Olive, the Other Reindeer

Plot synopsis:
The story follows an anthropomorphic Jack Russell Terrier named Olive (voiced by Drew Barrymore), who does not act at all like a dog. ("The Days Still Remaining 'Till Christmas") While in town, she meets Martini, a con artist penguin (voiced by Joe Pantoliano), from whom she buys a "Rolexxx". When she returns home from some errands, she finds her owner, Tim (voiced by Jay Mohr), putting away Christmas decorations and announcing morosely that there "won't be any Christmas".
Olive eventually finds out that this is because Blitzen, one of Santa's reindeer, is injured earlier during a practice flight and can not fly. Santa hopes he can make the Christmas run with "all of the other reindeer". Mishearing this on the radio as "Olive the other reindeer", Olive becomes convinced that it is she Santa is referring to, prompting her to travel to the North Pole to fill in on the sleigh team. On the way to the bus station, Olive runs into a grouchy Postman (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) who is fed up with the stress of having to deliver the heavy loads of mail during the Christmas rush. ("Christmas (Bah, Bug and Hum)") He then tells Olive that "By next year, people will have forgotten about Christmas." He learns that Olive is trying to help save Santa's flight. He is vengeful towards Santa for being repeatedly put on his Naughty list and is determined to stop Olive from saving Christmas.
Olive goes to the "Mauvehound" bus station to buy a ticket to Arctic Junction. Martini shows up, and Olive buys him a bus ticket out of pity. Before they can leave the station, Olive is captured by the evil Postman, who tells people that Olive is wanted on several counts of mail fraud, such as "licking self-adhesive stamps and not mailing early for the holidays". After pleading to Martini to help her, Martini rolls several pens along the ground, tripping up the Postman. Martini and Olive then catch the bus right before it leaves, with the Postman watching them drive away.
On the bus, Olive and Martini talk to an Inuit couple (voiced by Billy West) and driver Richard Stans (voiced by Tim Meadows). They all believe Olive misheard Santa, but wish her luck anyway. The Postman pulls up next to the bus in his mail truck, but Martini fashions a paper airplane out of stationery, yells, "Deliver this, Punk!", and throws it at the Postman's ear, knocking him off the road. When they arrive at Arctic Junction, there is a one-hour wait for the next bus, so they go inside the restaurant for some food. The radio then says that Santa is scheduling a press conference for 11:00.The group does not know that their waitress is really the Postman in disguise. He lures Olive outside, saying that Santa is going to give her a flying test, then throws Olive inside his truck. While he is driving away, Olive finds a package addressed to her from "Deus Ex Machina." The package is a metal file Olive uses to escape. Olive then hears and sees a bus coming and tries to stop it, but fails. Olive then walks sadly to the Junction.
Back at the Junction, Martini then sees Olive and tells her that they found the waitress clothes and asks how Olive got away. Olive then asks Martini if he has heard of Deus Ex Machina. Then she Tells Martini that she missed the bus and he should've gone without him. Richard calls the postal service to complain about the Postman, but gets their voicemail. Richard says he is unable to continue taking Olive and Martini any further, because he is needed at the depot and does not want to lose his job, but still offers his support for Olive anyway before leaving. The two go inside the Top of the World Bar, and are initially harassed by the bar's patrons, including bar owner Round John Virgin and Schnitzel, Blitzen's flightless cousin, but Olive stands up to them before giving a heartfelt speech about the meaning of Christmas and how devoted she is to her cause. The patrons apologize for their behavior ("We're Not So Bad") and Round John Virgin offers Martini and Olive a ride to the North Pole in his vehicle, named The Polar Express. At the North Pole, Olive is denied entry to see Santa, but Martini gives the guard a watch as if it was a gift from Santa. When the guard asks Martini to fix it, he says he needs to kill the alarm, because the electromagnetic waves will interfere with the signal from a satellite. Olive digs under the fence, and proceeds to find Santa. Besides Blitzen's injury, Santa is not sure he wants to go out on Christmas Eve, after he reveals he has received mean-spirited letters from some children. Olive arrives and convinces him that the mean letters are really from the Postman, since they have no postmark. After introducing herself and persuading Santa not to give up on his mission, Santa thanks her for coming and Olive is put with the other reindeer to fly the sleigh.
