The special first aired on December 17, 1999, alongside Futurama on Fox, ten years after the premiere date of Groening's television series The Simpsons. It was produced by Fox Television Studios and Flower Films. During its initial broadcast, the special brought in 6.06 million viewers, and an additional 5.22 million the following year.[2][3] After airing again the following year,[4] the special made its first cable television premiere on Nickelodeon on December 15, 2001;[5][6] It would then premiere the following year on Cartoon Network on December 14, 2002,[7] and aired during each holiday season until it was last seen on December 24, 2012.[8] The special would also air on other local syndicated networks, such as The WB, MyNetworkTV,[9]The CW[10] and WGN-TV.[11]
The story follows an anthropomorphicJack Russell Terrier named Olive. While in town, she meets Martini, a con artistpenguin recently fired from the city zoo, from whom she buys a counterfeitRolex watch. When she returns home she finds her owner, Tim, sad that there "won't be any Christmas" and disappointed that Olive does not behave like a normal dog. While tuning into the radio for comfort music, she hears a news report that Blitzen, one of Santa Claus's reindeer, will not be able to fly this year and that "all of the other reindeer" would need to be able to pick up the slack. Her pet flea convinces Olive that the report actually said "Olive, the other reindeer"; when Tim tries to apologize, the flea mangles the apology such that Olive thinks Tim hates her. Upset, she runs away, hoping to save Christmas and re-earn Tim's favor.
At a layover in Arctic Junction, Olive and Martini stop in a restaurant, where the Postman is waiting, disguised as a waitress, and kidnaps Olive. Olive escapes by finding a metal file, in a packaged addressed to her from a "Deus Ex Machina". She escapes but misses her connecting bus. At a nearby bar, the local patrons are initially hostile before Olive convinces them to be humble and rekindle their Christmas spirit, which they do. Round John Virgin, the bar owner, takes Olive and Martini personally to the North Pole complex. At the gate, the security guard stubbornly turns Olive and Martini away; Martini devises a complex scheme to convince the guard to turn off the security system and gets Olive in. The Postman follows, delivering a parcel of counterfeit letters full of insults to Santa Claus. The letters nearly convince Santa that he is justified in cancelling the holiday before Olive points out that they lack postmarks. Olive takes Blitzen's place but struggles to keep up with the flight.
At the first house, Santa realizes his bag has been switched with junk mail; Olive uses the scent to trace it, leading Santa's sleigh to the Postman's mail truck, where the Postman has also captured Martini. They retrieve the presents and rescue Martini, as Olive fashions cardboard mailers into wings to help her fly. Due to the reduced flight weight tolerance because of the missing reindeer, Martini must find his own way home, but Olive helps deliver the presents to the world. Just as they reach Olive's home, the sleigh is surrounded by thick fog; Santa uses Olive's scent tracking to lead the sleigh back to the North Pole (since Rudolph is only an urban legend). Santa and the reindeer thank Olive for her help and give her a gift of honorary antler ears before Comet gives her a ride home. Arriving home, Olive makes amends with Tim, who is happy to see her and proud of her bravery. Martini is now a postman, while the former Postman has been outfitted with packing tape and cardboard wings to become the city zoo's new penguin.
^Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 227. ISBN9781476672939.
