Prancer (1989) Orion/Fantasy-Drama RT: 103 minutes Rated G (mildly scary moments and upsetting themes) Director: John D. Hancock Screenplay: Greg Taylor Music: Maurice Jarre Cinematography: Misha Suslov Release date: November 17, 1989 (US) Starring: Sam Elliott, Rebecca Harrell, Cloris Leachman, Abe Vigoda, Michael Constantine, Rutanya Alda, John Joseph Duda, Ariana Richards, Mark Rolston, Johnny Galecki. Box Office: $18.5M (US)
Rating: ***
Now here’s a sweet little holiday treat, a perfect stocking stuffer for the kids. Prancer came and went unnoticed in theaters in ’89. I didn’t see it until it hit home video the following Christmas. I wanted to see it (mainly because of Sam Elliott), but I was too embarrassed to be seen buying a ticket for a kid’s movie.
As I watched Prancer, I was reminded of a story I once heard about a man debating the existence of Santa Claus with a three-year-old girl. He asked her how one man could deliver presents to all the children of the world in one night. She replied, “Because he’s magic!”. There’s nothing more special than a child’s strong belief in the magic of Christmas and I would think Santa’s flying reindeer belongs at the top of the list of miraculous things.
It’s this system of belief that has the 8YO heroine at the heart of Prancer convinced that the injured reindeer she encounters in the woods near her house belongs to old St. Nick himself. Jessica Riggs (Harrell) loves Christmas so much that she listens to the music all year round. She’s certainly the most enthusiastic (if not the most talented) singer in her second grade class. She truly believes in the magic of the season; hence, she’s the ideal person to make such an incredible discovery. If only she could get others to believe her.
Jessica is being raised by her father John (Elliott, Roadhouse) following the death of her mother. He’s so preoccupied with his failing apple farm that he doesn’t even make the time to see his daughter perform in the school Christmas pageant. Things are so rough he wants to send Jessica to live with her Aunt Sarah (Alda, Mommie Dearest). Her older brother Steve (Duda) isn’t especially nice to her either.
One day while walking home from school, she spots an injured reindeer in the woods. She identifies him as Prancer from the many books she owns about Christmas. Eventually, she lures the creature to the family barn where she attempts to nurse him back to health so she can return him to his owner in time for the big night. Her father wouldn’t approve of what she’s doing (they can’t afford to take care of an animal), so she keeps it a secret from everybody but a select few like her best friend Carol (Richards, Jurassic Park) and the town vet (Vigoda, Look Who’s Talking).
When Jessica needs to earn money to buy feed, she asks grumpy recluse Mrs. McFarland (Leachman, Young Frankenstein) for work. She also attempts to contact Santa by asking a department store Santa (Constantine, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) to pass along a letter explaining the situation to the big guy. It turns out he’s the owner of the town newspaper and thinks it would make an excellent human interest story. In other words, her secret is about to get out and attract all sorts of unwanted attention.
I don’t use the word “delightful” too easily, but it’s the perfect word to describe Prancer. What a delightful movie to show the little ones around Christmas. One of the many things that make this movie work is that the kid isn’t completely annoying. Moreover, young Harrell looks and acts like an ordinary kid. She doesn’t look like she just stepped off a runway somewhere and doesn’t act smarter than the adults around her. Her character has the same sense of innocence about her that we had when we were children. I remember getting so excited about Santa’s annual visit when I was about her age.
Prancer is blessedly free of all the cynicism that has made its way into many of today’s so-called holiday movies. It’s like a breath of fresh air after watching the likes of Christmas with the Kranks, Deck the Halls and Four Christmases. The rest of the cast does a great job as well, especially Elliott as the rough father who has a difficult time expressing his love for his little girl. It’s always great to see a couple of old vets like Vigoda and Leachman act. Who doesn’t love Fish and Maw Maw?
It goes without saying that Jessica’s unique situation touches a lot of hearts and it’s nice to see the townspeople show their support in her determination to fulfill her promise to Santa and Prancer. It’s movies like Prancer that make me remember the magic of Christmas. It’s a reminder that Christmas is supposed to be a happy time. It’s a movie that only a real Scrooge would dislike.
