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User Reviews for: Prep & Landing

AndrewBloom
CONTAINS SPOILERS8/10  2 months ago
[7.5/10] This was cute! I’ll admit, I had my doubts when it got started. The setup seemed a little generic. But the short blends a light but touching holiday yarn with a fun take on the North Pole mythos. The story of Wayne, a jaded elf who feels like he’s languishing without his promotion, who rediscovers the joys of, well, spreading joy and regains his holiday spirit, is told well. There are just enough fun character moments and sweet touches to tug at your heartstrings without being cloying. His realization of the joy Xmas brings to children sparking his enthusiasm and dedication anew is a good beat.

In particular, there’s a solid story structure here. Wayne (played ably by Dave Foley) loses what he thinks he wants -- the promotion -- but gains what he really needs -- a reason to believe in his mission again. The addition of enthusiastic young Larry as a partner doesn’t add that much beyond the hijinks, but it’s still pleasant to see Wayne earn the change in title he always wanted, only to reject it because he’s rediscovered what made him want this job in the first place.

The “world-building”, for lack of a better term, is fun as well. The notion of elves as secret spies, staging children's homes so that they’re prepped and ready for Santa, is an amusing idea and leads to creative sequences. Likewise, treating the North Pole as “mission control” is a good source of both inventiveness and humor in the short.

As expected from 2000s Disney, the gags here are gentle but pleasing enough. There’s more smiles than outright laughs here, but that's alright. The short manages some good physical comedy (for whatever reason, the elf “revving up” the reindeer got the rare laugh-out-loud moment from me), and the way the elves integrate yuletide slang into their dialogue is typically worth a chuckle and an E for effort.

My only major gripe here is the animation. This is 2009, so grace ought to be shown. But all the characters look plastic-y and rudimentary, without much in the way of the expressiveness or charm Disney animation is known for. Doing this kind of CGI in-house was still relatively new for Disney, so I want to cut them some slack, but despite some clever visual concepts, this one isn’t much to look at.

All that said, there’s a good theme here. The notion of reminding yourself of why you do your job, by remembering the people it helps, is a heartening holiday message. And likewise, there’s a sense in which the special works as a metaphor for parents, who may understandably be stressed or cynical around the holidays, but who often rise to the occasion and remember the joys of the season through their children.

Overall, an enjoyable and amusing holiday watch that's nice and friendly for the whole family.
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