Olive, the Other Reindeer

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

My wife, 5-year-old daughter, and I ran across this special last year. 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. Well, I definitely over-thought this one: "Olive" was absolutely wonderful, and unexpectedly charming (a very rare commodity these days). 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. The animation style was appropriate to the story and, apparently, to the source material (I have not yet seen the book). I recommend it!

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).

With so much war and moral decay in this world at present time, Christmas has become my favourite time of the year. Not just because it's a festive season and colourful... but because its a time that represents innocence and goodness in people. We need Christmas all year round, it might make the world a better place.

And that's why I am a sucker for Christmas movies so much. At the core, I am a die hard horror nut and general cinema lover all round... but one thing I cannot get enough of is an original and off-beat Christmas movie. 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. It is a wonderful little film suitable for the entire family. The story is simple, sweet and subtley hilarious. One reviewer on IMDb said that Drew Barrymore dragged the movie down.... I can't disagree more. I thought she was delightful. 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.... rent Olive the other Reindeer. It's sure to amuse and entertain.