History Film / Prancer

A DirectToVideo sequel, called ''Prancer Returns'' and featuring a completely different cast, was released in 2001, a second DirectToVideo sequel ''Prancer: A Christmas Tale'' with a completely different cast, was released in 2022.

A DirectToVideo sequel, called ''Prancer Returns'' and featuring a completely different cast, was released in 2001.

* AdultFear: A surprising amount of it for what's supposed to be an innocent Christmas flick. Among the instances:
** Your daughter walks home from school every day, and her route takes her past woods where hunters could be seeking game and might accidentally shoot her. Doubled by the fact that she sometimes goes into those woods on her own.
** Your daughter brings a wounded reindeer into your farm's shed and has constant contact with it, not knowing if it has a disease or could bite.
** Your daughter sneaks out of the house to get food for said reindeer, using a snow-covered, slippery roof.
** [[spoiler: After you sell the reindeer to the local butcher as a Christmas attraction, your daughter tries to bust him out on a freezing, snowy night, falls out of a tree, and gets a concussion.]]

* YesVirginia: Jessica is kind of a subversion. No one actively tries to convince her there's no Santa Claus or reindeer, although her best friend Carol expresses skepticism and her dad, in a moment of frustration, exclaims, "Look, reindeer don't fly, okay?" It's not said whether Jessica convinces anyone Santa ''does'' exist, but her dad and some others in town sort of have a HeelFaceTurn on the issue.

* AdultsAreUseless: Played with. Played pretty straight with Jessica's dad, at least initially, but justified since if he knew about Prancer, he wouldn't react well. Subverted with Dr. Benton, the vet who eventually helps Prancer (after Jessica clings to his car and angrily convinces him with a mild TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. Though they don't play big roles, it's clear Jessica's Aunt Sarah and teacher, Ms. Fairburn, care about her and want to make sure she's doing okay.

* MallSanta: Jessica goes to the santa at the local mall to tell him she has Prancer, thinking he's the real prancer. He tells his friend the local newspaperman, whose touched and writes a story about Jessica and Prancer which is kind and moving in spirit, but also blows the secret.

* WithFriendsLikeThese: Jessica's best friend Carol sometimes falls into this. She's openly skeptical about Santa and [[CrossesTheLineTwice also implies there is no God or Heaven, which is worse when you recall Jessica's mother is dead.]]

Eight-year-old Jessica Riggs (Rebecca Harrell) believes in Santa Claus and flying reindeer even though her father John (Creator/SamElliott) and older brother Steve (John Duda) seem to believe she's too old to do so, and even her best friend Carol (Ariana Richards) has long since given up believing. When Jessica discovers a wounded reindeer in the woods near her home of Three Oaks, Michigan, she's convinced it's Prancer, Santa's missing reindeer. She becomes determined to take Prancer to a local ridge so Santa can come and retrieve him, but faces many obstacles in the process.

* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Jessica feeds Prancer Christmas cookies. Justified in that she's a kid and couldn't take feed from her family's barn without her dad, who she doesn't want to know about Prancer, suspecting anything.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: [[spoiler: Jessica finally does get Prancer to Antler Ridge for Santa to retrieve him.]] She turns her back, and he disappears. Dad speculates that maybe he flew away. There's no proof of course, but we ''do'' hear bells in the background... [[spoiler: Then we and they see a streak of light hurtling into the sky and joining with the distant, shadowy form of Santa's sleigh being pulled by the other reindeer.]]

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: [[spoiler: Jessica finally does get Prancer to Antler Ridge for Santa to retrieve him.]] She turns her back, and he disappears. Dad speculates that maybe he flew away. There's no proof of course, but we ''do'' hear bells in the background...

Eight-year-old Jessica Riggs (Rebecca Harrell) believes in Santa Claus and flying reindeer even though her father John (Creator/SamElliott) and older brother Steve (John Duda) seem to believe she's too old to do so, and even though her best friend has long since given up believing. When Jessica discovers a wounded reindeer in the woods near her home of Three Oaks, Michigan, she's convinced it's Prancer, Santa's missing reindeer. She becomes determined to take Prancer to a local ridge so Santa can come and retrieve him, but faces many obstacles in the process.

''Prancer'' is a 1989 film starring Rebecca Harrell in the role of eight-year-old Jessica Riggs. Jessica believes in Santa Claus and flying reindeer even though her dad and older brother seem to believe she's too old to do so, and even though her best friend has long since given up believing. When Jessica discovers a wounded reindeer in the woods near her home of Three Oaks, Michigan, she's convinced it's Prancer, Santa's missing reindeer. She becomes determined to take Prancer to a local ridge so Santa can come and retrieve him, but faces many obstacles in the process.

!!Associated Tropes Include:

* DefrostingIceQueen: Old Lady [=MacFarland=] after Jessica cleans up her house to make up the damage she and Carol did to it while sled riding. Mrs. [=MacFarland=] is more outgoing as a result and actually shows concern for Jessica later on in the movie.

* DefrostingIceQueen: Mrs. McFarland after Jessica cleans up her house to make up the damage done to it by her and Carol. Mrs. McFarland is more outgoing as a result.

* HeelFaceTurn: Occurs with the town vet, crabby old Mrs. MacFarland, and even Jessica's own father.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: [[Spoiler: Jessica finally does get Prancer to Antler Ridge for Santa to retrieve him.]] She turns her back, and he disappears. Dad speculates that maybe he flew away. There's no proof of course, but we ''do'' hear bells in the background...

* AdultsAreUseless: Played with. Played pretty straight with Jessica's dad, at least initially, but justified since if he knew about Prancer, he wouldn't react well. Subverted with Dr. Benton, the vet who eventually helps Prancer (after Jessica clings to his car and angrily convinces him with a mild The ReasonYouSuck speech. Though they don't play big roles, it's clear Jessica's Aunt Sarah and teacher, Ms. Fairburn, care about her and want to make sure she's doing okay.

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'''Associated Tropes Include''':

[[CoolBigSis Cool Big Bro]]: Jessica's older brother Steve doesn't start out this way, but becomes one when he decides to help Jessica spring Prancer so she can get him back to Santa.

* Nephewism: Jessica's father tries to enact this on his daughter (which would make it Nieceism). The family is struggling financially, and John Riggs knows he can't give his little girl the opportunities she deserves, so he wants to send her to live with Aunt Sarah. The problem is, Jessica doesn't want to go and is pretty vocal about it. [[spoiler: Her dad eventually decides she's better off at home with him.]]

* YesVirginia: Jessica is kind of a subversion. No one actively tries to convince her there's no Santa Claus or reindeer, although her best friend Carol expresses skepticism and her dad, in a moment of frustration, exclaims, "Look, reindeer don't fly, okay?" It's not said whether Jessica convinces anyone Santa ''does'' exist, but her dad and some others in town sort of have a HeelFaceTurn on the issue.