Common Sense Media Review
By Alistair Lawrence
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Family festive drama has mild language, comic violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Prancer: A Christmas Tale
What's the Story?
PRANCER: A CHRISTMAS TALE follows recently widowed Bud (James Cromwell) and his granddaughter Gloria (Darcey Ewart) as they befriend a mysterious reindeer.
Is It Any Good?
A belated threequel in the Prancer movie series, this outing is a low-stakes, feel-good family drama for the holidays that manages to spin a decent odd-couple story out of a pretty vague premise. In Prancer: A Christmas Tale, veteran Cromwell has no trouble giving everyone the short shrift as cantankerous Bud, before the persistence of his visiting 10-year-old British granddaughter, Gloria, provides him with a companion with whom he can follow the trail of the titular magical reindeer. Thankfully, Cromwell and Ewart's on-screen chemistry helps them make easy work of a lightweight script and keeps things watchable.
The story is less consistent and at times feels more like a scenic sleigh ride. Half Christmas fairy tale and half family drama. The rocky relationship between Gloria's parents and Bud's constant clashes with his two adult children comes and goes before being resolved a bit too neatly. While Bud and Gloria's pursuit of Prancer relies on a lot of exposition. A stronger villain would've made things more interesting, as would've making Gloria's uncle Gerald (Aaron McCusker) a bit more devious. But anyone looking for some throwaway fun to help the turkey go down could do worse than add this to their Christmas watch list.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Bud and Gloria's relationship in Prancer: A Christmas Tale. How did this change over time? What helped make this change?
Discuss Bud's grief about the loss of his wife. Why did he find it difficult to talk about his loss? How did he change when he was able to open up about his feelings?
Talk about the movie's Christmas time setting. How did it compare to your favorite Christmas movies? What were its core messages?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 22, 2022
- Cast : James Cromwell , Darcey Ewart , Sarah-Jane Potts
- Director : Phil Hawkins
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Sky Cinema
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Holidays , Animals ( Wild Animals )
- Run time : 102 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : language, some action/peril and thematic elements
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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