Rating: 
Summary: If you love your kids, you will get them this movie...
Review: This Christmas movie has everything and then some.
Squabbles between siblings, love between siblings, love for animals, friendship tensions, losing hope, gaining faith, never losing faith, innocent childhood dreams, parent responsibilities, the loss of a parent, secrets, sleigh riding, mysterious old ladies, beautiful choral numbers, bravery, Christmas decorations, laughter, great acting from everyone, and the meaning of togetherness and Christmas all rolled into one.
Whew!!!
Rating: 
Summary: ten times ten thousand
Review: This film is neither preachy nor commercial, despite it's name and cover art. I happened to see this on HBO one afternoon while still in college eight years back, but the impression was lasting. Most specifically the scene when Jessie's father reads the story to her which allows a healing and a renewed bond between them. I was just a selfish kid then and have no idea why this film spoke so strongly to me, but I think often of that moment. With a six-month-old son now I see everything with different eyes and wish for him to be able to live as long as possible in Jessie's world because it is rough work in the apple orchard. Already I can see in his eyes that heart of childhood that had started to seem for me so gray and distant, and I look forward to watching this movie with him one day when he's old enough as I believe its message will endure.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful holiday film
Review: This is my favorite holiday movie with such innocence through a child's eyes that makes it very refreshing to watch. But I do agree with another reviewer here that some of the issues presented (death of mother, grieving father who wants to send his child away to live with her aunt, etc...) may not be for young children. There is a scene with the little girl interacting with her mother's photograph that is very quiet and soft while being just a little bit heartbreaking. As a 17-year-old, I consider this something fun to watch now that I'm older, to recapture that innocence and better understand some of the deeper parts of it.Rebecca Harrell gives a very convincing portrayal of Jessica Riggs, an 8-year-old little girl who is lonely after the death of her mother and just trying to do what she can to help her family make it through. Her grieving father is trying to save the farm, deal with his own pain, and raise two children all at once. He is clearly more concerned about little Jessica than he is about his son Steve, for Steve could help him around the farm, but Jessica is still so young and, in her father's eyes, needs something else. No doubt that he loves her and wants what's best for her, but he is embarrassed of himself and feels inadequate for raising a little girl, whereas all she wants is to stay with him. Through Jessica's pain and hurt, she finds a wounded reindeer in the forest and believes it's Santa's "Prancer." She takes him home, hides him from her father, and nurses him back to health, slowly but surely working to get everyone believing. I loved Rebecca Harrell as Jessica. She annoyed me a lot when I saw this movie the first few times, but she really grows on you. She really does act like a real child: cheerful, assertive, and vigorous in her beliefs. Jessica believes that there is a Santa, and she is not going to give up on that. Harrell did very well at bringing to life a very realistic young character. If you want an innocent holiday movie filled with "the true meaning of Christmas" and if you like that kind of stuff, "Prancer" is not a waste of money in any way.
Rating:
Summary: If you believe... so shall it be
Review: This is one of the best Christmas movies to be released since the Rankin/Bass classics of yesteryear. It touches every heart, young and old. Christmas has become so commercialized, and this brings us back to reality in a fantasy sort of way. When you have faith in something as much as you see in this film, anything is possible. Heart warming, family oriented, and just a great story!
Rating:
Summary: If you believe... so shall it be
Review: This is one of the best Christmas movies to be released since the Rankin/Bass classics of yesteryear. It touches every heart, young and old. Christmas has become so commercialized, and this brings us back to reality in a fantasy sort of way. When you have faith in something as much as you see in this film, anything is possible. Heart warming, family oriented, and just a great story!
Rating:
Summary: I Met BOO-Prancer is real!
Review: Up in Randolph, NY, I met the REAL Star of "Prancer", BOO! He is one of several reindeer kept by a Nice man who dresses as Santa Claus and also goes with a Sleigh to libraries, schools, and nursing homes. What a Thrill to meet a real, live Movie Star like Prancer(BOO), and find out there is also a real nice man who owns him, and other reindeer. Also, another reindeer, Dancer, starred in a movie "A Christmas Secret" and you might like it as much as I liked "Prancer". 5 out of 5 Stars!
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad children's movie, but adults may be bored
Review: When 8-year old Jessie (Rebecca Harrell) rescues a stray reindeer whom she firmly believes is Santa's Prancer, she tries to keep it a secret from her disapproving father (Sam Elliott). She hides Prancer in a tool shed and does chores around the neighborhood to pay for his feed (Prancer is animatronic, so I doubt he eats much). Jessie decides to write to Santa Claus about their predicament and gives her letter to a shopping mall Santa, instructing him to deliver it to the real St. Nick. But you can't trust those phony-bearded department store Santas - the guy gives her correspondence to the town paper, who publishes it. The secret is out, and Dad is mad. Unoriginal film, but cute and harmless enough.
Staci Layne Wilson
Author of Staci's Guide to Animal Movies
|
