Olive the Other Reindeer review

I dunno how highly Olive the Other Reindeer ranks when it comes to all-time classic Christmas specials, but given its longevity I assume it's well up there. Frankly I was more afraid to cover Frosty as it had longer staying power, but I did it anyway. In a world where you're considered brave for stating opinions everyone believes in, I hope to one day be viewed as a martyr for my controversial opinions.

Olive the Other Reindeer was created for Fox in 1998 by Matt Groening of The Simpsons fame. This was about a year before Futurama debuted, and this was the first instance we saw the end card for Groening's Curiosity Company. That seems to be a mark of quality for Groening's programs, as it never appeared on The Simpsons even now, and Disenchantment.

Along with Groening, Drew Barrymore starred in and produced this special. I guess I can't call her the most busy celebrity out there, at least at the time, but I'm willing to bet she was a huge fan of The Simpsons.

It had been aired just about everywhere since, even, heh, Cartoon Network.

I'll admit, I have seen this special plenty of times, I do have a soft spot for it, but as I get older I feel myself straying from it. This was alluded to in my Legend of Frosty the Snowman review, but I wanna be fair, as I did love this as a kid.

Animation

In spite of a credit existing for 20th Century Fox Animation, that was merely a shell for the network's animated productions. The animation was produced at DNA Productions, who you may know as the creators of Jingaroo, and some incredibly obscure cartoon nobody gives a crap about like The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron.

Of DNA's works, this is the most unique on a visual basis. This film features cel-shaded 3D backgrounds with flat character models meant to simulate traditional animation, with CG set-pieces. It's a pity DNA didn't want to introduce themselves by logo at that point, I would be glad to have my name to it.

Honestly, maybe that was my biggest takeaway from it, aside from seeing it as a kid. When we're young we just see what's on the screen and don't always pay deep enough attention to the story, because the story leaves much to be desired.

Story

The general idea is that Olive is too nice, exemplified by her befriending a yard pest and keeping a flea as a pet. Her quest to become Santa's other reindeer was wrought through a lie, where her flea intentionally(?) misheard what her owner said, along with a radio announcement. This gets to me because I hope dearly that the misconception is cleared before a character suffers indirectly at the hands of another. I mean look at what happened in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Christmas special.

And, evil mailman. Why is he so hellbent on destroying Christmas? This is alluded to in how he never got a train set for Christmas as a kid, but what led to it? Without that you just have an over-the-top villain without a palpable cause.

The worst Christmas specials for me are ones that have antagonists it seems. I don't mean the Scrooge in that regard, I mean someone who goes out of their way to ruin the fun of others, if not the entire holiday. The writers work to make the villains as non-sympathetic as humanly possible to force you into the shoes of the goody-goodies, who're more often than not oblivious to nearly everything outside of anything within their scope of Christmas joy.

Frankly, though people would disagree, Cousin Mel in Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer is the best antagonist by far in the context of Christmas special antagonists. She had a drive, to milk her grandmother's business for the sake of getting rich. That was obvious. Nobody stole from her, she didn't not get something she wanted deeply for Christmas, she just wanted to get rich, and Santa would've been a big help in getting that dream.

Quest For Pappy is an exception since he's going against an established antagonist and the story just so happens to be set on Christmas day, and it's more about Popeye finding his father.

No comment on Martini, as he's but a hollow shell. A con artist with a heart of gold that somehow annoyed me.

If there's anything I'm missing, well those are the only pieces I can remember from the whole plot.

As for the musical numbers, I can remember fragments from it and, nostalgic joy aside, they're otherwise forgettable.

Overall

This is pretty animation against a barren storyline. With the lack of development on the mailman, and the overly good nature of Olive, this had soured for me overtime.

Funny thing is, you know how in the end of The Christmas Tree where they say "You alway win when you're good."? I think they called the mentality had in the grander Christmas specials. Karen and Santa get away with Hinkle's hat because they're good. Olive gets her way because she's good.

This special could be a statement on how antagonists ruin Christmas specials. How could anyone not look too deep into them when they leave so much to think about? And for all I know, everything in this special was built on a lie.