A heartwarming and endearing
holiday movie! Prancer is a
sentimental, tug-at-your-heart story
that folks of all ages will love.
Prancer
Young Jessica Riggs’ family has
fallen on hard times. Still, she keeps
her belief in Santa Claus and the
idea that there are miracles in the
world alive. When Jessica discovers
an injured reindeer in the woods,
she believes it is Prancer, one of
Santa’s reindeer. With the help of
a sympathetic veterinarian, Jessica
takes care of the wounded creature.
It’s supposed to be a secret, but
eventually a store Santa Claus, the
girl’s dad, and the entire town find
out about Prancer, leading to big
problems for Jessica and her family.
Prancer stars Rebecca Harrell as
Jessica Riggs; Sam Elliott as John
Riggs, the father; Abe Vigoda
portrays the veterinarian; and
Michael Constantine plays the store
Santa Claus. Cloris Leachman plays
the town’s recluse, Mrs. McFarland.
• The movie ”Prancer” grossed
nearly $19 million at the box office.
• The film’s young lead actress,
Rebecca Harrell, garnered a
nomination for a Young Artist
Award for Best Young Actress
Starring in a Motion Picture.
• The movie is set in the little town
of Three Oaks, where much of
the exterior scenes were shot.
Filming also occurred in Indiana
and Illinois.
5 South Elm Street, ree Oaks
is is the scene where you see workers
hanging up the reindeer in town, in
preparation for Christmas. Decorations
were left hanging at the intersection
through March when filming was finished.
As a thank you to the people of ree Oaks,
producers gave all the Christmas holiday
decorations to the city.
Wetherby Residence
17768 Pardee Road, Galien
In the movie Prancer, Jessica’s best friend,
Carol Wetherby, lived in this home. Carol
isn’t sure what to think about her friend’s
sudden obsession with the reindeer but
promised to keep Jessica’s secret.
is family home was built in 1920 and
is situated on 1.5 acres of land.
Drier’s Meat Market
14 South Elm Street, ree Oaks
Pay a visit to Drier’s Meat Market and
you may get to meet Carolyn Drier, whose
100-plus-year-old meat market—a national
historic site—is featured prominently in
the film. Maybe you can even score her
autograph on a wrapped ring of homemade
bologna.
Here’s the reference to Drier’s Meat
Market in the movie, “e reindeer finally
is discovered, and Jessica’s dad sells it to
Mr. Drier, the local butcher…”
Christmas Tree Lot
12 South Elm Street, ree Oaks
(on the west side of the street between
8 and 14 South Elm Street)
Vickers eatre
6 North Elm Street, ree Oaks
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of
Prancer, the director held a special public
screening at Vickers eatre.
ree Oaks United
Methodist Church
2 Sycamore Street East, ree Oaks
is is the site of Prancer magic. Santa’s
reindeer, and the recent movie carrying
his name, added special meaning to this
Christmas for United Methodists in
ree Oaks. For one long day, this
church was turned into a movie set. Church
members, including the choir, were among
the many people recruited as extras.
Second Wind
13 South Elm Street, ree Oaks
e sign on the window says it all, “Random
ings & Hidden Treasures.” During the
filming of Prancer, this colorful building was
the local tap room called the Village Pump.
It was quite the popular hangout for stars
Sam Elliott, Abe Vigoda, and other film
crew and production staff.
Stop in and hunt for all kinds of vintage and
retro items being sold at this colorful shop.
LOCAL ATTRACTIONS
Dewey Cannon Trading
Company & Bicycle Museum
3 Dewey Cannon Avenue, ree Oaks
is unique gem features bicycles dating
back to the 1800s through the 20th century.
You’ll see a Greg LeMond bicycle used to
win the 1989 Tour de France final time-
trial by a mere eight seconds. ey rent
bikes, too, and provide 20 different mapped
bicycle routes throughout the county.
Dewey Cannon Trading Company & Bicycle
Museum is fun for the entire family or tour
group. Be sure to check out their gift shop
—they offer a great selection of Michigan
items, t-shirts, hats and many unique and
hard-to-find treasures.