Before they leave, the Postman switches the toy bag with his own bag of junk mail and kidnaps Martini. After the sleigh lands at the first house and Olive realizes what has happened, Olive uses the Postman's scent to track him and scares the Postman out of his wits as he sees Olive in the side window. After a struggle with the Postman, Olive gets pushed out, but Martini uses a jack-in-the-box to scare the Postman, who hits the window and is knocked unconscious. They retrieve the presents and rescue Martini, and then deliver the presents to the world ("Merry Christmas After All"). Lost in a fog, Olive guides them back to the North Pole by smelling the gingerbread cookies Ms. Claus baked. As a present, Olive is given a pair of antlers on a headband to wear. Comet gives her a ride home and Olive makes amends with Tim, who is glad that he does not care if she is different from other dogs.
Meanwhile, bound with packing tape and cardboard wings, the Postman is put in the penguin exhibit in the zoo in place of Martini, and Martini is put in charge of the mail, while everyone enjoys Christmas Day.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
Over the years there's been some gems like: 8 Crazy Nights, Nightmare Before Christmas, Santa Vs the Snowman, Christmas Vacation and The Grinch (to name only a few).While 'Olive the Reindeer' is a few years old now, I only saw it recently having heard many good things about it.
She has child-like innocence in her voice that puts a believability into the Olive character.
Not to mention that she Co-Produced this film so possibly without her involvement, Olive may not have been made (I don't know!?).Anyhow, if you want a Festive movie for the kids and adults alike to enjoy....
It's about a dog (Barrymore) who thinks she is a reindeer and goes on a quest to help Santa after one of the other reindeer can't.
With the help of a little penguin named Martini, they accomplish their task while dodging the evil mailman who wants to stop Christmas.
Seeing Drew Barrymore's name gave me some pause, as she had recently flashed David Letterman while giving him a birthday dance, so I wondered if this special was actually going to be suitable for family viewing, and not some subversive story with a Christmas theme.
Her voice work was heartfelt, and a truly eclectic list of other voices, ranging from Joe Pantoliano to co-producer Michael Stipe (whose experience in cartoons includes his hilarious appearance on the funniest "Space Ghost" episode ever-#17, "Hungry") keeps this story light and humorous.
Olive is a dog, who thinks she can substitute for one of Santa's reindeer and save Christmas.
The cute story will keep kids interested, but is peppered with references and visual gags for grownups.Drew Barrymore gives a plucky-not-sucky performance as Olive, and keeps her character's likability from turning sappy.
Dan "Homer" Castellaneta makes a fine villainous postman, and the other voice artists too numerous to mention here are also first-rate.The 2D-in-3D computerized animation is highly imaginative but not gimmicky."Olive" is as enjoyable as any holiday entertainment since "A Christmas Story".
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.
Olive the other Reindeer is a charming Christmas story with a bit of abstract modern animation that still manages to be very endearing and quite original compared to the very frequent re-hashings of Christmas type stories.
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.
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.
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.
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..
A dog who manages to convince herself that Santa, after a minor Pre-Christmas Reindeer incident, was relying on 'Olive, the Other Reindeer' and NOT the 'all of the other reindeer' he actually refers to.How could you not love this film?Just thinking about it now, I feel certain that Olive must have helped Santa save Christmas.
Olive, the Other Reindeer is a delightful holiday special that aired on Fox last winter.
Drew Barrymore voices Olive the dog, who thinks she is a reindeer and goes on a quest to help Santa after one of reindeer can't.
With the help of a Martini the penguin, they try to accomplish their task while dodging the evil mailman who wants to stop Christmas.
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.
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.
Olive is witty, funny, and original, and yet there is no smart- alecky kid, no fart jokes - it's interesting because it's tightly written, well-crafted, and voiced by excellent people.
Altogether, I can think of no modern Christmas or holiday special (Martini, Olive's penguin friend, is Jewish, somehow), that succeeds in being warm, smart, and interesting all at the same time.
