Olive, The Other Reindeer (1999)

Load of rubbish!!

A lot of fun.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

"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.

Somewhere in the middle of this movie, our main character is in a bind in a mail truck. Looking around, she finds a package, addressed to her, that helps get her out of it. The sender? Deus ex Machina. It is quite common for children's movie makers, especially in the animated genre, to try to be modern, hip - to push the limits of their audience. The results are usually just vulgar - anyone who ever watched 8 Crazy Nights, regardless of their opinions on the rude, contrived piece - can't help but wonder if it is appropriate for all children, at least those whose behavior we have to live with. 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. Several people have written about Ms. Barrymore's voice in it - it's laughable to imply that she had meant to create a refined, beautiful sound, as well as a bit sexist. No one questioned that Dan Castellaneta (read: Homer Simpson) also sings an off-key silly song - but Drew Barrymore is compared to Alicia Keys? No, if a Dog - no, a dog who was eager, sweet, and unflappably lovable - had a speaking and singing voice, hers would be it. 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.

This is the cutest Christmas story I have ever seen. I saw this on TV about six years ago but I missed the first part of it. After that I didn't see it again on TV. I was happy when it came out on DVD. I was finally able to buy it and finish watching it. I found it so wonderful that I started buying this DVD to give to people as a Christmas present. I don't think anyone has been disappointed. It is now a annual event to watch Olive. It's one of the few Christmas stories that is just happy. No scary Abominable Snowman, no scary Grinch, no melting snowman and crying children---Just Happy. The people who made this seemed to truly care about making it something special. I am very surprised that so few people have voted on this. It's great for kids and adults.

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!"