7 Surprisingly Dark Moments From Your Favourite Christmas Movies

6. Santa Is Sectioned - Miracle On 34th Street

The original - and superior - Miracle On 34th Street is a classic slice of Christmas sentimentality as the real Kris Kringle gets a job as a store Santa, and in doing so converts a faithless mother and her daughter into believing in him. However, the film gets into darker territory when the store psychiatrist campaigns to get him institutionalised. This leads to the famous trial scene where Kris desperately has to prove that he is who he says he is. In the 1994 version, the reason for Santa's trial is that he is framed for assault by the drunken store Santa he replaced, but while Kris is still in danger of being imprisoned this isn't as bad as the original, as the audience's faith in Kringle as the real Santa Claus is not in question. Certainly, this subplot presents a nasty, unfeeling world where genuinely nice and caring people are incarcerated for doing nothing wrong. Happy Christmas!