History YMMV / OliveTheOtherReindeer

* FridgeHorror: [[spoiler: So, is that mailman going to be trapped at the zoo, mistaken for a penguin and treated as such, unable to talk and tell people he isn't, for the rest of his life?]]

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Not just Olive's story, but at the end, [[spoiler:the Postman receives a gift (some fish) from the penguins at the zoo. Despite the fact that the gift is pretty much useless to him, [[PetTheDog he seems genuinely touched by the gesture]]]].He

*** As such, he decides to pull a rather cruel (albeit well intended) gambit by intentionally lying to Olive about Tim's words, and thus achieves two things: He ensures that Tim will have to truly understand how hurtful his earlier behavior was and thus truly appreciate Olive more, and Olive will be fully dedicated to try to get to the North Pole to help out as a replacement reindeer. The latter point also comes with the benefit of Olive coming to appreciate her time with Tim and Fido once her mission was complete. Granted this plan, if true, dips into FridgeHorror territory when you take into consideration the numerous ways it could have failed (Tim wasting his Christmas trying to find Olive, Olive potentially dying on her way to the North Pole and thus never making it, or even if she did make it deciding not to return to Tim out of pain from the "misheard comments"), thus highlighting how shortsighted such a plan was (although then again Fido IS a flea; long term thinking doesn't seem to be his strong suit). Fortunately due to this being a Christmas special, it all works out in the end.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Not just Olive's story, but at the end, [[spoiler:the Postman receives a gift (some fish) from the penguins at the zoo. Despite the fact that the gift is pretty much useless to him, [[PetTheDog he seems genuinely touched by the gesture]]]].
* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Creator/DanCastellaneta as the Postman. Who knew the voice of [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]] could put on (almost) the same voice and come off as intimidating?

* RetroactiveRecognition: The special was animated by DNA Productions, who would later go on to create ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius''.

* RetroactiveRecognition: The special was animated by DNA Productions, who would later go on to create ''WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutron''.

** [[KickTheSonOfABitch What, he didn't have it coming?]]

* SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel: To be expected from a Christmas special.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Subverted. Martini mentions he'll root for Olive on Court TV. While Court TV was rebranded as [=truTV=] in 2008, which was nine years after the special was released, the relaunch of Court TV in 2019 no longer makes the special this trope for the time being.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: "Bah, Bug and Hum"

* {{Moe}}: Olive manages to be one '''and''' a strong character at the same time.

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Drew Barrymore's character (the lead heroine, no less) and first-born daughter share the same first name, making this special even more adorable.

* TheWoobie: Olive wants to save Christmas despite people, the weather, and bad luck impeding her quest. Viewers can't help but feel sorry for her when she almost feels like giving up.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: While the Postman is already a {{Jerkass}} who went too far by trying to ruin Christmas for everyone, his dislike for the holiday still holds water since Christmas seasons greatly adds to his workload, but we the audience are supposed to root for Olive.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Was the Postman crying at the end because [[spoiler: he was defeated]] or were they TearsOfJoy? If you look below, one of his reasons for hating Christmas was being put on the naughty list, so it's possible that [[spoiler: he was touched that the penguins gave him a gift, even if it was raw fish]].

** Did Fido actually mishear Tim's words, or did he actually hear it just fine, but deliberately chose to lie? While it's true that it would be hard for either Olive or Fido to hear through the walls of the doghouse, it doesn't change the fact that Fido wasn't so far from it that he couldn't have at least made out what Tim was actually saying. However he knows that while Tim was certainly apologetic and that the issues between him and Olive could be resolved, he also knows that this won't change the fact that Santa will not be able to make his Christmas run without another reindeer...such as his good buddy Olive perhaps.

** ''TheSimpsons'' was ten years old by release and ''WesternAnimation/Futurama'' was still a few years away, but the Postman is voiced by Dan Castellaneta (voice Homer ''and'' the Robot Devil), and "Bah, Bug and Hum" sounds like a proto-version of "Robot Hell", enough to where comparisons between the two are a frequent sight among fans who have watched the special. No surprise, considering they're all produced by Matt Groening.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Not just Olive's story, but at the end, [[spoiler:the Postman receives a gift (some fish) from the penguins at the zoo. Despite the fact that the gift is pretty much useless to him, [[PetTheDog he seems genuinely touched by the gesture]]]].

* Fridge Brilliance
** Why does this special treat Rudolph like an urban legend? Because "Olive the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names…"