Jessica Riggs (Rebecca Harrell) loves Christmas so much that when she comes across an injured reindeer in the woods, she is immediately convinced it must be one of Santa's. Prancer, to be exact. Her dad (Sam Elliott) is distracted by economic concerns and bewildered by the grief of losing his wife and having to raise two children on his own, so Jessica has a lot more leeway to hide and care for Prancer until it heals enough to rejoin Santa's sleigh.
This is one of those movies where the meaning is entirely different depending on how old you are. As a kid, this is a heartwarming story about how to stand up against adults when you know you're right. As an adult, this is a harrowing tale of sublimating grief and unhealthy attachments.
Movie Club was very complimentary of the naturalistic performance Harrell gives. She doesn't have the preternatural poise of other child actors and is able to just be the 8-year-old she is playing. That's great, except the 8-year-old she is playing is incredibly annoying. Your tolerance for that may vary. Mine is not high, so I found her grating. The reindeer is great. Probably an enormous pain in the ass to work with, but great result. Cloris Leachman is criminally underused, and Sam Elliott is Sam Elliott.
Here's the nostalgia part: I remember seeing promos for this movie as a kid. The marketing was huge. I don't think I actually watched it, but I vividly remember the trailers being on TV.
It's streaming for free with ads on Tubi so you get the full, early 90s experience.
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