Tree Skirt to Little Drummer Boy: all halls have been properly decked, and the return of Disney’s “Prep & Landing” is a go. After nearly 15 years, you can now stream “Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol” — and it took some dedicated (and patient) elves to complete this mission.
The new special premiered on Disney Channel on Thursday night, is now available on Disney+, hits ABC on Nov. 30 and will be part of Freeform’s annual 25 Days of Christmas. “Snowball Protocol” marks the first special of the franchise to debut across linear and streaming, as well as the first in the franchise to come from Disney Television Animation, as opposed to Walt Disney Animation Studios.
According to Meredith Roberts, Executive Vice President, Television Animation, Disney Branded Television, it’s “a natural home to build on the legacy” of the franchise with “a new creative lens.”
That legacy began back in 2009, when Walt Disney Animation Studios released an original Christmas short called “Prep & Landing.” It was developed and directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton, from a pitch originally titled “T’was the Night,” by Chris Williams.
According to Deters, it came at the behest of “Christmas nut” John Lasseter, then-CCO of the studio, who wanted to re-establish the shorts program when Pixar was acquired three years earlier.
“[Shorts] tend to sort of take up time and money, and the focus was really on the features, but Pixar had always felt strongly about doing them, to nurture new talent and to develop technological advances, that sort of thing, to great success,” Deters explained to TheWrap. “We knew that there was an interest in doing that. So, they asked a lot of the senior story people, which Stevie and I were at the time, to pitch some ideas.”
Williams was among those pitches but, when he signed on to direct Disney’s 2008 animated feature “Bolt,” he became too busy to really develop the idea, and Deters and Wermers-Skelton took over.
“Prep & Landing” focuses on an elite squad of elves — namely Wayne (Dave Foley) and Lanny (Derek Richardson) — responsible for preparing houses for Santa’s arrival. They ensure he has a safe landing, a perfectly trimmed tree to fit the presents he’ll deliver and, of course, no creatures stirring that might catch him.
Think “Mission: Impossible,” but Christmassy. Certainly, that franchise was and remains an influence on the franchise, though Deters and Wermers-Skelton noted that the goal was to blend “M:I” with “The Office” and the classic Rankin/Bass Christmas specials. The duo wanted to combine modern and classic, and were “cautiously optimistic” that people would watch it.
“That was always the hope, was that it would find its place in people’s holiday lexicon, right?” Deters said. “Like some of the great classics that we love, that inspired us, like Rudolph and Charlie Brown and ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas,’ the Chuck Jones version. So we’re very humbled by the love that it’s continued to get over the years.”
Indeed, “Prep & Landing” became a hit, leading to four Emmys, a short film and two more TV specials. Even 13 years later, in 2024, it ranked among the top holiday specials for kids 2-11, with strong family co-viewing, according to Nielsen metrics.
Deters and Wermers-Skelton had literal binders full of ideas for more — including a possible feature film, the latter revealed — but after the third special in 2011, the world of “Prep & Landing” fell by the wayside amid other projects at the studio. In 2016, the duo signed on to direct “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” a spin-off short focused on Josh Gad’s beloved “Frozen” character, where they worked in a fruitcake gag originated in “Prep & Landing.”
Fast-forward to 2019, the pair moved over to Disney Television Animation, and Roberts bumped “Prep & Landing” back up the list of priorities.
“When Kevin and Stevie joined Disney Television Animation, we immediately saw an opportunity to revisit the world they created at Walt Disney Animation Studios,” Roberts told TheWrap. “Their passion for the characters and desire to create new adventures made it the perfect moment to reignite the franchise for today’s audiences.”
The good news is, Deters saved every one of those binders full of ideas from almost a decade prior (he joked that his love of collecting likely caused that, pointing to the wall of action figures directly behind him during a Zoom conversation).
“Needless to say, we were both intrigued by the prospect of returning to the characters and world, since ‘Prep & Landing’ had never strayed too far from our minds,” Deters shared. “We had done a lot of world building during the development of the original specials, so it was exciting to revisit some of our ideas with fresh eyes and a whole new team of collaborators.”
And thus, “Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol” was born, with Deters and Wermers-Skelton executive producing this time around.
The special sees Wayne and Lanny team up once more — only this time, Wayne causes a minor explosion. He immediately enacts “Snowball Protocol,” meaning he and Lanny will never tell anyone what happened, and never speak of it again.
Shortly thereafter, The Big Guy calls Wayne into his office, indicating he knows the elf’s secret. In an attempt to deflect, Wayne offers up a few other secrets, taking viewers through flashbacks of his career, but none of them are what Santa is really referring to.
According to Deters and Wermers-Skelton, these flashbacks were conceptualized early on as their own specials, but they decided to combine them for “Snowball Protocol.”
In reliving these moments, Wayne realizes just how important Lanny is to him, after previously rebuffing his partner as simply a co-worker. In true “Prep & Landing” style, it blends hijinks and heart, which is exactly what the studio wanted to get back to with the new special, and hopes will stand up alongside their legacy titles.
“We’ve had a lot of fun crafting this new story, and ideally, the fans relate to the bonds of friendship between our characters,” Deters said. “As Wayne discovers, holidays are best spent with loved ones, and hopefully our audience agrees when they watch together with their own family and friends.”
Along with this year’s new special, Disney also created new “How Not to Draw” and “Chibi Tiny Tales” shorts inspired by “Prep & Landing,” as well as an official music single. So, does this mean “Prep & Landing” has a future once more?
According to Roberts, it “absolutely” does, and the studio is actively “keeping the door open for new opportunities.”
This is so tinsel.
“Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol” is now streaming on Disney+.