There is no preaching, no moralizing, and yet, it leaves you feeling good about being good, almost the same way the Charlie Brown Christmas Special did just over 40 years ago.
There's a fine line between sappy and sweet, rude and witty - Olive the Other Reindeer stands firmly on the good side of that line..
Matt Groening's "Olive, the Other Reindeer" started its life quietly as animated holiday filler in the winter of 1999, and has since become somewhat of a cult classic.
The story blends an original story with some help from the holiday classics into one cohesive package, with a dash of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and a villain torn from the pages of Dr. Suess' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".
It tells the story of Olive, voiced with youthful exuberance by Drew Barrymore, a naive dog who is mislead into believing that Santa Claus will have to cancel Christmas unless he can receive assistance from "Olive, the other reindeer".
Though most of its forty-five minutes are filled with the cuteness factor, several full-bellied laughs, and great cameos (notably music's Michael Stipe and the legendary Ed Asner), what will keep "Olive, the other reindeer" from ultimately succeeding through the years are the weak musical numbers and its irritating third act..
Round-John Virgin and crew are found by Olive and her pal at an arctic roadside bar & grille, and almost get in a fight.Like many modern Christmas specials such as "Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas" from four years earlier, it puts new spins on traditional folklore that almost threaten to contradict everything we were taught as children.
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.
It was marvellous, Drew Barrymore gave a very expressive and heartfelt voice to Olive, who is plain adorable and spirited.
Drew Barrymore made the main character (Olive) very down-to-earth and likable while Matt Groening's trademark humor provided a number of good one-liners and sight-gags.
DNA, responsible for the animation, did a great job as well in keeping the storybook appearance while breathing life into the characters.It's hard to say who the show was targeted at though since a lot of the references and humor weren't completely suitable for children and the whimsical style might have warded a lot of adults off.
The animation in "Olive, the Other Reindeer" is truly impressive.
Most people don't realise that "Olive" is a three dimensional animated special,  yet it manages to carry the traditional charm and warmth of any classic 2D holiday cartoon..
a wonderful Christmas movie the whole family will enjoy.
"Olive the Other Reindeer" is a very unique film in a lot of regards, but it is also one of the better of the modern animated Christmas specials.
Like a lot of family holiday specials, it is relatively short, clocking at a mere forty-five minutes long and in my point of view, that is far too short seeing how well-written, well-animated, well-acted, and simply wonderful and rich the movie is as a whole.
It features some of the best animated characters I've ever seen, has a very good plot, is funny, not too childish or immature, but is not too perilous or mature for the kiddies.
It is the kind of film that the entire family will enjoy.The characters of "Olive the Other Reindeer" are very rich and developed, surprising seeing as how they are in a very short film.
Olive is is a great Christmas heroine with Drew Barrymore's voice working to perfection in the role.
Overall, a great addition who is the real reason why I wish the movie was longer.There are other supporting characters like the comical Richard Stands, Olive's owner Tim, the reindeer, and there is of course, the character who makes all Christmas movies work out.
Santa isn't the main focus of the story, but is a strong central point, seeing as how most of the joy of Christmas revolves around his yearly flight.The antagonist of the film is a mailman simply referred to be other characters as The Postman.
He provides a lot of comical relief as he attempts to stop Olive and the others from saving the holiday of Christmas.The animation in the film is very unique, almost everything being done in 2-D animation.
It may even be more funny for the kids and just almost unnoticeable to the adults.Like many Christmas movies, there are a fair share of songs in the film, but they are not immature songs and each one has its own mood.
Well-written songs like these are what helps make movies like "Olive the Other Reindeer" special and magical.Again, the only flaw with "Olive the Other Reindeer" is its overall too short of a running time.
But the way it is, it's a great Christmas movie and one of the best ones to turn out in recent years.
"Olive the Other Reindeer" is the most enchanting and sweet animated Christmas movie since the original "Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer".
The plot is pretty original, Olive (Drew Barrymore) wants to be one of Santa's reindeer, even though she's a dog, so she leaves with her penguin friend Martini (Joe Pantliano) to go meet Santa.
