''Prep & Landing'' is an American animated television special, based on an idea by Chris Williams at

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

and developed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton into a half-hour Christmas special. The first installment in the '' Prep & Landing'' series, it first aired on December 8, 2009, on ABC. The special was released online the next day, along with an original one-minute short film '' Tiny's Big Adventure''. A sequel, '' Operation: Secret Santa'', aired on December 7, 2010, reprising the original cast with the addition of Betty White as Mrs. Claus. The second half-hour Christmas TV special, '' Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice'' aired on December 5, 2011, on ABC. A third half-hour special, to be produced at Disney Television Animation, '' Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol'' was announced at Annecy 2024 for a 2025 release.

Plot

Wayne, a Christmas elf, is part of an elite organization known as "Prep & Landing", whose job is to ready millions of homes around the world for

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

's visit. After working with "Prep & Landing" for 227 years, Wayne looks forward to getting promoted to director of the naughty list. Instead, his former partner and trainee, Peterson, gets the promotion. Wayne is introduced to Lanny, a freshly graduated rookie, whom Wayne has to also train. Wayne is still bitter about the promotion, and decides to slack off during a mission. He permits Lanny to do all of the work, which is disastrous. Meanwhile, Santa is informed mid-flight of a massive snow storm and that Wayne and Lanny have not fully prepared the house yet. He is told to cancel the landing, which has never happened before; they promise to make it up for Timmy, a boy living at the house. Wayne and Lanny discover that the re-routing was a final decision, but after hearing Timmy thank them in his sleep, Wayne decides to fix it. He calls up Santa, telling him that he must land at Timmy's house. Wayne and Lanny then work together to land Santa safely on Timmy's roof. On Christmas morning, Santa shows Wayne that Timmy had a merry Christmas. Santa offers a promotion to Wayne as the director of the nice list, but he turns it down so he can work with Lanny.

Cast

* Dave Foley as Wayne, the main character. He worked in "Prep & Landing" for years and looked forward to being promoted to Director of Naughty List Intelligence, but he was stuck with Lanny to train as his partner. His call sign is "Little Drummer Boy". * Derek Richardson as Lanny, an overly enthusiastic "Prep & Landing" rookie, who was given by Magee to Wayne to train. He looks up to Wayne, being his biggest fan. His call sign is "Tree Skirt" and his catchphrase is "This is soo tinsel!" * Sarah Chalke as Magee, the North Pole Christmas Eve Command Center Coordinator (NPCECCC) for Santa's flight. She was promoted to her current position from Toy Design after not listening to her friend Jerry and taking the job (something she admittedly regrets). Her call sign is "Jingle Belle". * W. Morgan Sheppard as 'The Big Guy'

. His call sign is "Partridge". "Pear Tree" is his sleigh (in flight). *

Mason Vale Cotton Mason Vale Cotton (born June 25, 2002) is an American actor known for his roles as M.J. Delfino in the ABC soap opera '' Desperate Housewives'' (20082012) and as Bobby Draper in the AMC drama series '' Mad Men'' (20122015), the latter of w ...

as Timmy Terwelp, an excited young boy who befriends Wayne before he is put back to bed only seconds later. * Nathan Greno and David DeLuise as Dasher and Dancer (respectively), Santa's lead reindeer. Their call sign, along with the other six reindeer is "Eight Maids 'a Milking", something Dasher hates. * Hayes MacArthur as Thrasher, Dasher's aggressive cousin and Reindeer for "Prep & Landing". Thrasher's P&L transport was the last one out before Santa's flight, making it imperative that Wayne and Lanny get on board. According to Lanny, Thrasher is a myth to those outside P&L. * Tiny is Magee's assistant in the command center. He has his own short film on-line, "Tiny's Big Adventure", which takes place during the show. * Peter Jacobson as Waterkotte * Kasha Kropinski as Miss Holly, Santa's Executive Assistant. * Lino DiSalvo as Gristletoe Joe

Production

''Prep and Landing'' was originally pitched by director Chris Williams as a short film for the newly re-opened shorts program at

. Liking the idea,

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter ( ; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, a ...

(Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation) considered it to work best as a television special. ABC executives, keen to repeat the success of the 2007

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

special ''

Shrek the Halls ''Shrek the Halls'' is an American animated Christmas comedy television special that premiered on the American television network ABC on November 28, 2007. The thirty minute Christmas special was co-written and directed by Gary Trousdale and p ...

'', approved the project. Following Williams' directorial debut on the short film '' Glago's Guest'', he was moved on to co-direct the feature film '' Bolt''. The special continued production under directors Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton's (''Goofy's How to Hook Up Your Home Theater'') control.

Release

The original premiere date was scheduled for December 1, but a speech at the United States Military Academy in

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

delayed the special's debut one week to December 8, 2009. The special was released on DVD on November 22, 2011, along with the short films ''Tiny's BIG Adventure'' and '' Operation: Secret Santa''. It was also released on DVD and Blu-ray of ''Prep & Landing: Totally Tinsel Collection'' on November 6, 2012, together with '' Operation: Secret Santa'', '' Naughty vs. Nice'', and ''Tiny's BIG Adventure''.

Ratings

^T - Tied for that slot in that week.

Awards

On December 1, 2009, prior to its first broadcast, ''Prep & Landing'' was nominated for nine

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

s in seven categories by the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood. It won three awards, including the award for Best Animated Television Production. On February 10, 2010, ''Prep & Landing'' was nominated for two awards at the 8th Visual Effects Society Awards, winning in the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special category and losing in the Outstanding Animated Character in a Broadcast Program or Commercial category. On August 21, 2010, ''Prep & Landing'' was honored with four

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s including the Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) category.

Comic

An 8-page comic story, titled ''Prep & Landing: Mansion Impossible'', was released on November 16, 2011, in '' Avengers'' #19, '' Marvel Adventures Super Heroes'' #20, and '' Marvel Adventures Spider-Man'' #20. The comic tells a story of Wayne and Lanny preparing

Avengers Mansion Avengers Mansion is a fictional building appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It has traditionally been the base of the Avengers. The enormous, city block-sized building is located at 890 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New Y ...

for a visit from Santa. It was written by Kevin Deters, and illustrated by Joe Mateo.

References

Bibliography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prep And Landing Christmas television specials 2009 television specials 2000s animated television specials American Broadcasting Company television specials 2000s American television specials Walt Disney Animation Studios television specials Emmy Award–winning programs American Christmas television specials Santa Claus in television Elves in popular culture Films directed by Kevin Deters Films directed by Stevie Wermers Films produced by Dorothy McKim Films scored by Michael Giacchino Films with screenplays by Kevin Deters Films with screenplays by Stevie Wermers Works by Chris Williams