Christmas was on its way, I was prepared to try as many festive films as possible, even the terrible sounding ones, so I saw this one, directed by Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation, LeVar Burton. Basically eccentric Aunt Millie (Little Voice's Brenda Blethyn) starts telling her ten year old niece Jess Cameron (Jennifer Pisana) a story about another ten year old, to help her get over best friend Bobby (Demetrius Joyette) moving away. So the story begins, ten year old Katie Andrews (Zoe Warner) is trying to become a champion ice skater, the one thing she loves in the world, and she practises in the rink near her house to get ready. She makes a friend with former Olympic skating champion Otto Brewer, but she is shattered when her father Ted (J.D. Nicholsen) loses his job and they have to move to the city. Meanwhile, in the North Pole, a new reindeer is born to parents Blitzen (Leif Bristow) and Delphi (Ellen-Ray Hennessy), and Santa Claus (Christopher Plummer) names it Blizzard. As she grows up, Blizzard (Whoopi Goldberg) finds out she is more special than most other reindeer, possessing all three gifts: flight, invisibility, and empathic navigation - seeing with her heart. With this third gift, Blizzard feels Katie's sadness, so going against the rules given by Archimedes (Kevin Pollak), she flies to find the little girl and investigate. They meet and become friends very quickly, the reindeer wants to her to realise her dream to skate in a championship, and she also teaches her that friends never go anywhere if you remember them. Archimedes finds out about the rule breaks by Blizzard and one or two of her friends, and threatens banishment, but Santa forgives her and Katie, who did win the skating competition, and even though Blizzard flies away out of her life, in the present an older Millie Katie Andrews still feels her. Goldberg is okay as the smart-mouthed reindeer with all the gifts and a big heart, and the skating sequence was alright, but the best is as the critics say just a load of slush and predictable material. It may appeal to the much younger audience, and possibly if all the family gather for the season, but for me, a silly Christmas fantasy adventure. Adequate!

My family watched this last night during our Friday family film and pizza night. This is a really good, charming film! It's an engaging movie, with lots of positive lessons. It also tells a good Santa Claus tale that keeps the mystery of the North Pole intact for young viewers.I'd put this in with the league of quality family films like "Because of Winn-Dixie." My kids are 3, 6, and 11 years old. We all loved it. It even made my 6 year-old a bit weepy (he said he had dust in his eyes ;) This will be a holiday staple in our house for years to come. If you have kids, go out and rent or buy this little gem from Canada. Levar Burton has made a sweet family film here; he certainly appears to have a sense for what family moviegoers want to see.

Our family just finished watching this movie tonight. We wanted to spend the Thanksgiving weekend together and went to find an appropriate movie for all of us. Our first pick was "Christmas with the Kranks", but they were sold out at our local video store. I had never heard of "Blizzard" but the G rating as opposed to everything else available PG13, hooked me in. There are 4 children, ages 5-10 in our home and mom and dad make 6. I think it was a great film for the family and would recommend it to anyone wanting to get into the Christmas spirit. It was the kind of movie that made everyone "feel good" on the inside after watching it. I think all our kids thoroughly enjoyed it, and it wasn't beneath our 10yr old (daughter) who said "I'm glad you picked this movie mom." Great "family movie night" film! The importance of good quality films in the society we live in has been overlooked for too long and I am all for the reintroduction of character-building stories like what we saw tonight. The 2 story lines going on at the same time reminded me of "The Princess Bride", which is one of our family's favorites. I liked the fact that there was reality that even good wholesome characters make mistakes sometimes and that it is not the end of the world; there is forgiveness and second chances. It teaches our kids that we don't live in a perfect world and there are disappointments and we must learn to deal with them and grow from there. I'm glad the movie we wanted, wasn't available or we may never have seen this.

This movie is a movie anyone would enjoy. If you have your 83 year old mother or father visiting you take them to see it. It is a reminder for anyone who has ever had a friend who has come and gone that they will always be with you in your heart. If you enjoy watching a Miracle on 34th Street or A Christmas Carol, you will most definately enjoy this movie. The acting is wonderful and it really captivates you. It will be a Christmas classic for years to come.