Olive, the Other Reindeer

Even though I'm 26 years old, I can't help but have a soft spot for some Christmas specials I saw as a kid. This is one of those specials that I have said spot for, and it happens to be produced by the same man behind everyone's favorite jaundice-skinned family "The Simpsons" and the animated sci-fi comedy "Futurama".

Based on the children's book by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh, this TV special focuses on a small dog named Olive (Drew Barrymore), who hears a radio broadcast where Santa mentions he's canceling Christmas due to Blitzen hurting his leg. However, when Santa mentions "all of the other reindeer", Olive mis-hears it as "Olive, the other reindeer" (hence the title), and thus, she treks her way to the North Pole with her penguin buddy Martini (Joe Pantoliano) to take Blitzen's place for the year, all while an irate postman (Dan "Homer Simpson" Castellaneta) chases her down so he can prevent Christmas from happening.

Now I fondly remember watching this one time on Cartoon Network, back when I watched that channel religiously, and I remember thoroughly enjoying it. Watching it as an adult, as silly as the plot is, I can say it's rather innocent family entertainment that anyone can smile at if they're in the right mood. The 2D-on-3D animation is really not that bad for a television special, it's only an hour long, and there are a few catchy songs thrown in for good measure.

It's not the best Christmas special out there, and the art style might turn some people off, but if you give it a chance, it's rather harmless. For me, I kinda like it, and I think a lot of kids and adults today will still enjoy it around the holiday season. I say give it a watch.

One of the least accomplished episodes of "The Simpsons" was "Insane Clown Poppy," with Drew Barrymore as the voice of Krusty's illegitimate daughter Sophie. Happily, she and Matt Groening pre-emptively made up for this in 1999 with the charming "Olive, the Other Reindeer," which they executive produced, and which featured one of them (hint: not Matt) as the voice of the title character.

When Santa Claus faces a crisis that may mean his deliveries won't get through, lovable dog Olive mishears him on the radio hoping to depend on "all of the other reindeer," and believing that Mr. Kringle is counting on her, she's off to the North Pole with the help of her penguin friend Martini, but with a conniving postman (!) out to stop her. Only Scrooge would not be rooting for Olive and Martini to succeed in the course of this special, not least with the warm and winning voice work (particularly Barrymore as our four-legged friend, Joe Pantoliano cast against type as good guy Martini, and Michael Stipe as one of Santa's reindeer - who has a very funny joke about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer).

A good, heartwarming story with computer animation from DNA Productions that looks more traditionally cartoony than the norm, which is not a bad thing here; Drew also does her own singing, and it must be said that she won't be giving Alicia Keys a run for her money - but her scrappy enthusiasm on her numbers ("Merry Christmas After All" provides an oddly endearing blend of Miss Barrymore's slightly flat vocalising and the truly musical Big Bad Voodoo Daddy) only adds to the special's charm. Funny and non-sick-making, this is up there with Channel 4's adaptation of "Father Christmas" and some of Rankin/Bass's seasonal cartoons in the winner stakes; one to tape.

"Warp speed, captain!"

I really enjoyed this special when I was little, and revisiting it again after, ooh, six years I loved it as much as I did even then.

The only minor quibble I have is that sometimes the pacing is a tad too slow, but because I enjoyed Olive the Other Reindeer so much I was past caring.

The computer animation is highly imaginative, and does have this sophisticated look. Plus it stayed true to the illustrations of the book it is based on.

The music is just as delightful. The incidental music is lovely and fitting with every scene and the songs themselves and there are only a few are well above average.

The writing is also spot on, and the writers certainly did their homework by allowing the hilarious puns to come thick and fast. And I loved the sweet and heart warming story That just leaves the voice acting. It was marvellous, Drew Barrymore gave a very expressive and heartfelt voice to Olive, who is plain adorable and spirited. Joe Pantoliano was hilarious as the penguin Martini, and Edward Asner is suitably merry as Santa. The villain is a postman bent on ruining Christmas; he isn't the most sophisticated villain ever but he is a funny one. As usual, Dan Castallenetta was great.

All in all, an unexpected Christmas cracker. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

Olive is an ambitious little dog who hears that one of Santa's reindeer has been injured and may not be able to pull the sleigh. Olive sets out to set into the place of the reindeer, making a few friends along the way. Meanwhile a bitter mailman sets out to ruin Christmas for all concerned.

I caught this early on Christmas Day buried in the middle of every channel trying to put up some feel good programmes and films about Santa and reindeers – mostly animations. This one struck me because how different the animation was – a little weird and off-kilter to be just another banged out Christmas animation. Then I noticed it was produced by Matt Groening – he of Simpsons and Futurama fame. I had hoped that this would be as sharp as some of the better episodes of those series but it didn't quite make it.

Generally it was amusing and it did have a few characters that were sharp and delivered one liners and I suppose the whole set up is inventive enough and different enough to stand out from the crowd of feel good animations on this morning. But it wasn't in the same league as Groening's Simpsons episodes. However the humour is sufficient to make it stand out and the voice work helps a lot.

Barrymore brings a relentless cheerfulness to Olive and the various side kicks help. Pantoliano is the best voice as the penguin Martini while others include Jay Mohr, Castellaneta, Stipe and MacNicol. It's not star studded which is good as that can often replace a quality product, but the cast are all good enough to deliver on the story's potential.

Overall this can't hold a candle to much of Groening's other work but as a competitor for your attentions amongst a host of other festive cartoons then this should easily beat many of the other stocking fillers that the networks serve up to fill the day.

This has been somewhat overlooked, but it really is a terrific special. It's clever and witty (a characteristic that you don't see enough of these days). Olive is a dog, who thinks she can substitute for one of Santa's reindeer and save Christmas. The choice of villain is inspired -- a mailman who wants to stop Christmas so he won't have to deliver all the cards. Not a lot of big laughs, but it's filled with gentle smiles.

The voice work is excellent, and the style is outstanding. There's little attempt to be "realistic," but rather it looks like a picture book (and seems to be sticking closely to the style of the original book).