Journeyman Distillery
109 Generation Drive, ree Oaks
An old buggy whip and corset factory might
seem like an unusual place for a distillery,
but that is exactly where the Journeyman
Distillery is located.
e factory still stands today and houses
the Journeyman Distillery and the Acorn
eater. e distillery is an organic spirits
distillery and offers tours to the public. A
restaurant is onsite as well.
Acorn eater
107 Generation Drive, ree Oaks
e Acorn eater is a rare and remarkable
performing arts venue bringing high-quality,
professional, live entertainment.
Housed in a turn-of-the-century former
corset stay factory, this beautiful building
is now a venue for many performers.
e Acorn produces over 100 shows a year
in its 260-seat house.
Audiences can be assured of a great time
of entertainment. John Hancock, producer
of Prancer, debuts many of his shows at
this theater.
Froehlich’s Bakery & Deli
26 North Elm Street, ree Oaks
You can enjoy a variety of breads, pies,
pastries, unique desserts, soups, salads, and
deli sandwiches at Froehlich’s Bakery & Deli.
ey also offer an assortment of house-made
jams, jellies, pickles, and specialty foods.
Silver Beach Carousel
333 Broad Street, St. Joseph
A classic restored merry-go-round with
painted animals and music from a vintage
band organ. Kids and adults alike will love
this place.
e Silver Beach Carousel, with its brass
ring machine and 44 hand-carved, life-like
horses, began thrilling crowds of visitors
in 1910.
Make sure you check out all 48 unique
carousel figures and two chariots. Pick
your favorite and come ride beneath 1,000
twinkling lights.
St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouse
St. Joseph
St. Joseph North Pier inner and outer
lights are two iconic, historic lighthouses
at the entrance to the St. Joseph River on
Lake Michigan. ese lighthouses were the
first ones built on Lake Michigan and are
connected by an elevated catwalk and offer
dramatic sunset views. Visitors can take
guided tours of the inner lighthouse and even
climb up to the very top of the lantern room
for a bird’s-eye view. Whether you choose a
guided walking tour or decide to explore the
lighthouse on your own, you’ll learn all about
these two lights’ 180-year history.
Six different reindeer were used for the
film. One mechanical deer. The real name
of the main reindeer who played Prancer
was “Boo.”
The producer of the movie Prancer, John
Hancock, also produced the hit movies
Bang The Drum Slowly and Let’s Scare
Jessica To Death.
Greg Taylor wrote the screenplay for
Prancer and is co-producer. He wrote the
screenplay three years before it became
a movie, after his daughter, Jessica,
asked him to tell her a Christmas story,
and he started the tale of a reindeer
named Prancer.
Later, when he was casting about for
a new story idea, he remembered how
much Jessie had liked the Prancer tale,
and started working it into a screenplay.
“It seemed so natural,” he said. “I wanted
to capture the innocence of childhood.
We need that.”
An eye-opener: For Dorothy Shook,
a member of the Three Oaks United
Methodist Church, the movie carried
several messages. “It showed we are a
supportive community and we’ve got to
be ready for change.” Shook said. It also
raised a question. “At one point, when
actress Cloris Leachman, the unpleasant
old woman, comes down the aisle, we were
told to turn and look at her as if to wonder
‘why are you here?’ I wonder how many
times we do that when someone new
or different comes to our church. Do
we really want the ‘oddballs’ here?
I had to stop and think about that
one for a minute,” Shook said.
Having the church chosen as one of
the movie sites has helped let people
know the church exists. More than 1,000
people came through the building during
the filming compared to its membership
of 160. “There were people who have
lived in this town all their lives who had
never been in this church before,” said
a local resident. “If you’re going to be a
force in the community, you have to be
visible. For once, we were visible. Now
when people ask which church I go to,
I say, ‘the one where Prancer was shot.’”
The production company gave the church
all the Christmas decorations after filming
was complete as a thank you for their help
and kindness.
During the Christmas holiday, visitors
can have their picture taken with a
decoration of Santa and his reindeer,
except Prancer. The three-dimensional
display, which hung over the town’s main
street in the movie, now sits on the post
office lawn just across from the church.
There’s a hole in the reindeer line-up for
Prancer who, as movie goers will learn,
fell from the sky in an opening scene.
