When [it] remembers that it's supposed to be a sweet piece of hokum, when it has the wit to leave Attenborough and Wilson on the screen together and forget about its rash of putative improvements, it does offer well-scrubbed family fare.

Richard Attenborough positively sparkles in the role of the mysterious Kriss Kringle, giving a restrained and genuinely sweet performance.

The sanitised setting may generate a Yuletide glow, but it gives a hollow, even cynical ring to the film's championship of faith, hope and charity, sweetness and light.

The well-rounded characters, scene-stealing performances, lovely lighting, and lush costumes combine to place the 1994 Miracle on 34th Street in the top tier of must-watch Christmas movies.