Parents' Guide to

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

By Sierra Filucci, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Not better than the original, but still smiley holiday fare.

Movie PG 1994 114 minutes
Miracle on 34th Street (1994) Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 6+

Based on 6 parent reviews

age 6+
sequel is very good, there is some drinking with a short scene at a bar that shows a bunch of men drinking bottles of beer and talking in drunk voices. there is a short scene where it shows at the fair the drunk Santa's fall a couple times and once it shows his butt in front of a bunch of kids and parents and TV.

This title has:

Great messages
1 person found this helpful.
age 4+

Curiously depressing, and disappointing

I’ve never been a fan of this (now) ‘American classic’. I wouldn’t be one that shies away from a deep or depressing Christmas film (It’s A Wonderful Life, for example). Mara Wilson is brilliant, but the other parental characters are strangely flat. And I’ve always found Attenboroughs portrayal completely unsympathetic. The mouth open smile is an odd characterisation, and at times pretty creepy. And not in a way that inappropriate, just in a way that a lot of Easter Bunnies can be creepy. If I saw his face gurning up at me from the parade near the beginning as an adult I’d run away. Very unfulfilling film, and just doesn’t hit the mark, for some unfathomable reason.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (6):

This remake stays pretty true to the original and so contains all the sentimental elements that can be very enjoyable for children and adults. The Kringle character is appealing and the precocious child is funny and sweet. The other adults in the film are less appealing and the remake does little to improve upon the original. This version has a bit of a darker streak, too, delving deeper into the idea of corporate greed than the original.

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate