I finally watched Snow – 2004, ABC Family, my selection for Day 21 of My Christmas Movie Review.

I’d been looking forward to seeing Snow, excited that one of my favorite actors, Tom Cavanagh (please see my Day 13 review for Trading Christmas), plays Santa.  And the story pivots around a reindeer – I love reindeer.

When I analyzed the dialogue, turns out the best lines went to a saavy eight-year-old Hector who ends up Santa’s confidante, and a sassy zookeeper named Sandy, who is pursued – and repulsed by a big game hunter, Buck.

Her standard and repeated in-his-face rejection:   Eew. 

It’s Buck who unkowingly brings first time Santa, aka Nick Snowden, into Sandy’s life on a romantic level by stealing his reindeer, Buddy, who’s learning to fly.  Buck “hides” him in the zoo until he finds a suitable buyer who wants another trophy to hang on his wall.

But with only a few days until Christmas, a nervous Nick has to return Buddy to the North Pole to complete his training in time for the big day.

Not exactly the help Santa needs.

This Santa has a few new tricks in his bag.  He can transport himself through magical mirrors, doesn’t have elves (thinks they’re a little creepy…) as he has a magic bag that replicates the toys he makes, and reveals how he came to be Santa through a centuries-old curse that changed to a blessing, and passes from father to son.

My favorite of the several subplots (which included Hector and his over-worked mom and Sandy’s resistance to celebrate Christmas since her mother died) were the two seniors who finally found their lovely common ground – all resolved thanks to Santa.

You can’t help but root for Buddy as he learns to leap, and then fly, when Buck steals him a second time for a buyer who will pay even more for an airborne reindeer to hunt.

Maybe it was because my husband and I had just seen the brand new shiny Star Wars: The Force Awakens that caused me to think Snow seemed dated, or that some of the acting was a little hokey – for example, an overacted copycat Deputy Barney Fife, or maybe it was because the movie tried so hard, but in the end… I still loved it.

Good old Barney.

This movie receives 3 of 5 flying reindeer.  ♥♥♥