Prancer (1989)

There's two things I can say about this Christmas movie. One: It made me cry. Not just tear up but gush in an Oprahesque out pouring of emotion. That hasn't happened since I watched 'Old Yeller' when I was nine. Two: I watched it in July. It's that good. Heartfelt, credible performances (especially by Sam Elliot) and great direction and strong script turn this sentimental Christmas story (that could have easily been another one of those horrible Christmas themed 'Lifetime' channel TV movies) into a rich and uncompromising story. It makes my short list of top 75 movies of all times!

a wound reindeer and precocious 8 yr old form an enduring friendship and a bond in this tender holiday drama about true devotion this enchanting full of love heart this film will set Ur mind a light Jessica Riggs played by Rebbecca Harrell she plays her character very tender she plays an angel in her school play but she becomes a real guardian angel when she spot what she thinks is prance injured in the snow but her father who is SAM Elliott who is over bearing and the family is falling apart wants the shot the deer but before he gets his gun the deer disappears but when she finds that she can feed him and look after him she sees a shop Santa but ask him to get a message to Santa that she is helping prance get better and she only realize her story is told in a different form of media that jess there is a Santa and prance does exist in and has to get him back to to the ridge Xmas eve but her father is not a believer but her passion brings the best out the town and a legend is born in this snowy magical story that will have everyone uplifted in this magical story to lift even the cynical cold stone person a worth the Xmas watch at 1hr39min 7/10 classic

Jessica Riggs is a pretty annoying and dopey little girl living with her caring but strict father on a farm in a small town. Her mother is gone and she has a lot to deal with in life at the moment, so the last thing she was expecting was to find a reindeer injured on Christmas (There are reindeer in Canada but everyone just calls them caribou, they aren't very special, they're on the Canadian quarter as well, just some extra trivia). Anyway, her loving pops is the very guy to run over the poor thing, and suggests eating it, to which Jessica freaks out and ends up hiding the reindeer in the horse stable, getting an elderly veterinarian to take care of it. She names the reindeer Prancer (ugh...) and hopes it'll somehow fly off like a jumbo-jet into the night sky to get back to Santa on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile she gets her cranky neighbor, Mrs. McFarLand, to stop being such a... a witch... and ends up making a new friend. But how long will Prancer remain her secret before pops finds out? I saw this when I was a little girl, and hated it. I decided recently to watch it again and see if maybe I'd enjoy it more, but no, just as bad if not worse. The soundtrack was typical and unmemorable, the acting decent but not enough to improve the movie, and so many flaws that you'd have to be either a three-year-old or a drunk to not see them. For one, Mr. Prancer the lovable reindeer, is a female caribou. And I'm not anti-religious or anything, but I'm not religious and I don't need all the "have faith in god" stuff shoved down my throat in a kid's movie. The story was easily predictable and boring.Now, I'm an adult and this is a movie for children, so I watched it with my little brother to see if he enjoyed it since he's a kid. Well, he told me halfway through it to pause it so he could go use the bathroom, and the next thing I knew he was climbing out the window, into the backyard and heading out to the shopping mall to escape. I honestly don't blame him.

I have to say, as for the quality of the movie, I am a bit biased, because if was filmed largely in my home town. A small town like ours (LaPorte, IN) doesn't get national attention (except for the movie "Daylight" where Sly asks Amy Brenneman's character where she's from), so it was exciting to have all the celebrities in town. Still, I think it is a great family movie that was well done.And on the topic of celebrities, I don't think you could have assembled a nicer, more gracious group. Chloris Leachman came and spoke at our high school, Rebecca Harrell and Ariana Richards visited with kids at one of our elementary schools, and all of them met with fans at an autograph session. In addition, the producers showed their thanks in several ways. They had a giant mural painted that was autographed by the celebrities and placed in our mall during Christmas time. Also, they bought all new light post Christmas decorations for the city's main streets.Check this movie out!!! Don't listen to those people who say it's for little girls only...