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IMDbPro

Miracle on 34th Street

  • 19941994
  • PGPG
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
40K
YOUR RATING
Richard Attenborough and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Long trailer for the 1994 version
Play trailer3:14
2 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaFamilyFantasy
A lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.A lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.A lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
40K
YOUR RATING
    • Les Mayfield
    • Valentine Davies(story)
    • George Seaton(screenplay)
    • John Hughes(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Richard Attenborough
    • Elizabeth Perkins
    • Dylan McDermott
    • Les Mayfield
    • Valentine Davies(story)
    • George Seaton(screenplay)
    • John Hughes(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Richard Attenborough
    • Elizabeth Perkins
    • Dylan McDermott
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 129User reviews
    • 54Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    Miracle On 34th Street (1994)
    Trailer 3:14
    Watch Miracle On 34th Street (1994)
    We Are Santa | Supercut
    Clip 1:03
    Watch We Are Santa | Supercut

    Photos169

    Richard Attenborough and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Elizabeth Perkins and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    John Hughes in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Richard Attenborough and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Dylan McDermott and Elizabeth Perkins in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Richard Attenborough, Dylan McDermott, Elizabeth Perkins, and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Richard Attenborough, Dylan McDermott, Elizabeth Perkins, and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Richard Attenborough, Dylan McDermott, Elizabeth Perkins, and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Richard Attenborough and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Richard Attenborough and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
    Richard Attenborough and Mara Wilson in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Attenborough
    Richard Attenborough
    • Kriss Kringle
    Elizabeth Perkins
    Elizabeth Perkins
    • Dorey Walker
    Dylan McDermott
    Dylan McDermott
    • Bryan Bedford
    J.T. Walsh
    J.T. Walsh
    • Ed Collins
    James Remar
    James Remar
    • Jack Duff
    Jane Leeves
    Jane Leeves
    • Alberta Leonard
    Simon Jones
    Simon Jones
    • Shellhammer
    William Windom
    William Windom
    • C.F. Cole
    Mara Wilson
    Mara Wilson
    • Susan Walker
    Robert Prosky
    Robert Prosky
    • Judge Harper
    Kathrine Narducci
    Kathrine Narducci
    • Mother
    Mary McCormack
    Mary McCormack
    • Myrna Foy
    Alvin Greenman
    Alvin Greenman
    • The Doorman
    Allison Janney
    Allison Janney
    • The Woman
    Greg Noonan
    Greg Noonan
    • Cmdr. Coulson
    Byrne Piven
    Byrne Piven
    • Dr. Hunter
    Peter Gerety
    Peter Gerety
    • Cop
    Jack McGee
    Jack McGee
    • Tony Falacchi
      • Les Mayfield
      • Valentine Davies(story)
      • George Seaton(screenplay) (1947 screenplay)
      • John Hughes(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Macy's declined the offer for its name to be used in this movie.
    • Goofs
      When Kris tells the little girl his name in other countries, he states that in Italy his name is "La Befana", however, that is the name of the kind witch that flies around filling stockings on January 6th. His Italian name is "Babbo Natale".
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Dorey Walker: Susan.

      Susan Walker: What?

      Dorey Walker: What else did you ask Mr. Kringle for?

      Susan Walker: A baby brother. See ya.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Star Trek: Generations/The Swan Princess/Miracle on 34th Street/The Professional/To Live (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      Jingle Bells
      Performed by Natalie Cole

      Written by James Pierpont

      Produced by Tommy LiPuma

      Courtesy of Elektra Records

    User reviews129

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Do you believe? If so, why?
    Richard Attenborough returned to acting after 14 years behind the camera in "Jurassic Park", and followed it swiftly by daring to challenge comparison with Oscar-winner Edmund Gwenn in this remake.

    As a heartwarmer for those inadequates who won't sit through a 60-year-old monochrome movie-- albeit one which rivals "It's a Wonderful Life" as Hollywood's answer to "A Christmas Carol"-- this John Hughes revamp will probably serve. Anyhow, there are plenty of copies on sale at the checkout of my local supermarket. But it is a bit too laid-back and, latterly, too bogged down in argument for younger kids or older boys. It may warm more cockles among the grandparents.

    The main thematic interest is how Hughes chooses to tweak the original screen story as adapted (unusually for the time) by the director, George Seaton. Whether he sought to or not, the remake has thrown up some intriguing twists for a more skeptical and secular time.

    The oldie caught the mood of an America yearning to get back to normalcy amid the perils of the post-war, Cold War world. Location shooting in New York City, with much co-operation from Macys, gave a touch of realism to the fantasy, whereas in 1994 it's an imaginary store and (for Americans, at least) an incongruously "veddy British" claimant to the chair of Santa Claus- although his nationality is not the issue when the legal meanies of the State of New York try to get him confined to the bughouse.

    What is striking is the judge's rationale for allowing Kris's plea for freedom. Because US bills have "In God We Trust" on them, he reasons, it means New York is allowed to have blind faith in the existence of a supernatural being who lays presents on 1.7 billion children in one night, operating from invisible workshops with reindeer which cannot be made to fly in a courtroom demonstration of his powers because it isn't Christmas Eve. Besides, the sneery prosecutor's kids were raised to believe in him, so there- case closed.

    In real life the ACLU would be appealing such a judgement all the way to the Supreme Court for allowing too much religion into the law and the public square. "In God We Trust" was only put on the money during the Cold War, to cock a snook at "Godless bolshevism"; but this film is refreshingly disrespectful to the newer orthodoxy of playing down most Americans' beliefs in their films.

    Kris asks if he should swear in the Bible, the Pope's ruling on Nicholas's sanctity is debated, and the ethos is quietly but unmistakably Christian. No "spiritual" Santa or "Happy Holidays" here. In a very light fashion, the film does revolve issues of how far it is legitimate to maintain a metaphor as a source of inspiration when rationalism of the Dawkins and Hitchens strain is sniping at it. The screenplay also looks quite beadily at the way commercial operators use holy myth to make money, even if the message comes muted from Hollywood.

    That is the good news. There's plenty to carp at as well.

    Attenborough's quiet, gentle but firm performance (most atypical of one who spent his previous acting time mainly playing unreliables or martinets) suffuses the film. He gets little competition, save from the contrasted crustiness of Windom. Most of the support is so-so, on the level of a Yuletide TV special, and not excluding little Wilson as the girl who has faith in Mr Kringle's claim to be St Nicholas. She is no Margaret O'Brien, if no worse in her way than the kewpie-doll Natalie Wood. In fact, she's a John Hughes moppet who did little later and nothing since 2000.

    The narrative's departures from the well shaped original are no help. Once off the legal hook, Kris, wearing a brown suit, just disappears-- we don't see any triumphal sleigh ride to bid him adieu-- while attention shifts to a ridiculous post-midnight-mass impromptu wedding in a Catholic church. Then follows a trip out to a dream house in the snowy country, ushered by a silly salesman. The film does not seem to know when to call a halt, and there's not so much as Clarence's tinkling bell to bring back Kris at the close. It's as if the whole object of the exercise was to unite two bland characters in matrimony.
    helpful•24
    15
    • Oct
    • Dec 23, 2007

    FAQ6

    • What is 'Miracle on 34th Street' about?
    • Is 'Miracle on 34th Street' based on a book?
    • Why was the name of the department store changed from Macy's to Coles?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 18, 1994 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
      • American Sign Language
      • Dutch
      • Italian
      • Russian
      • Swahili
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Central Park West, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Twentieth Century Fox
      • Hughes Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 54 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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