This remake is a decent film on its own, but can't compare to the original version. It lost me right from the beginning with juvenile humour (making the bad Coles Santa the butt of jokes), and never won my interest back. I was particularly disappointed in the ending. The original ending drew the necessary distinction between proving that Santa existed and proving that the gentleman known as Kris Kringle was Santa. For some inexplicable and unjustifiable reason, the remake glosses over that distinction. This cheapened the rest of the film for me. I also preferred the ending in the original version. While I like the direct God/Santa comparison in the remake (suggesting that Santa works through others his miracles to perform), I prefer the manner in which the family obtains their house in the original version. It's a lot more meaningful if they have never seen the house before that minute, as the randomness factor hints more strongly at Kris's actually being Santa.
In the same vein, I thought Kris acted too mentally inadequate in this version, talking about the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny as if they were real, and addressing a local reindeer as if it were one of his own. Santa becomes less a person than an ideal of behaviour and attitude, as the overly sentimental script keeps reminding us. He inspires other people to do things instead of being able to do them himself. I suppose that's the point the film is making, but all the same I prefer the less heavy-handed approach of the original.
In the same vein, I thought Kris acted too mentally inadequate in this version, talking about the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny as if they were real, and addressing a local reindeer as if it were one of his own. Santa becomes less a person than an ideal of behaviour and attitude, as the overly sentimental script keeps reminding us. He inspires other people to do things instead of being able to do them himself. I suppose that's the point the film is making, but all the same I prefer the less heavy-handed approach of the original.