Plot
Ten-year old Jess is devastated after her friend Bobby moves out of town. Her mom's Aunt Millie comes to visit and decides to tell her a story about Katie, who is also ten years old, who wanted to ice-skate.
While practicing on an outdoor rink near her home, Katie is befriended by Otto Brewer, a former Olympic skating champion, who offers to teach her "proper skating," and under Otto's tutelage, Katie blossoms into a magnificent skater. However, Katie is devastated when her father loses his job and the family is forced to move to the big city.
Meanwhile, in the North Pole, Santa and his elves are celebrating the birth of Blizzard (Whoopi Goldberg), a baby reindeer born to Blitzen and Delphi. It quickly becomes apparent that Blizzard possesses all three magical reindeer gifts: the ability to fly, the power to make herself invisible, and the gift of empathic navigation - being able to see with her heart.
Using her empathic ability, Blizzard feels Katie's sadness and flies to Katie's home to investigate. Despite the rigid rules of the North Pole, Blizzard helps Katie learn that the value of true friendships is that they never truly go away. However, by breaking these rules, Blizzard must face the possibility of banishment at the hands of Archimedes, Santa's strict head elf. Only true friendship can save her now. Katie's former bully Erin becomes a humble friend after being saved from drowning in a thin-iced frozen pond by Katie, with Blizzard's help.
Caryn Elaine Johnson, known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg, is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality. A recipient of numerous accolades, she is one of 19 entertainers to win the EGOT, which includes an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award. In 2001, she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. Though he initially receives ridicule for his nose as a fawn, the brightness of his nose is so powerful that it illuminates the team's path through harsh winter weather. Ronald D. Lankford, Jr., described Rudolph's story as "the fantasy story made to order for American children: each child has the need to express and receive approval for his or her individuality and/or special qualities. Rudolph's story embodies the American Dream for the child, written large because of the cultural significance of Christmas."
The View is an American talk show created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters. Currently in its 27th season, the show has aired on ABC as part of the network's daytime programming block since August 11, 1997. It features a multi-generational panel of women, who discuss the day's "Hot Topics", such as sociopolitical and entertainment news. In addition to the conversation segments, the panel also conducts interviews with prominent figures, such as celebrities and politicians. Production of the show was held in ABC Television Studio 23 in New York City. In 2014, it relocated to ABC Broadcast Center, also in New York City.
Olive, the Other Reindeer is a 1999 American animated Christmas comedy musical film written by Steve Young, based on the 1997 children's book by Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold, and directed by Academy Award-nominated animator Steve Moore. The feature was produced by Matt Groening's The Curiosity Company and animated by DNA Productions. Drew Barrymore voices the title character, and she is credited as an executive producer on the special.
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is a 2002 American musical fantasy comedy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher and written by Tom Martin and Jim Lewis. The film premiered November 29, 2002 on NBC and is the first television film featuring the Muppets.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 stop motion Christmas animated television special produced by Videocraft International, Ltd. and currently distributed by NBCUniversal Television Distribution. It first aired December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour. The special was based on the 1949 Johnny Marks song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks's brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS. The network unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005, re-scanned frame-by-frame from the original 35 mm film elements.
Tabitha St. Germain, formerly known as Paulina Gillis Germain and also known as Tabitha or Kitanou St. Germain, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for a variety of roles across many different shows. She has been actively doing voice-overs for animated series and films, video games, and commercials since 1985. Her best known roles include Fllay Allster in the Ocean dub of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Scary Godmother in the Scary Godmother television film duology, the eponymous character in the PBS Kids series Martha Speaks, and the speaking voice of Rarity among other characters in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
The Polar Express is a 2004 American animated Christmas adventure fantasy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote the screenplay with William Broyles Jr., based on the 1985 children's book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. It stars Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, and Eddie Deezen. The film features human characters animated using live action and motion capture computer animation, with sequences for the latter taking place from June 2003 to May 2004. Set on Christmas Eve, it tells the story of a young boy who sees a mysterious train bound for the North Pole stop outside his window and is invited aboard by its conductor. He joins other children as they embark on a journey to visit Santa Claus preparing for Christmas.
Motion pictures featuring Santa Claus constitute their own subgenre of the Christmas film genre. Early films of Santa revolve around similar simple plots of Santa's Christmas Eve visit to children. In 1897, in a short film called Santa Claus Filling Stockings, Santa Claus is simply filling stockings from his pack of toys. Another film called Santa Claus and the Children was made in 1898. A year later, a film directed by George Albert Smith titled Santa Claus was created. In this picture, Santa Claus enters the room from the fireplace and proceeds to trim the tree. He then fills the stockings that were previously hung on the mantle by the children. After walking backward and surveying his work, he suddenly darts at the fireplace and disappears up the chimney.
Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey is a 1977 Japanese-American Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It premiered on ABC on December 3, 1977. The story is based on the 1975 song of the same name, written by Gene Autry, Don Pfrimmer and Dave Burgess.
André Sogliuzzo is an American voice actor. His voice-work includes several animated series, including American Dad!, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harvey Beaks, Jackie Chan Adventures and Star Wars: Clone Wars and video games, such as Battlefield 3, Mafia II, Psychonauts, Ratchet: Deadlocked, Scarface: The World Is Yours, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Skylanders and Spyro.
Chad Morgan is an American actress best known for her voice-over work on Adult Swim's Robot Chicken series, where she performs the voices of celebrities.
Madeline is an animated preschool television series produced by DIC Entertainment, L.P., part of the Madeline media franchise. It began as a series of six television specials from 1988 to 1991, and then continued as Madeline and The New Adventures of Madeline from 1993 to 2001. The show is narrated by Christopher Plummer.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie is a 1998 American Christmas animated adventure musical film about the character of the same name, who first appeared in a 1939 story by Robert L. May. The film was the first theatrical feature from GoodTimes Entertainment, long known as a home video company. It stars Kathleen Barr as the voice of the titular Rudolph, and also features celebrity talents including John Goodman, Eric Idle, Whoopi Goldberg, Debbie Reynolds, Richard Simmons and Bob Newhart. The film disappointed at the box-office, recouping only $113,484 of its $10 million budget from its theatrical release.
Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates was a British army officer, and later an Antarctic explorer, who died from hypothermia during the Terra Nova Expedition when he walked from his tent into a blizzard. His death, which occurred on his 32nd birthday, is seen as an act of self-sacrifice when, aware that the gangrene and frostbite from which he was suffering was compromising his three companions' chances of survival, he chose certain death for himself to relieve them of the burden of caring for him.
Doc McStuffins is an American animated children's television series created by Chris Nee. It was produced and released by Brown Bag Films. It was aired on Disney Junior from March 23, 2012, to April 18, 2020. The series centers on a girl who can "fix" toys, with help from her toy friends. It features songs written and composed by Kay Hanley and Michelle Lewis.
A Boy Called Christmas is a 2021 British Christmas fantasy film directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay by Ol Parker and Kenan, based on the 2015 book of the same name by Matt Haig, and starring Henry Lawfull, Toby Jones, Sally Hawkins, Kristen Wiig, Michiel Huisman, Zoe Colletti, Stephen Merchant, Jim Broadbent, and Maggie Smith. It tells the story of a boy who travels to a land of elves with the mouse that he trained to speak as he ends up coming to their aid when people sent by the king, which his father is part of, make off with one of the elves. The story is told by an old lady to her grand-niece and grand-nephews.
Events in 1929 in animation.
