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In the history of media, there have been a good number of Christmas specials that to this day stand as legendary. Some may find it hard to believe that works like “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and some of the Rankin/Bass specials have been around for decades. They simply stand the test of time for many Christmas seasons with poignant statements everyone can understand and relate to, and are well-made stories with memorable casts. However, one big factor to contribute to the popularity of the iconic works is that other Christmas specials that have come around in later eras just never reached their status. It’s like those older Christmas specials are lightning in a bottle scenarios that can never be replicated. Well no matter how one may feel, an open mind just might uncover a hidden gem among the specials that are pushed and popularized more than all others. This special MC Toon Reviews Shorty will look into a modern Christmas special. Just 12 years old, it’s not as talked about as much as the mainstays of animated Christmas specials, but manages to stand as one of the greats. Helping its case is being a production of the ever-famed Walt Disney Animation Studios with all the talent of the quality animated features of its era. It’s called:
Prep and Landing
(December 8, 2009)
From the perspective of a Disney fan, a good way to get an idea of how good this special is involves observing the era of the company in which it premiered. For a while, the original Disney Animation studio was in a slump where much of their output failed to reach the status of that of their famed renaissance of the past decade. Despite a good effort of experimentation in their films, most of them failed to make a significant profit and left critics mostly unenthused. Along with poor management of current CEO who started out as one of their saviors, Michael Eisner, the studio had little direction as the animated powerhouse it built itself up to be. It certainly didn’t help that they’d also abandon hand-drawn animation out of this.
Then in 2005, Eisner stepped down
and was replaced with a new CEO, Bob Iger.
While Iger would make his own controversial decisions, it was clear he
understood that animation was and would always be the heart of Disney. He could tell morale at the company was
broken and needed to be fixed. As the
release of the studios first all CGI feature film Chicken Little proved they could still make successful films but
with critical reception not up to their legacy, a decision was made. Just as famed computer animation studio Pixar
was about to cancel their contract with Disney due to Eisner’s unfair
negotiations, they were bought by Disney for billions of dollars. In doing so, Pixar’s creative heads at the
time would also be in charge of Disney Animation as well as their own
domain. This way, the films would be
truly creative driven as opposed to the more executive driven films that came
before; Disney Animation would be led by the right people. Technically one of those people wouldn’t be
right morally, but that’s another story.
From then on, Disney Animation would be back to telling memorable
inspiring stories with their films, including getting a handle on CGI with the
high quality continuing to this day. Out
of the new direction was also a chance to really try something new with
animation production with the company taking on its first TV holiday special. Coming out just as the new Disney management
began, it can serve as a good starting point for where Disney’s new high
quality animation would lead.
A telling sign of a great Christmas special is the freshness
of its premise and creativity in its story.
In the case of this special, fresh is a good way to describe it. It takes the mythos behind the iconic
Christmas figure, Santa Claus, and explores a topic that doesn’t seem to be
thought of much. It centers on a group
of elves who fly over to various houses all over the world and make sure
they’re all prepared for Santa when he comes to deliver kids’ presents. They make sure the tree’s just right, the
kids are asleep, the cookies left for him are suitable for consumption, and
more. They prepare the houses and make
sure Santa is able to land his sleigh without any obstacles, hence the group’s
name, Prep and Landing. That’s a very
clever idea and makes sense to build the idea of how Santa Claus works. He may not literally exist, but thoughts of
exactly how he works is enough to fascinate regardless. The background of this elf group gets the
special off to an interesting start, but the real heart of it all, as the best
of Disney tends to prove, is in its story and cast.
The center of the special features a particular Prep and
Landing elf named Wayne. He’s been on
the Prep and Landing team for a long time, well aware of all the maneuvers and
tactics to follow for the sake of kids waiting for Santa. In fact he knows them so well that it’s clear
he’s very tired of the job and longs for a change. From Wayne’s perspective, not only does this
way of thinking make sense for him, but it can also be relatable in many
ways. As fun as the Christmas season can
be, it makes sense for people to be overwhelmed by its exposure and commercial
practices from business conglomerates.
Such is true here among the atmosphere of the entire Prep and Landing
operation. The whole thing is basically
a secret agent type maneuver with high tech gear and snarky agent talk
saturated in elements of the Christmas season.
Code words, aliases, and catchphrases are even all Christmas phrases,
which can be understandably overwhelming.
Wayne represents this mindset well considering all the
hardships that come with getting houses prepared for Santa. For that, he’s excited about getting promoted
this year which means leaving Prep and Landing behind to be in charge of the
naughty list, or so he thinks that will happen.
Appearing suave and confident that he’s going to get the
promotion, Wayne is faced with major disappointment when he learns that’s not
the case. Instead, not only does he
remain on Prep and Landing, but is now assigned to train a new recruit to the
force, Lanny. Though Lanny is clumsier
than the most experienced members of the team, it’s clear he’s very passionate
and wants to learn all there is to it.
