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Prancer: A Christmas Tale

Prancer: A Christmas Tale

Family · Fantasy · 2022

Ten-year-old Gloria and her recently widowed grandfather Bud befriend a mysterious reindeer when the family gather 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.

Movie details

Prancer: A Christmas Tale

2022 Family · Fantasy 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Ten-year-old Gloria and her recently widowed grandfather Bud befriend a mysterious reindeer when the family gather 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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Prancer: A Christmas Tale?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas

Animation · 1997

Astonished to find the Beast has a deep-seated hatred for the Christmas season, Belle endeavors to change his mind on the matter.

Godmothered

Godmothered

Family · 2020

A young and unskilled fairy godmother that ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a young girl whose request for help was ignored. What she discovers is that the girl has now become a grown woman in need of something very different than a "prince charming."

Four Kids and It

Four Kids and It

Family · 2020

A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes.

Noelle

Noelle

Family · 2019

Kris Kringle's daughter, Noelle, sets off on a mission to find and bring back her brother, after he gets cold feet when it's his turn to take over as Santa.

Prancer

Prancer

Family · 1989

Jessica, the daughter of an impoverished apple 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 the reindeer in her barn and feeds it cookies, until she can return it to Santa. Her father finds the reindeer and decides to sell it to the butcher, not for venison chops, but as an advertising display.

One Magic Christmas

One Magic Christmas

Family · 1985

Ginny Grainger, a young mother, rediscovers the joy and beauty of Christmas, thanks to the unshakable faith of her six-year-old daughter Abbie and Gideon, Ginny's very own guardian angel.

Dashing Through the Snow

Dashing Through the Snow

Fantasy · 2023

Eddie Garrick is a good-hearted man who has lost his belief in the wonder of Christmas. While spending time with his nine-year-old daughter Charlotte on Christmas Eve, he befriends a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick.

Annabelle's Wish

Annabelle's Wish

Family · 1997

Annabelle - a calf who has a special wish for Christmas - wants to be a reindeer and help Santa Claus drive his sleigh as he delivers his presents! Annabelle's friends tell her not to get her hopes up, but to everyone's surprise, Santa does indeed meet up with Annabelle, and the calf gets to help Santa make the holiday special for one young boy.

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas

Animation · 1999

Mickey, Minnie, and their famous friends Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Pluto gather together to reminisce about the love, magic and surprises in three wonder-filled stories of Christmas past.

Candy Cane Lane

Candy Cane Lane

Comedy · 2023

A man, determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, makes a pact with an elf to help him win. However, the elf casts a spell bringing the twelve days of Christmas to life, bringing chaos to the small, unsuspecting town.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Phil Hawkins

Written by

Greg Taylor

James Cromwell

James Cromwell

Bud

Darcey Ewart

Darcey Ewart

Gloria

Sarah-Jane Potts

Sarah-Jane Potts

Claire

Aaron McCusker

Aaron McCusker

Gerald

Joseph Millson

Joseph Millson

Finn Wally

Stephanie Levi-John

Stephanie Levi-John

Erica

Florisa Kamara

Florisa Kamara

Haley

Court is in session

Put Prancer: A Christmas Tale on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.