MovieChat Forums > Prancer (1989) Discussion > Very partial to this movie

Very partial to this movie

posted 20 years ago by aschultz0421
20 replies | jump to latest

I am very partial to this movie. You see, I have always been a kid at heart and Christmas my favorite time of year. In 1989 I was able to see my father, yes, my father debut in his first movie, Prancer. I grew up in a small town in LaPorte, Indiana where my father still lives. Mr Hancock and the rest of the crew were most gracious and saw talent in my father. He basically did stand in work for Michael Constantine and others but my favorite part of the movie is the scene where they are in the church and my father's face and another gentleman I am most familiar with, also from LaPorte, Indiana fill up the entire screen as they hold their candles high and sing. This my father's dream in life was to be an actor. He put in all on hold to raise a family. He ultimately got his dream and I am just thankful that my mother was able to see him reach his altimate goal in life shortly before she passed away. This will always be a classic in my book, not only because of the story and love in the movie but the dream it fulfilled in my fathers life.

Allison (Ehrick) Schultz

[–] karenmommafive 19 years ago

Allison, I am so happy to have read your message. I love Prancer because it is just a nice movie the whole family can watch together. My favorite time of year is Christmas and when i saw this for the first time it became my favorite movie. I took my daughter and her friends to see Prancer on her 6th birthday and now she just turned 21. So it has been awhile. I have it on video and i am looking for it on DVD but can't find it. That movie is hard to find around here. (New Jersey) That is great to have your dad in the movie, what a memory to always have. I will have to go and look at it tonight and see your dad. Which one is he? I know you said it's him and another man at the church. I will look. I watch that movie so much. My kids think i'm nuts. lol Did you really grow up in LaPorte Indianna? Which parts of the movie did you recognize as being your town? Did you watch them film it? Whatever happened to Rebecca Harrel? I don't think i have ever seen her in anything else and she was so good in that movie. Have you ever seen her in anything? Thanks again for sharing your Prancer story with me. Karen [email protected]

[–] BethH24 19 years ago

i am a year younger than your daughter karen.i'm 20 and this is one of my fave films aswell.i always wonder what happened to rebecca harrell aswell and john duda who plays her brother,steve,in the film.do either of you know what happened to them ?i used to have a crush on john when i was younger ! i'd probably still have a crush on him now too if i saw him.do either of you have any info on them ?i'll look out for your dad in the film allison.how old are you allison if you dont mind me asking ?and is this one of your fave films aswell ?

[–] karenmommafive 19 years ago

Hi, i don't really know what happened to the 2 kids. If you look online under Prancer it shows the cast. If you click on the names of the kids, it tells you a little of what they have been up to, but i haven't seen any of them. Johns story is kind of vague. Not to much info. This is the kind of movie that just makes you feel good when you watch it. I would love to go and visit the towns that they filmed in because they look so pretty. Any other info i find out i will keep you posted and please do the same. Thanks for your reply and have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Karen P.S. i have also been looking for the DVD of this movie because I wanted to give one to my daughter in her shower wishing well because she is getting married in June (not my 21 year old) and she teases me for watching it all the time so i wanted to give her a copy lol Looked all over the stores in the Holiday movie sections and no one has Prancer. Guess i will have to get it online.

[–] BethH24 19 years ago

it gets on your nerves abit doesnt it when you wanna find out some info on someone and you cant find anything ? thanks i'd really appreciate it if you could let me know if you find anything out about him.
i'd like to visit the town where it was filmed aswell.i'm from england though.i'm going on holiday to america nxt year though !i've not got prancer on dvd or video.i taped it on t.v though so i've got it on tape.it's coming on t.v tomorrow over here aswell by a coincidence ! it probably has extra things on the dvd.i wonder if it has any interviews on it or anything ?

[–] BethH24 19 years ago

also i will let you know about any info i find on them.do you want info on both of them (rebecca and john ) ?.
i hope you have a merry christmas and a happy new year too !

my names beth by the way !

