TV Show Info
TV Show Name: Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
Studio: Walt Disney Animated Studios
Genre(s): Animated/Comedy/Seasonal
Release Date(s): December 5, 2011
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Can brothers be heroes again?
Wayne (voiced by Dave Foley) and Lanny (voiced by Derek Richardson) are back for another Christmas, but the North Pole is in crisis mode. Someone named jinglesmell1337 is trying to hack Santa’s Naughty and Nice list, and the device being used to hack the system must be recaptured. Lanny and Wayne are being teamed with a Coal Elf to infiltrate the home of jinglesmell1337, but Wayne learns that the Coal Elf is his boisterous brother Noel (voiced by Rob Riggle). When Wayne, Lanny, and Noel discover that jinglesmell1337 is a little girl named Grace Goodwin (voiced by Emily Alyn Lind), and Grace has her own reasons for the attack.
Directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers, Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice is an animated special feature. A sequel to the award winning Prep & Landing, the Christmas special first aired on ABC on December 5, 2011. The show was met with positive reviews and received a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual in Animation (Bill Schwab) with nominations for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance (Rob Riggle) and Outstanding Musical Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special (Dramatic).
You’re going to talk, Elf!!!
I was surprised to find I really enjoyed Prep & Landing. I liked this sequel, but not as much as the first one. One thing that makes Prep & Landing nice was the extremely likeable characters in a fun situation.
This entry tries to change it up and dives into the past of Wayne and his brother. The problem is the intentionally obnoxious Noel…is too obnoxious. Making an unlikeable character still likeable is one of the hardest things you can do and it doesn’t quite succeed in this special. The special builds a parallel between Noel and Wayne and Grace and her sibling, but it does not have the same spark as the original (simply because it stops being original when it becomes a sequel). I also like the mythology being presented by story and the whole set up of the Santa’s workshop.
Great…another snowglobe. Thanks, Santa…
I loved the look of the first Prep & Landing, and this show is also rather impressive. I don’t feel that the set pieces were as strong as the first special so a lot of the innovative shots weren’t there. I did like the Noel and Wayne flashback moments and thought the art associated with them was fun.
The show is a nice Christmas splash, so it is worth seeking out. With the internet exploding and regular airings of TV shows not as common, I do not feel that Prep & Landing was able to latch on as easily as it should have. Both full length specials are nice and they could have been regular plays…because everyone is always looking for the next piece of nostalgia like A Charlie Brown Christmas or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Prep & Landing and Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice aren’t quite to that level, but they also never got the chance to do it. I would like to see more adventures of the Prep & Landing team.
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