BandicootBurn 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. Meanwhile, after hearing of Olive's plans to save the Christmas Eve flight, a nasty postman who hates Christmas attempts to derail Olive's plans so that he can put an end to the Holiday once and for all. 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.

j1j 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.

dick_d If you've just noticed 1999's "Olive, the Other Reindeer" in your TV listings (as I did last night)and are checking it out on IMDb, I heartily recommend it. The script and characters do not ring any of the false notes that usually undo other Christmas fare. 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. Joe Pantoliano (Ralphie in "The Sopranos"!) as her shady-but-good-hearted sidekick Martini the penguin is a likeable Runyonesque pal. Michael "R.E.M" Stipe contributes a wry musical highlight in the bar scene. 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". Like that film, word-of-mouth should keep "Olive" around for many Christmases to come.

Joshua Bozeman Olive The Other Reindeer is a very cute movie with one big problem....Drew Barrymore. When it comes to envisioning Olive's voice, they should have gotten someone who can do a voice that is neither male nor female. It needed to be a mix of the two, because it's a cartoon dog! With a female or male voice, it seems too human, and that's where this movie goes wrong. Some people have a good voice for animated characters, Drew Barrymore does not. I know I'm going on and on about Barrymore, but she just does not work in this role at all, and I was kind of disappointed, because the movie could have been so much better. Olive has a great story, and the rest of the casting is perfect. The movie is mainly for kids, but I enjoyed it just the same. The animation is really cool, and very unique. Overall, it's a fairly good movie that could have been a great movie if not for Barrymore.