Stop me if you've heard this one before. A couple of plucky misfits are the only ones that can save Christmas. At least one is filled with doubt that he or she can do it, but ultimately, they have to try. At first, things go disastrously, but ultimately, they figure out what to do and prevail, returning the MacGuffin they were chasing to Santa and saving Christmas.
That basic plot has powered countless Christmas specials and stories (and, for that matter, countless non-Christmas specials and stories), and once again it is trotted out this year for Reindeer in Here, CBS's big 2022 contribution to the Christmas special cannon. The producers clearly hope that, unlike most specials, this one doesn't slip into the ether in a year or two, and it has a decent chance of happening, as CBS usually sticks with its animated specials for years. That said, if this one gets regulated to the archives of Paramount Plus by 2024, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.
The title, a few minor characters, and the very end of the special come from a 2017 children's picture book by Adam Reed that was explicitly created as a competitor to the reigning Elf on a Shelf. The book, which is accompanied by a cuddly stuffed reindeer, tells how said stuffed reindeer is there to learn all about the kid before reporting back to Santa. It's a cute idea, and it seems to have caught on enough for an animated adaption that, of course, has almost nothing to do with the actual book it is supposedly based on.
In the special, complete with an all-(B)-star cast, a plucky misfit reindeer named Blizz (Adam Devine) and his snowwoman friend Candy (Melissa Villaseñor) witness a tall man in a dark coat steal Santa's magical snowglobe, without which Santa (Jim Gaffigan) wouldn't have any idea what every kid in the world wants. Their efforts to stop the thief ends up with Blizz crashing into the bedroom of Theo (Gabriel Bateman, best known for playing unfortunate Chucky owner Andy in the already-forgotten 2019 remake of Child's Play), a plucky misfit who is new in town and has no friends. Together, the two of them, along with Candy and Isla, Theo's insect-obsessed schoolmate/love interest (Brooke Monroe Conaway) have to try to recover the globe and figure out who is behind the nefarious plot to steal it. Young kids might be surprised by the villain's identity, but adults probably won't (hint: is there a seemingly minor, secondary character voiced by someone that seems much more famous than the role requires at first glance? There's your culprit).
This might have worked better as a half-hour special, but dragged to a full hour, the cracks and seams really begin to show (there's a half-baked B-plot about the North Pole detectives investigating the case, but that pretty much leads nowhere). At least there are no obnoxious musical numbers, so thank goodness for small favors.
I don't mean to sound so hard on this special. While it's not very good, it's not horrible. Indeed, it's much better than the 2010 Elf on a Shelf special An Elf's Story (which I keep meaning to write up for this project). There's a few funny jokes, and I liked the North Pole worldbuilding. Indeed, I wish there was more of that and less of the main plot. It's just that the special feels relentlessly and completely generic. We've seen the story a thousand times before, and we'll see it a thousand more times.
The whole thing ends as it must, with Blizz and Theo successfully returning the snowglobe and then every kid in the world getting their own reindeer (just like in the book!). How much of a shelf life (no pun intended) this gets is up in the air. It might go away in a few years. However, CBS still trots out the unheralded 1996 special The Story of Santa Claus (another special that's on my long-term list) out each and every year, so don't be surprised to see Reindeer in Here pop up on the network on a random Friday or Saturday night between Thanksgiving and Christmas for years to come.
Next time: Even the French can make mediocre animated specials.
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