film is open to debate as it presents the case on whether Santa Claus does exist or not and whether Kris Kringle is the real deal. Personally, I think the film works okay in that regard. I may not believe in Santa nowadays, but I’d like it if Kris Kringle is the real deal, as he’s genuinely convincing. 🙂

That’s probably down to Richard Attenborough’s enjoyable and mesmerising performance as Kris Kringle. I later saw him in a 2000 TV adaptation of ‘The Railway Children’ and he comes across as a genuinely pleasant old man in both that film and this film. He plays Santa Claus spot on in this film. 🙂

Kris Kringle is genuinely happy when he wants to please children who want to see Santa Claus at Cole’s Department Store. He does his best to hold up certain values as Santa and he gets upset when he feels he’s failed in certain regards, especially once he’s put on the road to prove his case in court.

He’s also kind-hearted to those who have doubts about him being the real deal such as Susan and her mother Dorey Walker. I liked it when Kris/Santa was able to communicate with a deaf girl using sign language, which I’m sure must have been used as inspiration for the film ‘Noelle’ made in 2019.

Elizabeth Perkins stars as Dorey Walker, Susan’s mother (although in the original film, the mother was called Doris). This was the first time I’d seen Elizabeth Perkins in a film and I would later see her in films like ‘Cats & Dogs’ and ‘Hop’. She would also briefly voice Nemo’s mother in ‘Finding Nemo’.

Dorey is the director of special events for Cole’s, especially for the Thanksgiving Parade when she hires Kris Kingle to be the new Santa after the previous Santa – Jack McGee as Tony Falacchi – became drunk and was fired. Dorey comes across as a kind but sad lady when Kris Kringle gets to know her. 😐

It’s interesting how it’s unravelled what Dorey’s past was like from Bryan talking to Kris, as she had an unhappy marriage and she persuaded Susan to believe that Santa doesn’t exist. She also refuses Bryan’s proposal of marriage to him. But as the film progresses, she does come to believing in Santa.

Dylan McDermott stars as Bryan Bedford, who is Dorey’s neighbour and love interest in the film (although in the original film, the character was called Fred Gailey). Bryan is an instant believer in Santa Claus and is surprised once Susan shares to him that her mother told her Santa Claus isn’t real.

Bryan is also a lawyer in the film. I like how Bryan interacts with Kris Kringle and how he helps him to win his case in court that he is Santa Claus. It’s fascinating how Bryan doesn’t seem to have a shred of doubt that Kris Kringle is Santa Claus and how passionate he is to prove the case when at court. 🙂

I found it fascinating to see the relationship between Bryan and Dorey in the film. Bryan clearly loves Dorey and wants to marry her, but she’s reluctant to accept his proposal. As the film progresses and once the court case has been won, Bryan and Dorey are soon in a position where they are married. 🙂

Mara Wilson is a joy to watch as Susan Walker in the film. I know other people might have different opinions on Mara Wilson as a child actress, but I genuinely like her performances in the films she’s done. It’s so intriguing Mara Wilson took part in a film that involved Christmas and Santa Claus here.

I say ‘intriguing’ because Mara Wilson came from a Jewish background. I realised that when I saw her interviewed for a documentary about Christmas films. Mara Wilson does well playing Susan as a girl who gets confused concerning Kris Kringle seeming to be the real Santa at a department store. 🙂

The three impossible things Susan asks for Christmas are a house, a brother and a dad. It’s a tall order for Santa to achieve, but he manages to achieve it for Susan’s benefit. I’m not sure how that compared to the original film, but it does seem very magical with the impossible becoming possible.

The film also features J. T. Walsh as Ed Collins, a lawyer who prosecutes against the case that Santa Claus is real. I enjoyed how Ed Collins presented the case against Kris Kringle and Bryan Bedford and how he came up with his evidence that Santa doesn’t exist. But does he believe in Santa in the end?

There’s Robert Prosky as Judge Henry Harper, who’s the city judge that presides over Kris’ case. When we first meet him in the first scene of the film, he has a grandson who sees Kris Kringle and thinks he’s Santa Claus instantly. I like how Henry Harper comes around to his judgment of Kris’ case.

There’s also James Remar as Jack Duff and Jane Leeves as Albert Leonard. Both are minions working for the greedy Joss Ackland as Victor Landberg, who owns a competing store that seeks to see Cole’s go out of business. Jane Leeves would voice Mrs. Ladybug in ‘James and the Giant Peach’ in 1996. 😀

The film also features Simon Jones (Wow, he was in ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ both on radio and TV) as Donald Shellmanner, the general manger of Coles who says his departing phrase “Chin-Chin” a lot. 😀 There’s William Windom as C.F. Cole and Allison Janney as a woman shopper. 😀

1994’s ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ was released on DVD in 2001. There aren’t any special features on the 2001 DVD, which is a shame as I would have thought the trailer would be on there. Even on the Blu-ray, there doesn’t seem to be any special features, which is a shock, even for me reviewing this.

The 1994 ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ film is an underrated Christmas classic. I like this film whenever my parents and I get a chance to see it at Christmas time. It features lovely performances from the cast, including the likes of Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott and Mara Wilson. 🙂

It’s also well-directed by Les Mayfield, in my humble opinion. I don’t know how this film will fare in future and whether people will favour the original more than the remake, but I certainly consider 1994’s ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ to be a great film, depicting fascinating questions about Santa Claus.

‘Miracle on 34th Street’ (1994) rating – 8/10

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