Local resident, Marcia Hausmann Dinges
stated, “While Prancer was being filmed,
I was a teller at the Bank of Three Oaks
where the library is today. One day, Police
Chief Frank Nekvasil walked in and as he
came up the steps said, ‘Ladies, I have a
present for you.’ When he got to the top of
the steps he stepped aside and there was
Sam Elliott,” the popular and handsome
Hollywood star who played the role of
Jessica Riggs’ father in the movie.
A silent night? There’s one Christmas
carol that the choir isn’t likely to sing
this year. Member Doris Krossovitch,
explained, “We sang ‘Hark the Herald
Angels Sing’ hundreds of times during
the filming of Prancer at our church. The
producers just kept telling us to sing so
we sang our hearts out.” Ironically, only
the choir’s faces and not their voices
made it into the movie. “After all that,
you never hear us,” Krossovitch said. She
was, however, thrilled to see herself and
fellow choir members on screen.
The film crew had to reschedule exterior
shooting from early February to later in
the month, in hopes of being blessed with
a snowfall. “But they had a special effects
man, just in case. You’d be amazed by how
many films that’s used in.” The special
effects crew worked hard in Three Oaks as
hoped-for snow failed to fall. Hence, soap
suds and instant potato flakes were used
as a substitute for real snow.
Church members learned a lot about
making movies. Lloyd Gearhart found
himself walking not through snow for
eight hours but through soap suds with
instant potato flakes being blown by a fan
into his face. “I’ve heard of miracles, but
they actually turned day into night and
night into day, all with lights. At midnight,
they had the sun shining through our
stained-glass window.”
The pastor of the church, Pastor Pearson,
said that having Hollywood come to the
church for a day was work, but fun. He
read the script to decide if the church
would be appropriately used. During
planning and filming, members said he
served as an anchor. Pearson said the
job seemed natural. “You’d get about five
people asking the same question and
nobody knowing what the others were
doing. It was just like the church,” he said.
While he was too young and had too much
hair to play the pastor in the movie, his
robe did make the cut. “Right after they
called about using the church, they called
to ask if I had a black robe they could use,”
Pearson said. “It had to be black. They
wanted me to send it to them for several
months, but I said I couldn’t do that. When
they got here, they still didn’t have one.”
When they saw Pearson’s robes, it wasn’t
the black one, but a gray one with red trim
they decided to use.
Three Oaks United Methodist Church
members agree that being in the movies
is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, yet
they wanted to hold onto the magic and
excitement of Prancer just a bit longer.
They invited all the residents in town who
participated in the filming to a holiday
celebration at the church.
Local Three Oaks resident, Chrissy
Shannon remembers playing darts with
Sam Elliott and his wife, Katherine Ross, at
McGuire’s after his bodyguard overheard
her describe Elliott as being “too grubby
to be a movie star.”
The entire community of Three Oaks
raved about Sam Elliott. He was always
willing to sign autographs, whether you
passed him on the street or saw him at a
local watering hole, Sam Elliott extended
his hand out to the community. Elliot was
even seen signing an autograph for a fan
on the trunk of her car as well as the back
of jackets of children. How cool is that?
The movie Prancer was screened in 20
different cities across the U.S. to benefit
the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-profit
organization that fulfills wish experiences
for children with life threatening illnesses.
DID YOU
KNOW?
mfo@michigan.org
tel 800 477 3456
fax 517 241 3689
MichiganFilmOffice.org
Prancer tour is the sole property of the Michigan Film & Digital Media Office.
Special thanks to Janet Kasic of Circle Michigan for content creation.
The Michigan Film and Digital Media
Office (MFDMO) was created in 1979 to
assist and attract incoming production
companies and to promote the growth
of Michigan’s indigenous industry. Since
its inception, the MFDMO commissioner
has been responsible for implementing
a program that lives within the
parameters of Michigan law and works
to ensure the program runs efficiently
and effectively. Today, the MFDMO is
working diligently to guarantee the film
and digital media program accomplishes
key results of private investment and
workforce development by encouraging
high wages, high-tech jobs and talent
retention.
3627-160509
