There's no Rudolph, he's just one of them urban legends.

December 6, 2023 7:32 AM

What if Drew Barrymore were a Jack Russell Terrier convinced she could help Santa complete his Christmas delivery mission? Olive The Other Reindeer [45m] is a 1999 Fox Television Special [Wikipedia] based on a children's book, with familiar voices ranging from Ed Asner to Michael Stipe [see tags], and was produced by one of Matt Groening's production companies.
posted by hippybear (13 comments total)

> You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen, but they were all of them deceived, for another reindeer was made!
posted by I-Write-Essays at 7:41 AM on December 6, 2023 [6 favorites]

Olive ends up in the Christmas Marathon every year! I've seen it several times now, it's great and feels a bit like classic Simpsons in its humor.
posted by JHarris at 9:13 AM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Awww, we loved reading this book to our kids, back in the day: Olive was right up there with Olivia the pig.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:14 AM on December 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

I have always liked "How Murray Saved Christmas" How Murray Saved Christmas as an off-beat lesser known holiday animation:
posted by jkosmicki at 10:32 AM on December 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

That's pretty good! I'll see if we can squeeze it in this year alongside Olive.
posted by JHarris at 10:40 AM on December 6, 2023

I have a darling Olive ornament from when Nordstrom was doing their Christmas marketing in conjunction with it—I still use the really nice shopping bags for holding lights and other stuff, though they’re definitely getting worn around the edges. I like that Olive has her own cute little holiday house with shredded paper to keep her nestled in so she won’t break. She gets pride of place on the tree on years I can actually handle having a tree.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:58 AM on December 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

Huh, really nice job of keeping Jotto's style there. I saw Wikipedia describe it as 3d and was expecting something very different.
posted by egypturnash at 1:00 PM on December 6, 2023

Sort of a 2.5D. Like, it's still drawings, but they're placed in a space and cast shadows. I liked it as a style.
posted by hippybear at 1:09 PM on December 6, 2023

I loved Olive!!!
posted by Tesseractive at 2:26 PM on December 6, 2023

What if Drew Barrymore were a Jack Russell Terrier convinced she could help Santa complete his Christmas delivery mission?

Then that would be a pretty good indication that the reindeer were on strike.
posted by Flunkie at 3:59 PM on December 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

We too are an Olive family.

after all she is Olive, the other reindeer. She's solid!
posted by Windopaene at 6:31 PM on December 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

Mutant[slyt]
scenes from the 1964 Rankin-Bass animated made-for television-movie "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer", re-edited with a voice over. This differences between the broadcast movie and this video implies a gulf between what history says about the protagonist, and what he actually thought and tried to accomplish.
posted by otherchaz at 8:07 AM on December 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

This is -- in fact -- the platonic ideal of a Christmas Special.
posted by mikelieman at 10:30 AM on December 7, 2023