As Wayne has lots of experience, Lanny is more than excited to be
working with him, calling it the most ‘tinsel’ job ever. This in turn makes for a well-defined dynamic
of two characters with totally different views on Christmas. This is made especially apparent with their
assignment where they have to set up a house for Santa to deliver a bike to a
little boy named Timmy. Lanny is
determined to do the best job possible, but lacks the charisma and technical
knowledge to pull things off perfectly.
He clearly needs Wayne’s guidance here, but Wayne, despite his years of
experience, doesn’t put in the right effort.
Right down to admitting he’s being naughty this year, he deliberately
slacks off to pamper himself on the job.
He lounges around in the living room, eats one of Santa’s cookies, and
even gets caught by Timmy, a huge step against regulations and a very careless
one as well. Instead of giving Lanny the
help he needs, he just makes it more difficult, and the special is quick to
show the consequences.
In the midst of Wayne’s careless actions, there’s a deeper
look at the Prep and Landing operations from the view of another notable elf,
Magee. She stays behind at the North
Pole to help plan out Santa’s route and her approach and attitude towards the
assignment is very realized. She
has a positive, almost chipper disposition to the operation, but it’s clear
that this is a mask for the most part.
She can sense disappointment quickly such as when Wayne arrives
expecting the promotion, but still keeps up her positivity. However, it’s during the actual Prep and
Landing operation that really defines her character. As this is Christmas Eve, of course the
pressure is on for everyone involved to pull off the task of getting everything
ready for Santa. Magee appears confident
and sets up Santa’s route skillfully, but as the operation progresses, it’s
more and more clear that she’s extremely stressed by the whole thing. It doesn’t help that Santa’s route is sending
him right into a snowstorm near where Timmy lives. Of course, Wayne’s insolence on the job is
even more stressful and practically causes Magee to snap. More pressing however, is the drastic move
she’s led to make. Calling Santa in the
middle of his flight, she reroutes him to pass by Timmy’s house and avoid the
storm, meaning the child won’t be getting anything for Christmas. This sets up what may be the most depressing
outcome imaginable for the holiday, and it does not go unnoticed.
It isn’t long before Wayne hears of the decision, and to show
he does have heart in spite of his selfish actions, he’s very remorseful that
Santa’s going to pass Timmy by. He even
admits that he never meant to go this far.
These regrets as well as a passionate speech from Lanny in turn lead to
a revelation of what makes Christmas as special as it is. Despite the harsh elements and the
oversaturation of the holiday Wayne and other Prep and Landing elves face, one
big thing makes it worth it. That’s the
happiness others feel when their Christmas wishes come true, showing
they care, and letting them experience the joy of generosity. It’s the very thing to give kids the best
memories possible, and inspire them to pass down those same virtues to future
generations as they get older. Coming
from a naïve yet innocent character like Lanny makes the dynamic between him
and Wayne all the more endearing. Wayne
is moved by his partner’s words and fights to make things right. Just as the whole operation, including Magee,
is busy regretting the rerouting decision, Wayne convinces Santa to turn
back. Then he endures the harsh elements
of the storm to set up the landing gear for Santa. In great Disney fashion, staging allows small
moments like Wayne and Lanny falling off a roof and almost getting hit by
icicles bigger and suspenseful. The same
is true for a mad dash when Wayne is forced to improvise with what’s nearby,
using glowing inflatable Christmas decorations as alternate landing gear. The moment captures the feel of something
being cut close, but Wayne’s efforts pay off as Santa ultimately lands and does
his thing. Then there’s a sudden cut to
the next day to fully balance out the action and hijinks of the special with
solid heart, the very element to really determine how well a story works. Wayne willingly goes in to see Santa to
apologize for his actions, but instead of reprimanding and being reminded of
his insolence, there’s welcome understanding from Santa. He points out the very human truth that
everyone slips onto the naughty list every now and then, and he’s proud of the
conclusion Wayne has ultimately come to. His gift to Wayne is a snowglobe showing Timmy
on Christmas morning happy with his new bike, serving as a reminder behind
everything Prep and Landing tries to accomplish. If that’s not enough, the last scene has
Wayne offered a promotion as director of the nice list. However, Wayne turns it down, admitting he’s
more suited for Prep and Landing. Some
may say that this departure in goals is huge, but it’s acceptable for being a mature
decision Wayne come to on his own. He’s
convincingly shown the heartfelt benefits of his old job through what they
ultimately lead to. This can also fit
well with Christmas’ commercialization where it may be overbearing, but it’s
always worth it if it makes others happy.
In short, Wayne’s ultimate decision is not only a fitting close for his
arc, but captures the true essence of Christmas’ meaning.
Among all iconic Christmas specials throughout history, Prep and Landing should have a place
alongside them in the eyes of anyone who happens to see it. Its creative premise to add to the lore of
the Santa Claus element of Christmas and ways of showing the holiday’s true
meaning add plenty of intrigue. Enhanced
by stellar computer animation usually reserved for films, and an entreatingly memorable
cast, the whole special stands as a creative experience. In addition to being a worthy part of
Christmas viewing traditions, it’s a good way of showing Disney Animation’s
great creative expertise at play for the time and still going strong to this day. After all, their entertainment style and the
allure of the holiday do kind of go well together.
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