The voices are perfect, the best being Dan Castellaneta as the evil mailman dedicated to thwarting Olive's dreams.
The animation looks really good, with traditional looking characters that are paper thin thick, which gives it a storybook feel.
Drew Barrymore ruins an otherwise great movie.
Olive The Other Reindeer is a very cute movie with one big problem....Drew Barrymore.
Some people have a good voice for animated characters, Drew Barrymore does not.
Olive has a great story, and the rest of the casting is perfect.
(What could Billy West and Matt Groening have been thinking, they drive two of the greatest animated shows ever!) The only saving grace was Martini the penguin; for some reason he just made me laugh.
The animation style is taken directly from the original Olive book but they've made this little 2-D dog very convincing in her 3-D world.This movie appeals to a wide range of viewers, it has funny characters for children, subtle humor for the adults, and the dialog is refreshingly snappy.
Drew Barrymore's voice is perfect for such an innocently sweet, good-hearted animal character.
It was just a darling movie about a sweet little dog who wants to do her best to save Christmas..
Go watch a superior movie like happy feet..
During the release of Futurama, Matt Groening creator of The Simpsons made another classic: Olive, the Other Reindeer!
With its cute story and beautiful drawing design that looks like it has come straight out of the Vivian Walsh children's book and onto our screens!
After falling out with her owner Tim, Olive mishears from her little friend 'Fido' that one of Santa's reindeer 'Blitzen' has been injured during a test flight and may not be able to pull the sleigh on Christmas Eve. Olive sets out to replace the injured reindeer, meeting new people along the way.
After a few mishaps, Olive eventually makes her way to the North Pole and finally (after a bit of convincing Santa) saves the Christmas Eve flight with the Postman finally getting his just deserts.This is an awesome movie to watch at the end of the year which adults and children will both like..
An unusual yet adorable animated Christmas special.
Also I actually thought Olive was a reindeer but she is really a dog and an endearing character who was superbly voiced by Drew Barrymore who was particularly recognisable in this special.
This morning when I was flicking through the channels, I caught this towards the end on E4 so I watched it from the beginning on E4 +1 and I found it more substantial and entertaining that time around.The animation style is unusual but it matches the cover illustration of the book (I haven't read it, I just saw its cover whilst looking at it on Amazon) and the character movements are smooth.
Fido's mishearings of Santa saying he had to "make do with all of the other reindeer" and Tim apologising to Olive through the window of her kennel as she hides were essential parts of the story and Martini the penguin is funny.
In addition to Barrymore as Olive and Dan Castellanetta (best known for his role as Homer Simpson in my all-time favourite animated sitcom) as the postman, other well-known cast members include Michael Stipe (REM's frontman) as Schintzel the reindeer, Matt Groening (one of the special's executive producers and creator of 'The Simpsons') as Arturo the Elf and Edward Asner (who later provided the voice of Carl in Disney and Pixar's bittersweet adventure 'Up') as Santa.
The story has several twists and turns if some parts are clichéd but it is very different from the stories of many other Christmas specials and when I told one of my university classmates about this special, it kind of reminded her of the storyline of 'Annabelle's Wish' (due to Olive and Annabelle both wanting to be reindeer) that I should finish watching someday because it is so far so good.
I found this a slightly bizarre yet adorable and underrated animated Christmas special with its brightest spots being the character animation, the storyline, the dialogue, the voice acting and the majority of the music.
A cute Christmas special.
"Olive, the Other Reindeer" was a cute Christmas special produced by produced by Matt Groening's The Curiosity Company, the same company behind the excellent animated series "Futurama".
However, unlike "Futurama", this was an animation for the whole family, being aimed at kids, but I think that adults will find this to be quite enjoyable too.The animation style from this special, despite being simplistic, was also very cute and well made, with very appealing designs and a neat use of colors.The characters were likable and funny, the songs were catchy and the voice acting (Done by Drew Barrymore, Edward Asner, Dan Castellaneta, Joe Pantoliano and Matt Groening)was pretty good, making this a totally worth-watching experience.