Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999)

When Santa cancels his annual flight because of a hurt reindeer, a young Christmas loving dog named Olive is convinced she has what it takes to get Santa's flight off the ground and save Christmas.

Director:

Steve Moore (as Oscar Moore)

Writers:

J. Otto Seibold (book), Vivian Walsh (book)

Stars:

Drew Barrymore, Dan Castellaneta, Joe Pantoliano

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Drew Barrymore	...	Olive (voice)
Dan Castellaneta	...	The Postman (voice)
Joe Pantoliano	...	Martini (voice)
Edward Asner	...	Santa (voice)
Peter MacNicol	...	Fido (voice)
Tim Meadows	...	Richard Stands (voice)
Jay Mohr	...	Tim (voice)
Michael Stipe	...	Schnitzel (voice)
Diedrich Bader	...	Zoo Director (voice)
David Herman	...	Guard Shack Elf (voice)
Matt Groening	...	Arturo (voice)
Mitch Rouse	...	Round John Virgin / Comet (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Danny Jacobs
Tress MacNeille	...	Mrs. Claus / Mrs. Eskimo (voice)
Kath Soucie	...	(voice)

Storyline

After mis-hearing a radio broadcast about Santa canceling his Christmas trip due to an injured reindeer, Olive the dog decides to travel to the North Pole and volunteer to be a replacement. Unfortunately, Olive must deal with an evil postman who's tired of handling all the extra Christmas mail. Will Martini the penguin be able to help Olive realize her dream?

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Plot Keywords:

animal character name as title | olive the reindeer character | four word title | north pole | dog | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the bus depot, the destinations are all sacred religious cities and/or sites: Arrivals:

• Bethlehem (Christianity)
• Ganges River (Hinduism)
• Jerusalem (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)

Departures:

• Mecca (Islam)
• Salt Lake City (Mormonism)
• Los Angeles (... Scientology?)

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Quotes

The Postman: She's wanted for several charges of mail fraud, including... uh, licking the self-adhesive stamps, and not sending early for the holidays.

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Alternate Versions

Further airings by Fox has some scenes removed in order to show more commercials.

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Underrated Christmas Specials (2018)

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Soundtracks

We're Not Really Bad At All
Written by Matt Groening
Performed by Michael Stipe

User Reviews

A charmer. Deserves a long holiday-season life.

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Olive, the Other Reindeer

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

DNA Productions, Flower Films (II), Fox Television Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1