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[–] BethH24 19 years ago

how old do you reckon john looked in the film ?if we could figure it out it would give us some sort of clue as to how old he is now.i know rebecca was 9 years old when the film was made and i dont think he looked much older than her.let me know if you guess or if you find out and if you find out anything else

[–] karenmommafive 19 years ago

Hi Beth, I think that maybe John was around 13. I am on a mission now to try and find out info on him and Rebecca. You know when you get something in your head you can't stop till you find the answer. lol So Prancer is on today over in England, its not on here. Did you ever see the movie Prancer Returns? I don't like that one. It really has nothing to do with the original one. The first ones are always the best. So wow, you are all the way over in England. I was there once, in 1977. We went to London and visited all the popular sites. Where are you going in the united states next year? What state are you going to visit? Were you ever here before? I live in New Jersey. By the way, my name is Karen and my e-mail is [email protected]

I will talk to you soon. Gotta start my investigating. lol

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY FROM AMERICA

[–] BethH24 19 years ago

hi karen.i agree, i think john looks about 13 in the film.well i'd say at the youngest he looks 11 but at the oldest 13.i dont think he looks younger that 11 or older than 13.i've heard of a band called j for jules and there's someone called john duda in the band but i dont know if its the same person.i typed john's name in the address box at the top of my screen to see if i could find any websites on him and that was one that came up.i hadnt heard of that band before i saw that website.it doesnt give much info about the band members on it and theres not much info about him on this website.theres a couple of other websites for prancer but they dont offer much info either .which websites have you looked at ?have you had much luck finding anything yet ?
i'm the same as you.i cant stop looking for something till i find it ! lol.
if i go to america next year ,i'll be going somewhere in california.maybe LA.Where abouts are you from in america ?
did you enjoy your time in england when you came over ?where abouts did you go ?

Yeah prancer was on t.v today.i love watching that movie ! its one of my faves !i havent seen the sequel but i dont think it was necessary to make one to it anyway !the original is good enough.unless they'd made one with the original cast in ! lol.
talk to you soon

Beth

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P.S Merry xmas and a happy new year to you and your family !

[–] karenmommafive 19 years ago

Hi Beth, i didn't find any info yet, but i will keep at it. Guess what, Prancer was on t.v. here tonight. I didn't know it was on till i was flipping through the channels and what a surprise. lol When i was in England, i went to see Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly square, Tower of London, Big Ben, took a ride on the Themes River, went to some really beautiful park with a lot of flowers, rode on a double decker bus (we don't have them here), went shopping in Harrods all before you were even born. ha ha Where do you live in England? Near London? What are you going to do for Christmas? Watch Prancer? ha ha or go up to Antler Ridge and wait to see Santa come to pick Prancer up on Christmas Eve? ha ha I never heard of the band that has a member named John Duda either, but i will let you know what i find. Have a happy. Karen

[–] BethH24 19 years ago

Hi karen.thats a coincidence isnt it that prancer was on over here yesterday and where you are !did you watch it ?i did even though ive already got it on tape !i could watch it over and over i love it that much !have you got it on tape or anything ?
i wish i could have seen it when it was first released.i bet it was good watching it on the big screen !i think i was about 12 when i first saw it.it came on t.v and i thought it sounded good so i watched it.i had a crush on john for a few years after i saw it !id like to see what he looks like now and see if i still like him.and i'm curious to know what he's up to.and what rebecca's up to aswell.in my opinion i think rebecca and john should both have become big stars after that film.what do you think ?they might have decided to quit acting themselves though.
does your daughter still like the film ?what did you both think when you first saw it ?some parts of the film are funny like when the animals escape from the barn and prancer goes in the house !there are some emotional bits aswell.the part near the end where jessie and her dad are talking in her room after she has the accident and he reads her the book makes me want to cry everytime !
did you enjoy it when you came over to england ?i live in the north of england .london is in the south as you know.
yeah i'll probably watch prancer over christmas quite afew times ! lol.and i'd like to go to antler ridge and see santa pick up prancer !lol.is there really a place called antler ridge in america ?
the band member thats in j for jules might not be the same person.it might just be someone with the same name.i hope its the same person though then at least we've found something out !
have you had any luck finding any info yet.keep me posted.

happy xmas !

Beth
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[–] BethH24 19 years ago

do you think the members of the cast still watch the film when it comes on t.v ?i was thinking that when we were saying that it was on on thursday.and i wonder if they've got the film on video or dvd or anything ?also i wonder what they'd think if they knew that people are still talking about them all these years later and about how great the movie is.and i wonder if they ever come on this message board !lol.if they do i think they should let us know.be great if we could chat to them on here !

