Prep & Landing (2009)

My family and I found this short film in error whilst trying to find a Christmas film to watch and what a find. This is now a family Christmas tradition, we now have to watch this to get into the Christmas spirit. The storyline is original and fun with content for kids and adults alike. The animation is brilliantly done as you would expect from a Disney Production and as it is only on for about 20 minutes, you can always squeeze it in. This is the story of one of Santa's helpers that thinks he has been passed by for promotion and ends up with a new partner he isn't happy with and as it is a Christmas film, of cause, it all goes well in the end. There are loads of Christmas references squeezed in which always raises a smile from my wife and I. A must see.

When Pixar and Disney unite in order to shoot a half-hour special for the Christmas holidays starring a bunch of elves, you'd expect nothing but greatness looking at how both have delivered in the animation sector for decades. Unfortunately, despite its success with the Emmys, I thought the final result came rather short. Wayne, the lead character is played by prolific voice actor Dave Foley. Also on board are Sarah Chalke (Roseanne), starring in one of the later Scrubs seasons at that point, Peter Jacobsen (House M.D.) and Derek Richardson, who's currently playing alongside Charlie Sheen in Anger Management.Veteran elf Wayne's partner gets promoted, so he has to deal with a new guy on his side. Lanny faces quite the task as Wayne's perception of Christmas a heartfelt event has considerably decreased over the years and at that point, it's really nothing but business anymore for him. Can Lanny's approach rekindle the Christmas spirit in Wayne? I think it's a decent short film that can be watched all year, not just during Christmas, primarily by younger audiences though. For grown-ups, it just falls a bit flat. The reckoning of the Christmas spirit part could have been all kinds of great, but unfortunately it's not emotionally investing as I had hoped for. The fact that the main character just pretty much performs a 180°-turn about the subject within seconds makes it look quite rushed. Also I didn't really like the way Foley voiced the main character and that has a huge impact on the perception of the whole film of course. Here and there, it gets funny, like the part where he tells Magee to put him through or he'll tell everybody about her involvement with ... The whole thing is an okay effort, but really could have been so much more.

I generally loathe Christmas movies (Its A Wonderful Life is an exception) and Christmas cartoons are usually worse. This is a little masterpiece - helmed by John Lasseter, how could it go wrong? There is a perfect marriage of material that children and adults can enjoy, much the same as most of the Pixar projects. The voice overs are excellent and the whole thing manages to sidestep the mawkish and still remains magical. The animation is of the usual high quality and the writing is terrific. it bears rewatching and is sure to be part of a regular Christmas TV schedule. Why cannot others manage to do this? Surely Pixar are not the only production company with good writers, animators and directors. The problem is,I guess, that Lasseter has set the bar so high it is almost impossible to compete with such a fantastic talent.

It captured the essence of a great Christmas special without finding the pitfalls of so many other recent Christmas movies. It is contains a great deal of technological references with analogs of NASA and naval terminology and procedures, but it doesn't take the magic out of Santa. There is no attempt at explaining Santa's abilities with special engines or "Clausometers," it shows the realistic and humorous backline of Santa's huge operation. Like any great Christmas movie it has a perfectly Christmas-spirit ending that makes you feel more like a perfect you. Hilarious,touching, exciting, and it has a ton of historical, pop-cultural, and technological references. We are watching it a second time! We loved it!