#11:
Prancer
This movie is a new one for me. It’s new, in the sense that
the first time I saw Prancer was last year at Christmas time. I heard about it,
mostly in a manner which was in an effort to make fun of it, but I never took
the time to watch it. It’s a pity really, because it is an amazing film, which
really captures the essence of the Christmas season.
Prancer is the story of Jessica Riggs (Rebecca Harrell) an
eight year old girl living in a small town in the Midwest. Jessica is as
innocent as a girl could possibly be and she loves Christmas. Her mother died
recently, and as a result she is in the care of her rough, quiet, and
protective father (Sam Elliott). Jessica’s family has fallen on hard times and
making Christmas memorable is the last thing on Mr. Riggs plate. He loves his
daughter immensely, but doesn’t know how to show it.
At any rate, while coming home from school on day Jessica
finds a hurt reindeer who she believes to be Santa's reindeer Prancer. As she
nurses Prancer back to health, a deep bond grows between the two. At first, she
doesn’t want anyone to know about Prancer, but eventually she lets her brother,
Steve (John Duda) in as well as a friendly old veterinarian (Abe Vigoda). In
order to raise money to help Prancer, she also befriends the old town recluse
(Cloris Leachman), who finds Jessica’s innocence to be refreshing from the
world she has inhabited over the years.
Eventually, Mr. Riggs discovers Prancer living in the barn,
and he and Jessica clash, despite revealing brief moments of deep love for his
daughter, he does not understand Jessica's special love for helping the
reindeer. After a misunderstanding, he sells Prancer to a business owner
temporarily. His walls of hard feelings begin break down and he and Jessica
finally forge a deep, loving bond. Jessica, after several emotional and
physical struggles between her best friend, her family, and the town, manages
to cure Prancer and set him free, where he is seen flying to the sky to rejoin
the other seven deer of Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve.
I’m going to be honest. It is difficult not to be moved by
this movie, and it’s hard not to like it. I suppose that what I like best about
it is that while it’s a happy ending, not much has changed. The family problems
that the Riggs family has still exist after the film, as they would for any of
us, but what makes it so special is how the film demonstrates, for those brief
moments, the power of a family who has a genuine love and affection for each
other. It’s not contrived, nor overstated.
One scene in particular really gets to the heart of the
film. After Jessica gets hurt trying to free Prancer from the tree lot, she is
taken home, and Mr. Riggs has a talk with her about what the family has been
going through over the last couple of years. It is an incredibly moving moment,
in a film full of them.
And I challenge anyone not to be completely taken in by
Harrell’s portrayal of Jessica Riggs. I have never seen a child actress inhibit
such innocence, warmth, genuine cheer and affection and be able to channel all
those emotions so well in a movie. I realize that the Academy of Motion
Pictures wouldn’t be caught dead awarding a best actress award to a child, let
alone a child in a Christmas movie, and that’s a real shame. If anyone can find
a better performance in any other movie, I’d like to see it.
As a movie, as all movies, Prancer isn’t perfect. It might
be cheesy at times for some, and contrived for others, but for me, it is almost
perfect. It’s a heavy movie, to be sure, but has a genuine charm, wit, and
appreciation for the season that is sorely lacking in many modern films. It is
a great movie and I look forward to it every year.
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