Blizzard

Kevin Pollak,Christopher Plummer,Whoopi Goldberg,Brenda Blethyn

A group of children is having fun sledding down a hill. Then the moving van comes and Bobby is sad. When Bobby and his family leave for good, Jess is very sad. She won't even come out of her room on another day when Derek comes over wanting to sled.Jess' parents must do something. So they call Aunt Millie. When told she has a special visitor, Jess is so happy until she realizes it is not Bobby. Aunt Millie offers to cheer Jess up by telling her a story.Katie is about 10, like Jess. Her brothers Jack and Joe pick on her, and that's just what they are doing when the family photo is taken. So Katie looks miserable. When cars and trucks appear later, they are from the 50s.Katie enjoys skating on a local pond. Olympic medal winner Otto Brewer is impressed with her ability but he keeps criticizing her skates. Otto offers to train Katie for competition. Her father can't afford to pay him but Otto says he didn't ask to be paid. Soon, Katie receives a pair of yellow skates that everyone makes fun of, calling them "banana skates", but she loves them.Otto trains Katie and eventually she is ready for an exhibition. Jack and Joe don't want to go, but they are reminded the family attends hockey games. There doesn't seem to be an audience other than the family and Otto.Katie's father has worried the lumber mill where he works will lay him off. He gets the bad news, and there is no hope of finding another job in a town where that is the only industry. So the family must move.Jess is upset and says Aunt Millie was supposed to cheer her up. Aunt Miliie promises things will get better and continues with the story.At the North Pole, Santa'a Village is "in a tizzy", as Aunt Millie describes it. It's actually quite a sizable town, inhabited by elves with some really large and elegant buildings that look like Europe. Archimedes, who wears dark clothes that make him look like he belongs on a playing card, angrily walks down a long hallway, criticizing everyone as he goes, then he walks into Santa's office. Santa doesn't look the way Americans traditionally expect, with long gray hair and a long gray beard, and one must look closely to even see the color red in the pattern of the clothes he wears. Even then, it is a dark red.Archimedes says Blitzen and Delphi have given birth. And it's not what they were hoping for. Not only is the reindeer female, meaning she can't succeed Blitzen as one of Santa's reindeer, but she looks strange. Archimedes comments on all the problems that have to be dealt with, including a blizzard. Santa decides to name the reindeer Blizzard.Katie wishes she could go skating again, so when she sees girls going into the Port Credit Memorial Arena, she does too. While Katie has made a friend (who doesn't have any lines), other girls make fun of her. In the arena, girls are skating and Miss Ward is in charge, and it is clear they are preparing for a competition.One day there is a knock at the door. It is Alexandra, with the sad news her father's health had been bad for years and now, he wanted Katie to have his gold medal.Katie tries to get the other girls to let her skate. Erin is the worst of the bullies, angry at Katie for distracting her and making her fall. She and the others tell Katie this is a private club and she shouldn't snoop. Katie is determined and she brings those yellow skates, with the expected results, but when she skates, Miss Ward is so impressed she will find a way for Katie to compete.Blizzard is older and playing with the other reindeer, including Donner Jr., also known as DJ. Santa's reindeer are training. The others don't want Blizzard to play with them until she learns she can fly. This is the first of three special reindeer gifts, but only a few reindeer ever receive all three. Aphrodite is annoyed by Blizzard's positive attitude. Blizzard gets in trouble for flying at night.Then Blizzard discovers her second gift. While grounded (literally) she wishes she could be invisible. It happens, and she sneaks out. Archimedes is criticizing Jeremy for not doing a good enough job shoveling snow. Blizzard bumps Archimedes and he doesn't know what happened. After Archimedes leaves, Blizzard reveals her secret to Jeremy, and Jeremy wants her to take him flying, so he does.Katie's brothers are playing "keep away" with her precious music box, and it breaks. Katie cries. Blizzard discovers her third gift, the ability to see what humans are experiencing even if she is not near them.Eventually, Blizzard travels to where Katie lives. Katie sees her outside and screams. Her parents think she is just having a nightmare.Later, Blizzard visits again. This is against the rules. She takes Katie to her old pond and shows Blizzard what skating is and how much it means to her.When the time comes for the competition to see which two girls will compete for a championship, Katie discovers ahead of time that something is wrong with her skates. Blizzard, on another visit, takes Katie to the North Pole, which is breaking yet another rule. Jeremy helps her find a new pair of skates, and another rule is broken because those skates were intended for a specific person.Blizzard returns Katie, and she and Erin both compete. Erin is pretty good, and good enough to qualify, but Katie is excellent. Even Erin applauds. Afterward, Erin's father tells Erin she needs to get better or else. She is pathetic, he says. Erin runs away and no one knows where she is. Blizzard is aware of Erin's situation and comes to help. She and Katie find Erin has fallen in a pond where the ice was not thick enough, and they rescue her. Erin's father is just grateful she is all right, and Erin and Katie become friends and Erin apologizes for what she did to the skates.The skates! Blizzard is in real trouble now. Aphrodite, who is very good about following rules, has told Archimedes everything and now Blizzard must appear before a council of elders who will determine if she should be banished.DJ takes Jeremy to Katie, who hands over the skates but believes she must plead Blizzard's case, so DJ leaves Jeremy behind and takes Katie to the North Pole.In a large room, numerous elves are in the audience, wearing red, green or purple. Archimedes reads the charges and Santa asks Blizzard to explain. Santa says in any society there must be rules, and they must be followed. Before any ruling is made, Katie shows up (with the skates), which is of course against the rules, but Santa is willing to listen. Katie explains why Blizzard did what she did, and says Blizzard expected nothing but friendship and never asked for anything. Because Blizzard's motives were pure, Santa is willing to give Blizzard a second chance and insists that she follow the rules from now on, but tells Katie they will never see each other again.Jess is so sad to learn this, but then she receives a special gift from Aunt Millie--Otto's gold medal.The next time Derek comes over, Jess goes out with him.