Miracle On 34th Street 1994 Watch Online

[Patricia]

Miracleon 34th Street is a 1994 American Christmas fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Les Mayfield and produced and co-written by John Hughes. The film stars Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J. T. Walsh, James Remar, Mara Wilson, and Robert Prosky. It is the first theatrical remake of the original 1947 film. Like the original, this film was released by 20th Century Fox.

The New York City based Macy's department store declined any involvement with this remake, saying "we feel the original stands on its own and could not be improved upon"; the fictitious "Cole's" became its replacement.[3] Gimbels had ceased operations in 1987; hence it was replaced by the fictional "Shopper's Express".

Prior to the Thanksgiving parade, Cole's Department Store's special events director Dorey Walker fires Tony Falacchi, an employee working as the store's Santa Claus when the latter becomes intoxicated. Immediately trying to find a replacement, she spots an elderly man who had been berating Falacchi and begs him to take over; the man introduces himself as Kris Kringle. Kris does so well during the parade that he is immediately hired by Cole's, despite his apparent belief that he is the real Santa Claus.

Kris is lauded by the children and parents who come to visit him, and his unusual proclivity to direct shoppers to other stores where toys can be bought more cheaply is turned into a successful marketing campaign for Cole's. The sudden turnaround of Cole's, which had only recently survived a hostile takeover bid by Victor Landberg, enrages executives at rival firm Shopper's Express, who are led by Jack Duff.

Dorey has persuaded her six-year-old daughter, Susan, that Santa Claus does not exist, and is concerned by Kris's influence on her. Dorey's neighbor, attorney Bryan Bedford, does his best to convince Susan to believe. While being babysat one night by Kris, Susan shares with him her Christmas wish: she would like a dad, a house pictured in the Cole's Christmas catalogue, and a baby brother. Kris asks if she would begin to believe in Santa if she got all those things, and Susan agrees that she would.

Landberg and Duff realize that Kris believes himself to be Santa Claus and leads a plot to destroy his credibility. Duff and his fellow executives pay Falacchi to antagonize Kris in the street and feign an injury when Kris raises his walking stick, leading to Kris's arrest. Bryan provides Kris with legal support and arranges for a court hearing where Kris can make his case. Dorey convinces the chairman of Cole's to show solidarity with Kris, drumming up support from the public. At the court hearing, prosecutor Ed Collins makes the case that Kris is mentally unfit for society, allowing him to state to the court that he is the real Santa Claus.

That evening, Judge Henry Harper privately confides to Bryan that despite Kris's genuine goodwill, he feels he has no choice but to declare him insane, unless a miracle happens. The next morning, just before he can announce his ruling, Susan approaches the judge with a Christmas card containing a $1 bill. On the back, the words In God We Trust are circled. The judge realizes that if the US Department of Treasury can put its official faith in God on US currency with no required standard of evidence, then the people of New York can place their faith in Santa Claus in the same way. Judge Harper dismisses the case, declaring that Santa is real, existing in the person of Kris Kringle.

On Christmas morning, Susan wakes to the news of the marriage and is elated to find that she has received one part of her Christmas wish. Together, Susan, Dorey, and Bryan drive out to the catalogue house and find that Kris - who has now departed 'overseas' - has arranged for them to purchase it, which they can now afford due to the size of Dorey's Christmas bonus.

With two of Susan's wishes fulfilled, Dorey asks her what the third one was, and she triumphantly announces that it was a baby brother. Dorey and Bryan both look at each other, shocked, before glancing down at Dorey's stomach and sharing a kiss.

The film had its premiere at Radio City Music Hall on November 15, 1994 with a 30-minute stage show with scenes from The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring The Rockettes as well as a performance from Kenny G.[4]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 60% based on reviews from 35 critics, with an average rating of 6.2/10.[6] TV Guide called the film "curiously depressing",[7] while Desson Howe of The Washington Post said, in contrast to the 1947 version, "[it] will not be found on television (or its computer equivalent) half a century from now."[8] Its supporters included Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, who gave the film "two thumbs up" on their show.[9] Michael Medved of Sneak Previews said "This is the new holiday classic America has been waiting for."[10]

On November 27th, 1924, Macy's employees celebrated Thanksgiving by marching from Harlem to 34th Street, arriving at Macy's flagship store in Herald Square. The celebration garnered so much attention that it became an annual parade, first broadcast on Network television in 1948. While Macy's held a much smaller production in 2020 due to the pandemic, the only time Macy's didn't hold its annual parade was from 1942 through 1944 because rubber and helium were being used for World War II.

