Prancer (1989)

I'll tell you why so serious

Excellent but underrated film

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

As the world seems to escape further and further from the real meaning of Christmas, it is important to remind ourselves that the holiday wasn't created to give praise to some old fat bearded man in a red suit. Yes, Jessica Riggs (Rebecca Harrell) believes in Santa, but she also believes in the baby boy born in a manger in the middle of a Bethlehem stable. She sings gloriously loud and proud of her innocent faith, and while her teacher appreciates her enthusiasm, she must ask her to tone it down a bit so the other kids singing in the annual Christmas pageant aren't drowned out. Her classmates consider her a bit of a geek, so poor Jessica is almost a bit of an outcast. This makes her faith all the more powerful and her story all the more touching.Jessica's down on his luck father (Sam Neill) has been working hard to make ends meet, and while he's not enthusiastic about the holidays, he doesn't want to spoil his daughter's. Jessica happens to come across an injured reindeer whom she is certain is the mythic Prancer. Her efforts to take care of the deer's injury are interfered with by the concerned adults of the small community she lives in, and when the deer ends up in a cage, Jessica is concerned because she fears Prancer's absence will stall Christmas around the world.While most of the cynical adults don't see Jessica's perspective on the situation, a few do, including local handyman Abe Vigoda and aging recluse Cloris Leachman. Her typical curmudgeon character was once a major patroness of the Christmas decorating season but has withdrawn from society, and it is up to the little Jessica to show her that a closed heart can be re-opened. The magic of the season is felt throughout and brings joy into both the viewers and cynical characters Jessica encounters throughout. As I prepare for the New York City holiday season with tons of Santas and elves running around creating havoc, I can look back at films like this, "A Christmas Story" and other classics, and remind myself that the distractions meant to make us forget about and what the season really is about.

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.

Pleasant fantasy tale for the whole family. Nine-year-old Rebecca(Jessica Riggs)still believes in Santa despite the nay saying of her father(Sam Elliott) and the teasing from her friends. She finds an ailing reindeer in a remote part of the forest and she knows she will have to help the animal heal in secrecy...in her father's barn. Her father John is a no-nonsense apple farmer and knows some hay is mysteriously missing before discovering for himself the ailing deer his daughter has dubbed Prancer. The town's recluse(Cloris Leachman)lets Rebecca do odd jobs around her house in order to earn money to speed the deer's recovery. Prancer seems to have the ability to vanish rather rapidly and then reappear...he truly must be one of Santa's revered eight tiny reindeer. Also in the cast: Abe Vigoda, Michael Constantine, John Duda and Rutanya Alda.

"Prancer" is about a young girl, Jessica Riggs, who unexpectedly finds a wounded reindeer, whom she believes belongs to Santa. With her father under financial pressure, and who ignores her a lot, she has a tough time. She wants to look after it and nurse it, but has to do it secretly since her father is against it and could kill it at any moment. She often have minor fights and arguments with her father regarding family matters and her own life. Meanwhile, her duty, she feels is to take good care of Prancer.Jessica Riggs's role was played by Rebecca Harrell, and she must have been the perfect young child to do the role. Her natural, childlike attitude couldn't have got any better, and that was seen in the movie.I still remember myself crying a bit while watching it as a child. It still brings tears in my eyes while watching even today. I advise those who wish to watch this movie watch it by around Christmas, and that would be the right time....And believe me, you won't be disappointed.