WARNING: This Review May Contain Spoilers
So it’s that time of year already, and what better question to ask than – is Santa Claus real? Well, here are two films that ask this question in, for me anyway, very different ways.
Rivalry and Reputation
This, for me, is the biggest killer of the remake. The competition between Coles and the Shopper’s Express (which you can tell is completely one-sided) is empathised so much more than the rest of the film and it takes away from the warmth of the actual storyline. Now that’s not saying the original film doesn’t have its rivalries because of course there is – but these aren’t so prominent and the only important one is between Kris Kringle and Dr Sawyer, however this is mainly related to something I will come to a little later.
Matching Making Daughter
I feel like I’m going to spend a lot of this article talking about what’s missing from the remake compared to the original. I’m not saying it’s not there at all…but again I don’t think it’s enough. The relationship between Susan and Mr Gailey adds comedy to the film from the very beginning when she leaves his apartment before turning around saying ‘It worked’. From what I understand of the remake, Mr Bedford (the Mr Gailey of 1994) and Doris Walker are already together but its more of a case of getting them back together after he proposes seemingly inappropriately.
Casual References
At no point the opening few scenes of the original film does Kris Kringle openly say the words ‘I am Santa’ instead it is implied several times. For example, he tells one store clerk that he has his reindeer in the wrong places, and he refers to the thanksgiving parade Santa as being a representation of him. However, in the remake – it is the first line that Richard Attenborough utters. I feel like this removes the mystery of the character a little. OK, whether you start to believe that he is Santa or not is a different story, but subtle references make you think a little more than it basically being thrown in your face from the outset.
Santa – the Crazy Man
Both films, in their own ways, have people trying to prove that Kris Kringle is just a crazy and dangerous old man. However, they very much go about it in different ways. Dr Sawyer does not go out of his way to maliciously show that Kris Kringle is in anyway violent or dangerous – whereas in the remake Jack Duff and Alberta Leonard deliberately get Tony (the drunk Santa from the beginning of the film) to provoke Kris into hitting him. In the original, he only reacts this way in protection of Alfred as Dr Sawyer keeps telling him that he has things psychologically wrong with him.
Not Just Christmas Spirit
I feel like this is the beauty of the original film. Not only is it about Christmas spirit but Kris Kringle also spends some time reminding Susan that is OK to be a child, and to use your imagination. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but the interactions between Susan and Kris Kringle feel massively reduced in the remake, which as mentioned before loses that wholesome feel about the film.
Something in Common
However, the one thing I will say is that there’s a beautiful moment in both films when he interacts with one specific child. In the original, there is a young Dutch girl who can’t speak any English and the remake a young deaf girl. Both times, the parent with her say that Santa doesn’t have to talk to them, the child just wanted to meet him – but he does anyway and I love that they kept this in the remake but updated it in their own way.
The Resolution
Honestly, and I don’t care how this sounds, the evidence used in the trial in the remake is so weak! Oh, he just miraculously realises that dollar bills have In God We Truston them, so of course if people believe in an invisible deity why can’t Santa be real too? I get the theory, of course I do, but there’s something more heart-warming about the arrival of the letters to Santa because it isn’t decided by Mr Gailey – it’s because the postal service wants to get rid of them!
In Conclusion
I don’t think what I am about to say is going to come as a surprise to anyone who has just read this review or anyone that’s read my previous ones but I wholeheartedly prefer the original film. I know some people find black and white films a little boring but I want you all to give this a watch whether it be this Christmas or next because who doesn’t love a heart-warming, feel good film at this time of year?
