[7.1/10] Chuckle-worthy and cute enough, if not exactly groundbreaking. The story of a dog named Olive, who misunderstands Santa’s message noting “all of the other reindeer” and believes she’s been summoned to the North Pole to save the day, is a clever little premise. But the execution is pretty paint by numbers in a “believe in yourself and defeat the nefarious bad guy” sort of way. But this is mostly aimed at kids, with a few jokes for adults here and there, which makes it easy to forgive on that front.

What’s funny is that, despite not sharing a writer, this special feels like a dry run for *Futurama* given that bits of that show’s wry and off-beat sense of humor filter in here and there (like in the pun names of the bus drivers, or the penguin’s plot to trick the elf), and the fact that so many of the supporting characters from that show make appearances here. It makes sense given that Matt Groening produced it. Hell, Dan Castellaneta is essentially doing his Robot Devil voice when voicing the evil mailman.

The idea of a mailman who wants to cancel Christmas because of the strain it puts on him as a mail-carrier is, again, a fun idea for a bad guy. But in practice he’s a one-note villain whom even Castellaneta’s verve can’t save. That said, Joe Politano steals the show as Martina, the con artist penguin. His asides to reporters and scamming ways of helping Olive are a hoot. Drew Barrymore should stay away from voice acting, as she does, at most, a serviceable yet “I’m in a school play” performance here. Still, most of the voice actors are capable at worst otherwise. It’s just the story that’s a little paint-by-numbers in how its done, despite the novelty of the premise.

That just leaves the art style, which is compelling in terms of animation, given that the special opts for a paper doll, *Parappa the Rappa* vibe. That flat-in-3D look makes the special visually distinct. The only problem is that a lot of the character designs are pretty ugly, which makes certain characters not especially fun to look at.

Overall, this is cute enough to be a holiday diversion, with its “dog wanting to be something else and save X-mas” story, and some pleasant-but-forgettable tunes, but this isn’t destined to become a holiday classic or anything.