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IMDb > Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Miracle on 34th Street
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Miracle on 34th Street (1994) More at IMDbPro »

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Miracle on 34th Street (1994) -- Long trailer for the 1994 version

Overview

User Rating:
6.0/10   5,554 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 3% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Les Mayfield
Writers (WGA):
Valentine Davies (story)
George Seaton (1947 screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Miracle on 34th Street on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 November 1994 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Family | Fantasy more
Tagline:
Experience the Miracle. more
Plot:
A little girl discovers dreams do come true if you really believe. Six-year-old Susan has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle - Santa Claus... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
You Really Can't Get Too Much of This Story more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG for some mild language.
Runtime:
114 min
Country:
USA
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Chicago, Illinois, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Alvin Greenman (The Doorman) appeared in the original version as Alfred. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Jack and Alberta have dropped Kris off at the old folks' home and Jack is returning to the limousine, you can see Alberta's crossed legs through the open door. When Jack enters the car, however, Alberta's legs are completely covered by her overcoat. more
Quotes:
Kris Kringle: You think I'm a fraud, don't you?
Dorey Walker: Fraud is a bit too strong of a word.
Kris Kringle: But you don't believe in me.
Dorey Walker: I believe that Christmas is for children.
Kris Kringle: Well your daughter doesn't believe in me, either.
Dorey Walker: I don't think that there's any harm in not believing in a figure that many do acknowledge to be a fiction.
Kris Kringle: Oh, but there is. I'm not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. You know, I... I... I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If... you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Naked Fear (1999) more
Soundtrack:
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town more

FAQ

Chapter Headings, an unofficial version:
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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful:-
You Really Can't Get Too Much of This Story, 15 December 2007
8/10
Author: aimless-46 from Kentucky

Few things are more amusing that reading the comments from the crybaby dishrags who whine about remaking a classic like "Miracle On 34th Street" (1947). How are these weepy rants helpful?

Did it need to be remade? No. But the source material is good enough that any number of professionally done remakes would still be entertaining. If this 1994 version had been the original, people would already be crowning it with the classic tag.

But it is not the original. It strikes a decent compromise by keeping many of the original story elements, deleting some, updating others, and making a few generally ill-advised additions.

There are even some clear improvements. Elizabeth Perkins and Mara Wilson are a much better mother and daughter match than Natalie Wood and Maureen O'Hara. There is a real chemistry between them and the producers appear to have grasped this connection. This "Miracle" is told much more from their respective points of view and in that sense is much more their story than in the original. Wilson brings a focus and intensity to her roles that few child actors can match. She gave a similar performance the next year in Matilda. Perkins is one of those actresses you don't really notice at first, memorable in "Big" and "Speak" for performances filled with subtle nuances.

It is no surprise that Richard Attenborough falls short of the Edmund Gwenn standard but that was Gwenn's signature role; and as much a part of cinema history as Gregory Peck's Atticus Finch. But look for the sequence where Wilson pulls his beard and discovers it is real-this is one of the great all-time scenes.

As long as Perkins and/or Wilson are being featured, the film works quite well. And it really only stumbles seriously during the courtroom scene and during the subplot elements featuring James Remar and Jane Leeves. The film staggers along a bit but recovers itself in time for an original and very effective conclusion. As Roger Ebbert said, while it will never replace the original; this is a sweet, gentle, good-hearted film that stays true to the spirit of the original and doesn't try to make everything slick and exploitative.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

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in the category of the worst remake winner is ... miranda_ya
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John Hughes 'Christian angle' change to plot coolcollie
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