Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street (1994) is Les Mayfield's Christmas family fable, ready to watch online on iFILM. Six-year-old Susan stopped believing in Santa long ago; her mother let her in on the secret early. Then she meets a gentle old man who swears he is the genuine article.

Kris Kringle (Richard Attenborough) takes over as the headline Santa at a big New York department store and wins over every shopper in line. The trouble is, he insists he really is Saint Nick, and the claim lands him in a courtroom asked to prove the impossible. Susan's mother (Elizabeth Perkins), their lawyer neighbor (Dylan McDermott), and little Susan herself (Mara Wilson) are pulled into a case about more than one man's sanity. It is about a child's right to wonder again.

This is a fresh retelling of the 1947 classic, and it rests almost entirely on Attenborough, whose Kringle is warm without ever turning sugary. A cozy under-the-tree pick for the whole family, especially when you want something kind and old-fashioned. Stream Miracle on 34th Street (1994) online on iFILM.