"Reindeer in Here"

CBS is going all out on Christmas this year.  They have Hallmark-worthy movies (complete with identical and forgettable plots) and new specials which include this hour-long animated story.  It's cute.  It's entertaining.  But it's not, as they say, "a new classic."  There is nothing objectionable here.  There is also not a lot which is memorable.  Offbeat characters let you know that "different is just fine" and help save the day.  The bad guy isn't all that bad, just misguided, and there are more than a few shout-outs to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."  Viewers over a certain age will note the very subtle jabs at a certain mega-shipping company, whose name rhymes with "lamazon."  The animation is okay but not great.  Lead character Blizz has a face which has that weird flatness of the balloons at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  The characters are all smooth looking, with little to no texture.  It's like a metaphor saying "we are here but a tad two-dimensional."  It's okay.  It's just not ... charming.  And that's interesting.  You look at all the Christmas classics and they have a certain amount of childlike delight.  And they are all older.  The Rankin-Bass classics?  1960s.  "Miracle on 34th Street", 1947.  "It's a Wonderful Life", 1945.  The best versions of "A Christmas Carol" -- mostly all before 1970.  It's like we've lost our ability to find pure joy, to create simple tales which touch the heart.  And maybe there is a reason for that.  Which I'll skip for now and just say that we live in complex times.  For me, it's back to my DVDs -- Grinch and Drummer Boy, you are up next.