Back to trending
Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street

Comedy · Drama · Family · 1947

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

Movie details

Miracle on 34th Street

“Capture the spirit of Christmas with this timeless classic!”

1947 Comedy · Drama · Family 1h 36m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Miracle on 34th Street?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Comedy · 2024

The Herdman kids are undeniably the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, steal, cheat, bully and overall terrorize their small community. But this Christmas, they're taking over their local church Pageant – and they just might unwittingly teach a shocked little town the true meaning of Christmas.

Tully

Tully

Comedy · 2018

Marlo, a mother of three, including a newborn, is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Hesitant at first, she quickly forms a bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging nanny named Tully.

Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!

Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!

Comedy · 2011

Teddy Duncan's middle-class family embarks on a road trip from their home in Denver to visit Mrs. Duncans Parents, the Blankenhoopers, in Palm Springs. When they find themselves stranded between Denver and Utah, they try to hitch a ride to Las Vegas with a seemingly normal older couple in a station wagon from Roswell, New Mexico. It turns out that the couple believes they are the victims of alien abduction. The Duncan's must resort to purchasing a clunker Yugo to get to Utah, have their luggage stolen in Las Vegas, and survive a zany Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Blankenhooper.

Arthur Christmas

Arthur Christmas

Drama · 2011

For hundreds of years, the Claus family has delegated the title "Santa" to a chosen few of its members, which can be passed down upon retirement. Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in a one-night high-tech operation. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur Claus, the current Santa’s misfit son deemed ineligible for the title, who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present halfway around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street

Fantasy · 1994

Six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle—Santa Claus. Her mother told her the secret about Santa a long time ago, but, after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all—something to believe in.

Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh

Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh

Comedy · 2008

Step brothers Drake and Josh must give a foster family the best Christmas ever or face years in jail for a Christmas party gone wrong.

I'll Be Home for Christmas

I'll Be Home for Christmas

TV Movie · 2016

Jackie Foster, a dynamic Assistant District Attorney and single mom, is looking forward to wrapping up her latest case and spending Christmas with Gracie, her adorable and precocious, eight-year old daughter. But when Jackie’s estranged dad, Jack , a gruff retired police officer, unexpectedly shows up at her door, they will be forced to confront old wounds.

Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne

Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne

Animation · 2021

After finding out her grandmother won't be visiting for Christmas, Lucy decides to cheer herself up by throwing the ultimate New Year's Eve party. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown tries to fulfill one of his resolutions before the clock strikes midnight.

Almost Christmas

Almost Christmas

Comedy · 2016

A dysfunctional family gathers together for their first Christmas since the death of their matriarch.

The Santa Clause

The Santa Clause

Fantasy · 1994

On Christmas Eve, divorced dad Scott Calvin and his son discover Santa Claus has fallen off their roof. When Scott takes the reins of the magical sleigh, he finds he is now the new Santa, and must convince a world of disbelievers, including himself.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

George Seaton

Written by

George Seaton · Valentine Davies

Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara

Doris Walker

John Payne

John Payne

Fred Gailey

Edmund Gwenn

Edmund Gwenn

Kris Kringle

Gene Lockhart

Gene Lockhart

Judge Harper

Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood

Susan Walker

Porter Hall

Porter Hall

Granville Sawyer

William Frawley

William Frawley

Charlie Halloran

Court is in session

Put Miracle on 34th Street on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.