Prancer (1989)

A farm girl nurses a wounded reindeer she believes is one of Santa's, hoping to bring it back to health in time for Christmas. Her holiday spirit inspires those around her, something her disheartened father is having trouble understanding.

Director:

John D. Hancock (as John Hancock)

Writer:

Greg Taylor

Stars:

Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman, Rutanya Alda

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Elliott	...	John Riggs
Cloris Leachman	...	Mrs. McFarland
Rutanya Alda	...	Aunt Sarah
Abe Vigoda	...	Orel Benton
Michael Constantine	...	Mr. Stewart / Santa
Rebecca Harrell Tickell	...	Jessica Riggs
John Duda	...	Steve Riggs (as John Joseph Duda)
Ariana Richards	...	Carol Wetherby
Mark Rolston	...	Herb Drier
Johnny Galecki	...	Billy Quinn
Walter Charles	...	Minister
Victor Truro	...	Mr. Young
Marcia Porter	...	Mrs. Fairburn
Loren Janes	...	Mr. Soot
Robert Zimmermann	...	Wagnall

Storyline

Jessica, the daughter of an impoverished farmer, still believes in Santa Claus. So when she comes across a reindeer with an injured leg, it makes perfect sense to her to assume that it is Prancer, who had fallen from a Christmas display in town. She hides him in her barn and feeds him cookies, until she can return him to Santa. Her father finds him and decides to sell him to the butcher, not for venison chops, but as an advertising display.

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Plot Keywords:

reindeer | christmas | holiday | farm | barn | 

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Taglines:

A Christmas adventure for the whole family.

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jessica und das Rentier

Filming Locations:

New Carlisle, Indiana, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,914,486, 19 November 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,587,135

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineplex-Odeon Films,Nelson Entertainment,Raffaella Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ariana Richards auditioned to play Jessica, but director John D. Hancock had her cast as Carol instead.

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Goofs

John is trimming apple trees before Christmas. That is done between February and April.

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Quotes

Jessica Riggs: He's magical, Carol!

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Connections

References He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983)

User Reviews

What Christmas Classics should be!

With all of the hype that surrounds the many Christmas releases and remakes, here's an original that all of the family should see. It is sweet yet real. It restores hope and decency to movies.

We've rented it before, now we own it. After "A Christmas Story" and the Alistaire Sim version of "A Christmas Carol", this is the Christmas movie our family MUST watch every year.