YMMV / Prancer

• Fridge Brilliance: When the local vet initially refuses to help the injured Prancer, Jessica tells him doctors are liars and never make anyone better. One could infer this attitude is because her mom died of a serious illness. It actually crosses into Fridge Horror as well.
• Nightmare Fuel: Bonus points for being an actual nightmare. Jessica dreams she's walking through the empty main street towards the hanged Christmas decoration of Santa's sleigh and the reindeers from earlier in the film. Then we cut to the plastic reindeer (Prancer) falling towards the screen (Jessica's POV) as it screams.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Leonard Hofstadter is Billy Quinn considering and this isn't the first Christmas film that Johnny Galecki was in.
  • Lex is Carol Wetherby.
  • Mrs. McFarland is Mawmaw.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Neither of the Riggs are all that likeable.
  • Jessica. Besides the fact that she is shrill and particularly grating on the nerves, she doesn't seem to care about the fact that her father is trying to make ends meet - in fact she only really cares for what's good for herself, to the point where she recklessly sleds over flower bushes, often trespasses, vandalizes, and is apparently not satisfied with living with her aunt despite her father being wracked with bitterness. In spite of all of her flaws, nothing bad whatsoever happens to her in the film. All of this is given the justification that she is "precocious".
  • John Riggs. Although much of his worse behavior is unintentional, nevertheless he's gruff and borderline verbally abusive with Jessica for 80% of the film. He forcibly drags her into a vehicle at one point and, when "explaining" to her a hunter might shoot her, actually points his finger at her like a gun. And despite the fact that yes, Jessica can be shrill about it, John will not listen to any of her feelings about Prancer, Christmas, or her desire not to live with Aunt Sarah. He prepares to shoot Prancer, in front of Jessica, on one occasion.
• The Woobie: Jessica's mother is dead, and her father isn't often affectionate, at least for most of the film. Worse, her father wants to send her 30 miles away to live with her aunt. Though his intentions are good, he doesn't seem to understand his daughter is better off with him. Add in Jessica's injury toward the end and you really start to feel sorry for the kid.
  • Prancer as well, considering he was injured, threatened with a gun, and eventually sold to the local butcher as a Christmas attraction before Jessica rescued him.
  • Heck, Jessica's dad could be this. He's in deep financial trouble, such that he sees sending his only daughter to live with an aunt as the only solution. This becomes a downright Tear Jerker at the end when Jessica's running away causes him to realize what he'd be giving up, and he promises she can stay with him.

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