However, in my lifetime, the parade has aired every year on NBC. This year, the parade welcomed back Al Roker after an illness left him unable to host last year, and in my opinion, it just wasn't the same without him. The parade also featured a performance by Cher right before the Radio City Rockettes did their annual routine. However, the moment everyone waits for is when Santa arrives by sleigh to officially kick off the holiday season. In honor of Thursday's parade and today being the anniversary of the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, I decided to kick off my holiday movie series with Miracle on 34th Street.

If you search online for which is better, the original film or the 1994 adaptation, you'll find a slew of contradicting opinions that are of no help. Instead, I chose to watch both films, and while I found many differences (like Macy's being changed to Cole's for the 1994 film due to the store not wanting to be a part of the remake,) the overall themes are the same. At the start of 1994's Miracle on 34th Street, it seems a lot sillier with the drunk Santa's pants falling down as he stands on his sleigh in front of all the children waiting for him to make his parade arrival.

However, other parts felt more somber, like the addition of Susan Walker's desire for a father. In the original, she only wants a home for herself and her mother, but the 1994 film adds another layer as Susan's lack of a father figure brings her great sadness. Luckily, the part both films effortlessly express is the importance of imagination and belief, especially at Christmas time.

Notorious for films like The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and the National Lampoon's films, John Hughes decided to take on the Miracle on 34th Street remake, and his presence was very noticeable. The silly scene at the start of the film, when drunk Santa scars the children for life, is likely the result of John Hughes' writing and producing the film and wanting to add his sense of humor. Hughes has a very distinct style, even when he isn't the director on set, so it's easy to see the 1994 film was a product of the beloved screenwriter.

Something in its aesthetic and storylines felt connected to his 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost In New York. The scenes where Santa is sitting in Cole's meeting children remind me so much of when Kevin walks into the toy store where he's handed the turtle dove ornament. Like Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, there is a sadness and heaviness to the 1994 Miracle on 34th Street, but there's also an optimism that suggests even in the darker parts of the film, everything is going to work out for the characters.

Recasting Susan Walker couldn't have been easy, given Natalie Wood was a renowned child star who went on to gain massive success in her adult life. However, what Natalie Wood was to the late 40s and early 50s, Mara Wilson was to the 90s. Both actresses captured the spirit of Susan, but Mara Wilson had a lot to live up to. The film came two years before she'd go on to play the exceptionally intelligent titular role in 1996's Matilda, but Mara Wilson brought that same level of maturity and awareness that most kids don't have to her role as Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street.

I found myself rooting for her throughout as I did with Natalie Woods' take on Susan Walker, and because Mara Wilson is basically a staple of the 90s, she's so easy to love through the screen. While she may not be acting anymore and has been vocal about the dangers of being a child star, Mara Wilson brought the magic to Miracle on 34th Street that the movie strived to create.

Arguably, she had even more of a responsibility than Natalie Wood because she had the added pressure of playing a character suffering from the abandonment of her father and the loneliness of being an only child. While Natalie Woods' Susan also lacked a father figure and sibling, the 1947 Miracle on 34th Street skipped over the effects this had on her and solely focused on her desire for a house.

Like the adults in most Christmas movies, Susan's mother, Doris Walker (Dorey Walker in the 1994 version), doesn't believe in Santa Claus. However, she projects her lack of belief onto her daughter as she doesn't want her ever to get her hopes up only to be let down. Unlike the other kids who are excited to see Santa Claus at the parade and at the Macy's store, Susan is unenthused and assumes that Santa Claus, who turns out to be real after all, is just a nice old man dressed in a red suit.

In the original film, Santa teaches Susan to pretend to be a monkey in order to strengthen her imagination. However, the moment Susan really questions her mother's insistence that Santa isn't real comes when Susan sees Santa speak Dutch to a young girl at Macy's (1947) or when Susan sees Santa speak to a deaf girl using sign language (1994.) This seems like more than what the average store Santa would be capable of, and despite her mother's doubts, Susan begins to trust in Santa and her imagination.

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