Disney does Christmas properly, with hits like The Santa Clause franchise, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas and The Muppets Christmas Carol. These were all staples of my childhood and remain yearly Christmas rewatches to this day.
I only discovered relatively recently Disney has another small Christmas franchise in Prep & Landing. It has three specials in Prep & Landing (2009), Naughty vs. Nice (2011), and The Snowball Protocol (2025). It also has two shorts with Tiny’s BIG Adventure (2009) and Operation: Secret Santa (2010). These follow elves Wayne and Lanny on their adventures helping Santa deliver gifts to the world’s kids, having to save Christmas along the way.
What I love about these adventures is how serious yet unserious they take themselves, spanning multiple genres.
You have the action thriller, where in the first special, Prep & Landing, there’s a really cool sequence as Wayne uses Christmas lights to act as a landing strip for Santa’s sleigh. McGee is back at North Pole headquarters runs things like an air traffic controller, with tense music playing over the top. Santa and his reindeer radioing back to mission control, awaiting instructions. It’s all so epic, reminding me of Arthur Christmas which came after this in 2011.
There is a bit of workplace drama too as Wayne casually threatens to expose a secret relationship between McGee and Tiny, her assistant, unless his boss does something for him. A beautiful comedic moment. The moment when Wayne finds out he doesn’t get the promotion to be head elf is heartbreaking but also relatable, as his partner got the job.
The franchise also does a great job with the character drama side of things. Naughty vs. Nice crafts a really sweet relationship between Wayne and his brother, Noel, who’s a coal elf who delivers coal to the naughty kids. As much as Wayne tries to better his brother, he’s always one step behind which draws frustration. It’s wrapped up (pun intended) sweetly though as Noel reveals how much he looked up to his older brother, unbeknownst to Wayne.
The writing across these specials also feels tight and well thought out, with Wayne’s partner, Peterson, getting the job Wayne wanted in the first special, and seemingly the same guy getting Wayne’s prized Super Sled as a kid. Yet another really nice touch and great continuity and attention to detail.
I was delighted when The Snowball Protocol was announced, premiering 14 years after the last special. This time, instead of a daring attempt to save Christmas, this adventure is framed as a clip show, going through a few previously unseen antics of Wayne, Lanny, and the crew.
While I missed the more grand scale of the previous specials, The Snowball Protocol handled the intimate side of things really well, delving into the relationship between Wayne and Lanny especially. We get more elf lore as we get an insight into how elves kick back, such as on a tropical vacation. We also see more of Wayne’s backstory, including an ex-girlfriend!
It’s amazing to me how a franchise comprising of three 30 minute specials, and two shorts, can add this much depth and magic to the Christmas season. Not only do they make Christmas Eve gift deliveries feel like epic, Mission Impossible-style events, but also they also create such heartwarming stories.
Every special serves a purpose and has a clear message guiding it, weaving in worldbuilding along the way. Nothing feels like a cash grab, with every minute of each special mattering. It’s all so efficient, and credit to the cast and crew for putting so much heart into this!
If you’re feeling like a bit of a Scrooge or Grinch this Christmas, definitely consider Prep and Landing. You can consume the entire franchise with your family in the time of a short feature length movie. I reckon you’ll get a lot more from it than many franchises that span dozens of hours! Prep and Landing truly is the perfect Christmas celebration.
Chris.
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