As I sat through the first hour of the almost agonizing slow-paced plot-roll-out, I stayed with it in the hopes there would be some reward for my loyalty. It was not to be. This movie has a lot of fans in its reviews, but I'm not one of them.The cast is full of past, present, and future stars; at least two of the supporting child actors went on to be in huge hits in television and/or movies. Their acting talent shows this movie, as it does with the adults. Unfortunately, a predictable story line, unresolved conflicts, and underdeveloped subplots do nothing to justify the time it takes to get things rolling.Sam Elliot does what he does well, playing a hard-working but broken farmer and widower whose only response to his daughter caring for a wounded reindeer in their midst is to find his shotgun. Rebecca Harrell plays a convincing 9-year old who seems to be frustrated at every turn for her good deeds. The winter setting is dim, cold and desolate, excellently communicated through the cinematography.The music lacks imagination, primarily depending on long chords. Maybe that is a plus for the gloomy atmosphere.If you are looking for fun and adventure in your holiday movie fare, skip this one. It's better for drawn-out drama fans.

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.

Excellent film for the whole family. I predict this movie will become a cult classic in the ensuing years as people are re-discovering it. One never grows weary of it. The adorable lead child-actress, Rebecca Harrell, is awesome and captivating as little Jessica Riggs. The film has many redeeming qualities and so many remarkable scenes, backdrops, poignant dialogue, and subtle details with great casting. This is a holiday classic that should be presented each year as a choice for viewers by some intelligent broadcasting organization. I own the DVD now because there were some years it wasn't offered on the seasonal menu - where it belongs - up there with the BEST!

In general, I think Christmas has lost its meaning for most people. Now, the main goal of the holidays seems to be to spend as much money as possible. In the process, people lose sight of the fact that we are celebrating the birth of the Son of God. I try hard not to get too wrapped up in the frenzy of the commercialization of Christmas. So, I try to find ways to make my season peaceful and meaningful. Prancer is one of the joys of the season for me. It's themes about keeping faith in the face of all those who don't believe, love overcoming hard luck, and courageously facing loss as a way of dealing with it are timeless. Rebecca Harrell as Jessica Riggs is the star of this movie, and Sam Elliot couldn't have been cast in a better role. During the holidays, I try to find one evening to build a crackling fire, sip hot chocolate, and settle down to watch Prancer. It has become my favorite Christmas movie, and one of my favorite movies of all time. What makes it even more precious is that it was filmed near my home, in LaPorte, Indiana. The beautiful snowy fields, orchards and woods filmed in the movie are just outside my door! I hope you all enjoy Prancer as much as I do!