Prep & Landing (2009)

TV Show Info

This is so tinsel!!!

Wayne (voiced by Dave Foley) has been part of Santa’s prep & landing team for years.  When he is passed up for a promotion again, Wayne is frustrated.  Assigned a new partner fresh out of school, Wayne and Lanny (voiced by Derek Richardson) set out to prep a house.  When Wayne decides to take it easy and leave Lanny in charge, disaster strikes.  Now Santa is faced with a tough call, and Figgy-Pudding might go into effect unless Wayne can find his Christmas spirit.

Directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton, Prep & Landing was a Walt Disney holiday animated production.  The special aired on ABC on December 8, 2009.  The show was well received and received Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program, Outstanding Individual in Animation (Andrew Edward Harkness), Outstanding Individual in Animation (Joe Mateo),  and Outstanding Individual in Animation (George Mac) with a nomination for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance (Foley).

Santa haunts me wherever I go

Prep & Landing is rather fun.  I don’t always like the 3D animated projects, but I do feel that in small doses like this, they can be quite good.  The simple concept of a group of elves setting out to prepare landing sites for Santa is a good one, and the story is well written and fun.

Wayne is a good character and gets a lot of development in this story.  Foley gives him a lot of life and personality.  He’s the star of the story and the focus, but Lanny remains a bit underdeveloped.  For being the “co-star” he could have used a bit more dimension and even some more backstory and be more than just a fan-boy.  I would like to see him developed in future shows and stories.

Wayne…you’re starting to piss me off…and you won’t like me when I’m angry

It is amazing how far animation has come for just standard TV viewing.  Something like this looks like it should be on the big screen, but has enough depth and development that it feels a bit like a treat for home viewers.  The character designs are fun (I’m never into human 3D animated character…even here they look the same), but the sets are great and have a real Christmas feel to them.

I liked Prep & Landing much more than I thought I would.  It is a nice addition to the Christmas season, and I hope that Disney keeps making them without overdoing it.  Prep & Landing was followed by shorts Tiny’s Big Adventure and Operation Secret Santa and a full length sequel Prep & Landing:  Naughty vs. Nice in 2011.

Related Links:

Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice (2011)