User reviews

I went into this thinking I would end up watching another boring animated Christmas special but I was surprised. I actually enjoyed it and while I can see why one reviewer thought it was militarized, it's still better than a lot of the animated specials I've seen in the past few years. Yes, we should leave the military out of it and stop prepping the kids for war! There were no angry wolves trying to eat the characters and the humour was not aimed at the adults as is so often the case in animated features these days. I guess having John Lasseter as executive producer helps. I grew up on Frosty, Rudolph, The Grinch and now that I think of it, they also had some darker elements to them but they are and continue to be classics. I don't know if this one will be a classic but the animation is top notch and kids are not fooled by cheap imitations these days.

After recording this on DVR last year, I finally got to watch Prep & Landing today this Christmas Day. After a little more than 200 years of helping Santa make smooth landings on houses' roofs, one of the elves gets a little sour, attitude-wise, when he doesn't get a promotion and almost alienates his new partner. Then, a creature gets discovered stirring and there's a blizzard and...oh, just watch the animated special if you want to know what happens and just enjoy the hip holiday references that get sprinkled throughout that help make "Prep & Landing" such an enjoyable treat to watch thanks to all responsible for this Disney production.

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!

Watched 'Prep & Landing' as part of my "watching as many Christmas films and shorts not yet seen before as possible" quest. Of this quest, 'Prep & Landing' was among the best and one of the revelations. Then again, expectations were quite high in the first as a big Disney and Christmas fan.

Cannot add much to the previous positive reviews that have summed up what is so wonderful about 'Prep & Landing' so well. Can say very little better. Anybody who hasn't seen it yet is seriously missing out, am kicking myself at how it could have taken so long to see it and the only reason that comes to my head was that it was recommended to me after having never heard of it until now.

The animation is bright and colourful, some of it also very imaginative. The characters don't look blocky and move smoothly while the attention to detail in the backgrounds is something to behold. The music captures the nostalgia, warmth, excitement and emotion of Christmas to perfection.

'Prep & Landing' has hilarious humour, touching and never mawkish sentiment and emotional moments and thrilling excitement. Not only are these individual elements carried over so brilliantly in the writing and the storytelling they are beautifully balanced also. The references are a sheer delight, adults are more likely to get them and be more familiar with them than younger viewers but the latter are very likely to want to know more about what is being referenced after watching.

Having likeable characters that one cares and roots for is always a plus and, unless deliberately otherwise which is the case with a fair share of films and television shows, this is important. 'Prep & Landing' has likeable characters, while the spirit of Christmas is displayed with a lot of fun, heart and warmth without being over-sentimental or preachy. The voice acting is very good, Dave Foley being spot-on.

Overall, a must watch. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Prep & Landing (2009)

**** (out of 4)

I hate using the word "classic" on recent films as I believe they need time to grow into that but there's no question that this here is one of the best animated shorts I've seen in a very long time. An elf named Wayne (voice of Dave Foley) is expecting a promotion from Santa but when he's passed over he decides to take his job less seriously the next year, which ends up possibly causing a young boy his Christmas presents. The entire set-up of this short film is without question one of the most imaginative and entertaining that I've seen. The "prep and landing" refers to the elves job as they have to prep the house to make sure everyone is asleep and make sure that Santa's landing will allow him to get into the house without being noticed. This was such a nice and catchy way to tell the Santa legend that I can't help but think people will get a big kick out of it. Of course, it doesn't hurt that this Disney short features some terrific animation and most importantly it has some very memorable characters. Foley really does a fine job bringing Wayne to life and I thought he was terrific in the voice role and really adds a lot to the film. At just over twenty-minutes there's not a slow second to be found here and instead there are just good laughs and a terrific time.

Prep & Landing is an elite group of elves that prepare the house for Santa's arrival. Wayne (Dave Foley) is an arrogant member of the group who expects a new promotion. However his partner Peterson is the one who gets the promotion. He gets a new clueless talkative rookie partner Lanny. He's lost the Christmas spirit and lets Lanny go solo. It doesn't go well when little Timmy wakes up to find the elves. Hyper Magee at operations decides to skip Timmy. Wayne rallies to get Santa to Timmy's house.

It's always nice to have new blood rather than the same old same old. It takes the familiar regimented elves and given them a fast talking edge. It's fun. Wayne is a bit of a downer for most of the show but he ends in a happy place. That's what a Christmas special needs. It needs to bring the holiday joy and this does that with a good message.

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.

Christmas present delivery by technological and disgruntled elves, what's not to love?

Wayne has the difficult job of preparing Santa's landing spot and all house requirements for Santa's arrival. But because he doesn't get his long expected promotion, he begins to behave badly, unaware of the consequences his act will bring. Together with his new partner, he must try to not destroy and innocent child's Christmas (which, of course, he provoked).

It's a Christmas tale seen from a different perspective, where gift delivery is a complex system accomplished using spies and high-tech equipment. Nevertheless, it sends a message which everybody must acknowledge: what is the true meaning of Christmas!

I am 60+ and my husband and I watch it every year and just smile. So cute and funny, just a fun watch.

I was pleasantly surprised by this gem of a Christmas film that I stumbled across on Disney+. I've struggled to find Christmas films with this much charm since the turn of the millennium. I'm 40 so was brought up on Christmas classics ranging from the 1950's up through the 90's and have noticed a massive decline in good quality Christmas movies/tv. I'm not saying there aren't absolute gems out there but for me they are harder to find.

This short was charming, funny, well written with likeable warm characters and a simple yet effective story. The voice acting is also incredibly on point. 10/10.