Prancer: A Christmas Tale

IN A NUTSHELL: Ten-year-old Gloria and her recently widowed grandfather, Bud, befriend a mysterious reindeer when the family gathers for Christmas. Bud comes to believe that Prancer may actually be magical, but Gloria fears his theory will send him straight to a retirement home.

THINGS I LIKED: I adore James Cromwell and wish he did more movies. As expected, he is wonderful in this.

Darcey Ewart is adorable as Gloria. She and James Cromwell made a delightful, unexpected pair.

We get to see a real reindeer!

This is not a silly children's Christmas movie, but one with serious issues. Some of the topics in the movie really hit home with me because my siblings and I have been making very difficult decisions about our aging parents during the past few years. It's truly heartbreaking watching one's parents get old. The movie addresses an aging father with debt and how his circumstances affect all of his children and grandchildren.

There is magic, wonder, adventure, and mystery.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Some of the reindeer moments use bad CGI.

Not all of the humor lands.

There are some bad acting moments.

While Acts 1 & 2 took their time, Act 3 flew by too quickly.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Some profanity Lots of fighting and grumpy people Talk of divorce Talk of the death of a loved one Talk of bankruptcy Someone tries to shoot a reindeer.

!

Loved this warm hearted Christmas film. Quite funny in places although a bit predictable as most Christmas films are but well made all the same.

James Cromwell & the rest of the cast are great & left us both with warm Christmassy feelings. It really did what it said on the tin.

So much better than this years Lindsay Lohan Christmas film effort which i thought was cheesy & lame.

The young actress who played the little girl was absolutely delightful.

Left us thoroughly entertained without having to think too much which is what you want when you need a film to relax to.

We highly recommend this film.

Cute storyline

• especially with the young granddaughter slowly developing a relationship with her Grandpa -

And the storyline involves relationships of different family members- as well as a small town business with local town people.

And beautiful snow snow snow scenes!

And magical lights - by a magical Christmas reindeer. Yes. Prancer is definitely back again.

Acting well done - and especially the young actress granddaughter and the actor grandfather

And definitely the reindeer Prancer who delivered in each and every scene

Good directing and storyline

Christmas magical story Very cute.

Solid story. Unique story. Heartwarming and magical. I loved the relationship between grandfather and granddaughter so much. Even the dichotomies in the different relationships depending on the situation. It felt familial. The little girl was beautifully charming. And she and James Cromwell were wonderful together.

If you want to watch something new that you haven't seen done 1000x before but still get the warmth of a classic holiday movie you can't go wrong here.

Nuanced enough to give the viewer something to think about. Christmas spirited and surprisingly good.

Easy and sweet I really enjoyed it.

Bud (James Cromwell) has been a grumpy old man since the death of his beloved wife Betty. He is closing his coffee shop store in this dying town. A reindeer flies over him and he crashes his truck. Claire (Sarah-Jane Potts) is coming home from London with her daughter Gloria (Darcey Ewart). Her brother wants to put Bud in an old-age home.

I love the grandpa granddaughter relationship. As for Prancer, I like the mystery of the first half. The magic is a bit underwhelming. I was expecting a ride to the North Pole, or finding a magical portal in the woods. I don't think switching on the lights is as awe-inspiring as it's being shown to be. That's the only disappointment in an otherwise sweet family film. I really like this kid and James Cromwell always delivers.