and while I do like Shrek the Halls, Prep & Landing is more appealing to me for some reason.
This came out a few years ago and in some ways feels like a poor man’s version of Arthur Christmas. I can almost believe Prep and Landing are in the same universe. But putting that side, this is a charming special which has become a holiday tradition for me.
It’s a story about the elves who go ahead of Santa and “prep” the house for his “landing”. It’s kind of a clever idea. Our main characters are Wayne and Lenny. Wayne is expecting a promotion when he gets Lenny as a new partner. Lenny is clumsy but has a good heart. So when he doesn’t get the promotion Wayne stops caring which almost blows an assignment, and he is nearly caught. But when he realizes his behavior could ruin Christmas for a little boy, he gets his confidence back. When Santa almost has to miss the landing Wayne and Lenny get the job done.
Ok that summation was kind of weak, it really is a cute little cartoon. The action moves fast and the voices are great from Dave Foley to Sarah Chalke as the high strung Elf who runs the whole show. The cool this in this is all the little bits of technology that help the elves “prep” the house. From scanners, to sleep devices, and security overrides so Santa can get in and out safely they have every thing they need to make sure that the house is prepped and ready. And for some reason we never actually see Santa’s face, which is an interesting choice.
It’s spawned two sequels (so far). One was a short called Operation:Secret Santa and the other a full length cartoon called “Naught vs Nice” which was ok. Actually that one asked an interesting question, if you get a visit from Prep and Landing when you’re nice, who do you get when you’re naughty? You get the coal elves of course!
It’s a nice cartoon and one I enjoy every year.
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