15 best Christmas movies to watch on Disney Plus

5. Miracle on 34th Street

If you’ve only ever seen the 1994 version of Miracle on 34th Street, now’s the time to watch the original! The 1947 version begins with Kris Kringle spotting the man playing Santa for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and let’s just say he’s not happy. The guy is more than a little drunk. But when he brings this to the attention of the parade supervisor, Doris Walker, she suggests he takes the man’s place.

He agrees and does such a good job, they hire him as the Macy’s Santa for the whole holiday season. Unfortunately for the head of the toy department, Julian Shellhammer, Kris is a little too giving. He tells people to go to other stores, including their competitors. Santa might want kids to have toys but that doesn’t mean he’s in the marketing business.

But Santa isn’t the only story here. There is also Doris, her daughter Susan, and Fred Gailey, their neighbor. Despite knowing Doris has told Susan that there’s no Santa Clause, Fred takes her to see him at Macy’s. Susan soon doesn’t know what to believe when she sees Santa talk to a Dutch girl in her own language.

The problem comes when, worried about his mental state, they have Dr. Sawyer test him. Mad at Kringle’s attitude, he tells Doris to dismiss him. But with the way he’s increasing sales, that’s not happening.

It isn’t until Kris learns that Sawyer told his friend, Alfred, that he’s unstable because he’s so kind. That sets him off and Kris confronts Sawyer leading to Sawyer having him admitted to Bellevue mental hospital. Believing Doris agreed to have him sent away and that he has failed at making her believe he is a good man, he fails the test they give him at Bellevue and is committed.

But Fred refuses to give up on him and so they go to court to assert that he’s actually Santa Clause. In front of the court, Fred proclaims that he will prove it. So starts one of the most interesting courtroom scenes from any movie ever. If you’ve seen any version of this movie, you know how it ends, but if you haven’t, start with this one! It’s on Disney Plus now.