Kris Kringle is the central protagonist of the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street. He was portrayed by Edmund Gwenn. Walking through the streets of New York City on Thanksgiving Day, he stopped at a small store to tell the owner that he didn't have the reindeer lined up right. He came upon the floats lined up for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and saw the man portraying Santa Claus having difficulty with the reins and the whips. Stepping over to assist the man Kris realized the man was completely loaded. Angry that this man was giving Santa Claus a bad name, he found Doris Walker and informed her of the situation. She fired that Santa and convinced Kris to step in and assist. After the parade she and Julian Shellhammer hired Kris to play Santa during the holiday shopping season.