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Donner (Britney Spears) and Robbie (Ben Stiller) in "Robbie the
Reindeer in Hooves of Fire"
Photo: CBS |
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From the sound of it,
Britney Spears has a crush on Ben Stiller.
No, Spears hasn't suddenly gone public with a post-Justin romance. The
mushiness arises between the pop princess and one-time king of the music
video cameo when they each lend their voice to reindeer in two holiday
TV
specials.
Spears will play Donner, one of Santa's nine — if you count Rudolph — flying
beasts of burden, in a pair of 30-minute specials about Robbie the Reindeer,
set for broadcast December 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, according to a network
spokesperson. Stiller provides the voice of Robbie.
For those unfamiliar with the hoofed hero, he originated in the U.K., the
star of the award-winning, 1999 BBC special "Robbie The Reindeer in Hooves
of Fire." Animated with 3D models, the show has been re-voiced for U.S.
audiences.
Spears' Donner has the hots for Robbie, who is trying to earn a spot on
Santa's team. The only problem is that Robbie is intent on playing "reindeer
games" with the aptly named Vixen (voiced by Leah Remini of "The King of
Queens").
The exclusive-to-the-U.S. second episode, "Robbie The Reindeer in Legend of
the Lost Tribe," has Robbie and some Vikings duking it out
with
that
pain-in-the-hoof (and
ex-con released on good behavior) Blitzen, who's
trying to launch a reindeer theme park. Robbie, Donner, Prancer and others
are determined to stop him and his underhanded ways.
Hugh Grant, Jim Belushi, Jerry
Stiller and CBS Sports' Dan Dierdorf and Dick
Enberg, posing as announcers of the Reindeer Races, are other recognizable
voices in the program.
The original version of "Hooves of Fire" was broadcast on the Fox Family
Channel earlier this year, featuring the voice of British pop star Robbie
Williams, whose role has been filled by actor James Woods in the domestic
version.
MTV's parent company, Viacom, also owns CBS.
