''Blizzard'' is a 2003 American/Canadian Christmas-themed

family film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are ...

directed by

LeVar Burton Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries '' ...

and starring

Brenda Blethyn Brenda Blethyn (''née'' Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and two Academy Award nominations. Blethy ...

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

Kevin Pollak Kevin Elliot Pollak (born October 30, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film '' A Few Good Men'', Jacob Goldman in '' Gr ...

, and

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

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 The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

and his

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "lig ...

are celebrating the birth of Blizzard (

), 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.

Cast

Awards

The film won the Best of the Fest award at the

Chicago International Children's Film Festival In 1983, Facets Multi-Media founded the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF), the first competitive festival of films for children in the U.S. The impetus for the Festival came from a need to introduce new, culturally diverse fi ...

, and the DGC Team Award from the

Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...

. It premiered at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

on May 15, 2003.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blizzard 2003 films American children's adventure films American children's fantasy films American Christmas films American children's drama films American fantasy adventure films Canadian children's fantasy films Canadian Christmas films English-language Canadian films Canadian drama films Canadian fantasy adventure films Films directed by LeVar Burton Films shot in Ontario Films about invisibility 2000s Christmas films 2000s fantasy adventure films 2003 directorial debut films Santa Claus's reindeer Santa Claus in film Films about deer and moose 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films

Plot

Cast

Awards

See also

External links