[–] karenmommafive 19 years ago

Hi Beth, Well its the day after Christmas now, hope you had a happy one. Mine was great. I did watch Prancer the other day. I bought little hand towels at K-Mart (its a store) the other day and they have a picture of a reindeer on them and it says "PRANCER" under the reindeer. Soooo cute. I bought 3 of them, one for me, one for my 2 daughters boyfriends who tease me all the time cause i always watch that movie. lol They laughed when they saw them. I told them they both have their own places so they can keep them in their house and think of me when they see them. ha ha I do have the vcr tape of Prancer but i was looking for the Dvd. My brother just bought the DVD cause he wanted to see the movie and he said he would give it to me. He's a good brother. ha ha I looked all over the computor for John Duda and i never get anything, not even a picture of him. Did you ever notice his ear? Is that an earring in his left ear? I don't know cause it looks like its in the middle of his ear, not his ear lobe. Being so young at the age he made the movie, i was surprised to see him wearing an earring. But like i say, i will be looking into it and let you know. Take care over there in England. What is the weather like now? It is very cold here today, some snow flurries but didn't amount to anything. Talk to you soon, Karen

[–] BethH24 19 years ago

hi karen.its new years eve now.i had a great christmas thanks.what about you ?did your brother give you the dvd of prancer ?is there any extra things on the dvd like interviews with the cast or anything ?i know there is on some dvds.
have you managed to find any info yet ?i have noticed john's ear.i noticed it when i first saw the movie .have you only just noticed it ?i think its an earring.it looks like one anyway.i know he was young to have his ear pierced but if you notice rebecca has her ears pierced in the film too and she's younger than him ! mind you hers are in her lobes though and not at the side of her ear.
what did you get for christmas ?i like the sound of the hand towels you bought that say prancer on them ! haha !.aww thats cute !
it has been quite cold over here in england lately.we had a bit of snow on christmas day !.

have you got anything planned while its new years eve and have you got anything planned for new years day ?

talk to you soon

Beth

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[–] karenmommafive 19 years ago

Beth by any chance are you on your computor right now? I just recieved your message so maybe your still on. I thought it would be easier to talk to you while you were on instead of always on the message board. let me know if you are on right now. karen

[–] BethH24 19 years ago

hi karen.unfortunatley i'd just gone off the computer when you posted your message and ive just read it now !.thats a shame isnt it ?.if you want though we could try and arrange another time when we can both come on at the same time if you want.yeah it might be easier if we talk to each other when were on instead of on the message board.

Beth

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[–] BethH24 19 years ago

hi karen.have you been on here since you posted your last message ?i know you havent posted anything since but i thought maybe you'd been on here and not posted anything.i was just wondering if you're gonna reply to my last message and the one before that ?

Beth

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[–] BethH24 19 years ago

hi karen.do you still come on this board ?i was just wondering because i havent heard from you for a while.

Beth

[–] Benihanahasnofunflare 12 years ago

Such magic!

[–] sfwill 19 years ago

i was the casting director of this movie and i can tell that rebecca harrell moved to NYC when she was around 18, and i think she may still be in NYC. as for john, i haven't heard much.

[–] mrhysterium 17 years ago

Get a life guys... it's just another b-grade random xmas flick involving a young girl believing in something that nobody else gives a damn about. Thankfully this film involved scenes of semi-child-abuse to keep it worthwhile. Haha... sorry but I loved it when that old nanna made the lil chick decorate her roof for xmas.. when it was clearly very dangerous and the poor girl (who cant sing for sh*t, by the way) could have fallen and broken her fricken neck (like when she fell out of the tree/jumped on to the logs).

I love this movie because, yes, it is sentimental - but it's corny as.
I give it three stars
1 for the main girl singing in such a bad key - it resembles a microphone being kicked into a speaker or fingernails clawing a blackboard.
2 for the blonde friend with the 80s mullet who had a heart of gold but got accused of being a deceving *beep* by the main chick and got smacked by her mama in church. She was awesome.
3 for the massive scythe knife that the main chick threatened those 11 year old boys with in the barnyard scene. It would have been great if she had actually cut one of their neck's open. But this is a xmas flick... too bad I'm a jew.

Love this movie for what it is. Mindless, sentimental trash with weird scenes involving child abuse.

-Brando-