Disney’s prepping “Prep & Landing” animated short, second holiday special

Jim Hill

14 years ago

It's that time of year again. As WDW's decorating staff packs away the pumpkins and starts hanging the Christmas ornaments …

Senior Decorator Carlos Rivera hangs a gigantic
ornament on Epcot's 65-foot icon tree in preparation
for the holidays. Photo by Diana Zalucky.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved

… as Walt Disney World gets ready for the 2010 holiday season.

Out on the West Coast this past Friday night, Adela Jauregui and Mickey Mouse flipped the switch in front of "it's a small world" holiday …

(L to R) Jan Lansing, vice president of marketing for CHOC Children's, Jesus Jauregui,
Norma Jauregui, Olivia Jauregui, Adela Jauregui, Disneyland Resort Ambassador
Danielle DuBois and Mike Colotti, vice president of marketing for Sylvania. Photo by
Paul Hiffmeyer. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

… which officially signaled the start of the holiday season at the Disneyland Resort.

Even the folks at Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment are already in the holiday mood. Though that's probably because the DVD & Blu-ray version of "Disney's A Christmas Carol" is hitting store shelves tomorrow.

FYI: if you're feeling somewhat Scrooge-like this holiday season and don't feel like paying full price for the Blu-ray version of this Robert Zemekis movie … Well, the Disney Movie Rewards website currently has a coupon up which will allow you to shave $10 off of the purchase price of the 4-Disc Blu-ray combo pack. And you can learn about this "Disney's A Christmas Carol" offer by clicking here.

But me personally? I'm afraid that I'm not going to be in the holiday spirit 'til December 7^th or thereabouts. Which is when Wayne & Lanny (i.e. the Christmas Elves who starred in last year's Emmy Award-winning holiday special, "Disney's Prep & Landing") return in a brand-new holiday adventure. A seven minute long short entitled "Operation Secret Santa."

"So what's the deal with 'Operation Secret Santa' ?," you ask. Well, just like the original "Prep & Landing," this "stocking stuffer" of a short is being written & directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton & Kevin Deters, produced by Dorothy McKim, and executive produced by John Lasseter.

Better yet, 'Operation Secret Santa' is kind of a tease for the real holiday treat. Which doesn't actually arrive 'til Christmas 2011. But – trust me – this is one present (Which is a full-blown sequel to "Prep & Landing." A brand-new half-hour-long holiday special called "Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice") that's really worth waiting for.

But before we talk about that brand-new Walt Disney Animation Studios-produced holiday special, let's talk about "Operation Secret Santa." Which has Mrs. Claus (voiced by Betty White) …

… recruiting Santa's stealthiest elves …

… to go on a secret mission.

You see, there's this mysterious object in Santa's office that Mrs. Claus needs retrieved.

And in order to acquire their target …

… Wayne & Lanny must slip into Santa's office while the big guy is sleeping …

… creep up on his desk …

… and dig through the drawers while Santa is dozing.

Are Wayne and Lanny really up for this challenge?

Or will they be discovered in mid-mission and then wind up on Santa's Naughty List …

… forever?

To get the answer to this compelling question, you're just going to have to tune in to ABC on Tuesday night, December 7^th from 8 – 9 p.m. ET. When this new "Prep & Landing" seven-minute animated short will air during the holiday classic, "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

FYI: If you want to check out the original "Disney's Prep & Landing" holiday special … Well, that's going to air on ABC on Thursday, December 9^th from 8 – 9 p.m ET. And then again on ABC Family on Wednesday, December 15^th at 8 p.m. ET and again on Monday, December 20^th at 7:30 p.m ET.

Now as for that full-blown "Disney's Prep & Landing" sequel that's due to arrive for Christmas 2011, this brand-new half-hour-long holiday special – "Naughty vs. Nice" – will send Wayne & Lanny on yet another seemingly impossible recovery mission. This time around, the Christmas Elves must retrieve some classified North Pole technology that has fallen into the hands of a computer-hacking Naughty Kid.

With December 25^th rapidly approaching and this holiday hacker threatening to throw Christmas into complete chaos, Wayne has no choice. In order for this mission to succeed, he must now turn to the world's foremost Naughty Kid expert. A bombastic member of Santa's Coal Bucket Brigade who also happens to be Wayne's estranged brother, Noel.

Will Wayne, Lanny and Noel be able to recover this classified technology before the big 2-5 arrives? More importantly, will Wayne ever be able to patch things up with Noel. To get the answers to those questions … Well, you're just going to have to wait for that particular Christmas present 'til December of 2011.

So what do you folks think? Are you excited about these two new "Disney's Prep & Landing" programs, the "Operation Secret Santa" short as well as next year's half-hour-long holiday special, "Naughty vs. Nice" ?

Your thoughts?