Blizzard parents guide

Blizzard Parent Guide

An empathetic reindeer gives a lonely girl the greatest gift of Christmas.

Overall A

Ten-year-old Jess Cameron (Jennifer Pisana) is heartbroken when her best friend Bobby moves away. Hoping to help her through the grieving process, her parents arrange for a visit with her eccentric Aunt Millie (Brenda Blethyn), who uses the power of storytelling to work a magic cure for her niece.

Release date December 23, 2003

Violence A-
Sexual Content A
Profanity A
Substance Use A

Why is Blizzard rated G? The MPAA rated Blizzard G

Run Time: 93 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Ten-year-old Jess Cameron (Jennifer Pisana) is heartbroken when her best friend Bobby moves away. Relegating herself to the bedroom and hours of abject misery, she refuses to even go sledding, her all-time favorite activity.

As time passes, her parents begin to worry. Deciding the best medicine for Jess’s ailment is a visit from their eccentric Aunt Millie (Brenda Blethyn), Mom and Dad call up the world-traveling relative and invite her for Christmas.

Stampeding up the front steps with piles of luggage in tow, Aunt Millie is a welcome sight for everyone. With open arms, she comforts her little niece and then proceeds to tell her a magical story about a young ice skater and a gifted reindeer from Santa’s herd.

Years earlier, a young girl named Katie Andrews (Zoe Warner) wanted to learn to ice-skate more than anything. Struggling to don a pair of worn out hand-me-downs from her older brothers, she is spotted on the local outdoor rink by former Olympian Otto Brewer. He offers to give her lessons on the condition that she gets a pair of figure skates. Under his watchful eye, Katie’s talent begins to blossom.

But layoffs at her father’s factory force the family to pack up and move to the city. Now the only ice available is at an exclusive indoor rink which restricts access to members only. Mocked by the club’s reigning city champion Erin Scott-Pierce (Brittany Bristow), Katie longs to be back on the ice in her little hometown.

Meanwhile, a young reindeer at the North Pole is learning to fly. Endowed with three extraordinary abilities, Blizzard (voiced by Whoopie Goldberg) is able to visualize the sad child hundreds of miles away. But leaving Santa’s (Christopher Plummer) enchanted village and going to Katie’s aid will mean breaking nearly every one of the elf and reindeer rules. Facing the threat of banishment by the rigid, regulation enforcer, Archimedes (Kevin Pollak), Blizzard and her elf friend Jeremy (Jonathan Wilson) strike out to bring the gift of friendship and self-belief to one unhappy little girl.

Maybe LeVar Burton can credit his skill as a first-time film director to his eighteen years of experience as host and co-executive producer on the children’s program Reading Rainbow, his involvement in the epic movie Roots or his ongoing role in the Star Trek flicks. But regardless of where it came from, his talent in creating a children’s story is evident.

Depicting the emotions of a 10-year-old, that swing from angst to complete euphoria in a moment, Blizzard will surely resonate as a family classic with any kid who’s had to move or lost a friend.

Starring Paul Bates, Brenda Blethyn. Running time: 93 minutes. Theatrical release December 23, 2003. Updated

Watch the trailer for Blizzard

Blizzard Parents' Guide

What are some ways Jess and her friend Bobby could have kept in touch after he moved? Do you think Bobby might have been having a hard time adjusting to his new neighborhood? How could you befriend a new person in your community?

Are rules important? How did Santa feel about Blizzard’s excuse for breaking the rules? What did Blizzard learn about keeping rules?

Why was the city champion’s father so concerned about her winning the club competition? How did the film contrast Katie and Erin’s fathers? Are only “rich"fathers obsessed with their children’s success?

Loved this movie? Try these books…

​Another story about a friendship between a child and a reindeer is told by Michael Foreman in The Little Reindeer.

Jan Brett’s The Wild Christmas Reindeer is a beautifully illustrated story of flying reindeer and the girl who cares for them.

White Boots by Noel Streatfeild navigates a complicated friendship between two girls who yearn to be the best figure skaters. Young readers interested in skating will enjoy Angelina Ice Saktes by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig.

Young children struggling with the loss of a friend (or any other loved one) will appreciate the message in The Invisible String, a picture book by Patrice Karst and Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. Kids in later elementary school will appreciate Jacqueline Wilson’s Best Friends and its story of best friends separated by the Atlantic Ocean.

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Blizzard movie is November 7, 2005. Here are some details…

Related home video titles:

Producer Leif Bristow was also behind the family friendly films, Kart Racer about a young boy who dreams of being a champion go-kart racer and Virginia’s Run about a young girl who wants to ride her horse to victory an upcoming community race.