Lutins d'élite : Mission Noël

Prep & Landing (2009)

**** (out of 4)

I hate using the word "classic" on recent films as I believe they need time to grow into that but there's no question that this here is one of the best animated shorts I've seen in a very long time. An elf named Wayne (voice of Dave Foley) is expecting a promotion from Santa but when he's passed over he decides to take his job less seriously the next year, which ends up possibly causing a young boy his Christmas presents. The entire set-up of this short film is without question one of the most imaginative and entertaining that I've seen. The "prep and landing" refers to the elves job as they have to prep the house to make sure everyone is asleep and make sure that Santa's landing will allow him to get into the house without being noticed. This was such a nice and catchy way to tell the Santa legend that I can't help but think people will get a big kick out of it. Of course, it doesn't hurt that this Disney short features some terrific animation and most importantly it has some very memorable characters. Foley really does a fine job bringing Wayne to life and I thought he was terrific in the voice role and really adds a lot to the film. At just over twenty-minutes there's not a slow second to be found here and instead there are just good laughs and a terrific time.

It captured the essence of a great Christmas special without finding the pitfalls of so many other recent Christmas movies. It is contains a great deal of technological references with analogs of NASA and naval terminology and procedures, but it doesn't take the magic out of Santa. There is no attempt at explaining Santa's abilities with special engines or "Clausometers," it shows the realistic and humorous backline of Santa's huge operation. Like any great Christmas movie it has a perfectly Christmas-spirit ending that makes you feel more like a perfect you. Hilarious,touching, exciting, and it has a ton of historical, pop-cultural, and technological references. We are watching it a second time! We loved it!

Prep & Landing is an elite group of elves that prepare the house for Santa's arrival. Wayne (Dave Foley) is an arrogant member of the group who expects a new promotion. However his partner Peterson is the one who gets the promotion. He gets a new clueless talkative rookie partner Lanny. He's lost the Christmas spirit and lets Lanny go solo. It doesn't go well when little Timmy wakes up to find the elves. Hyper Magee at operations decides to skip Timmy. Wayne rallies to get Santa to Timmy's house.

It's always nice to have new blood rather than the same old same old. It takes the familiar regimented elves and given them a fast talking edge. It's fun. Wayne is a bit of a downer for most of the show but he ends in a happy place. That's what a Christmas special needs. It needs to bring the holiday joy and this does that with a good message.

Wayne has the difficult job of preparing Santa's landing spot and all house requirements for Santa's arrival. But because he doesn't get his long expected promotion, he begins to behave badly, unaware of the consequences his act will bring. Together with his new partner, he must try to not destroy and innocent child's Christmas (which, of course, he provoked).

It's a Christmas tale seen from a different perspective, where gift delivery is a complex system accomplished using spies and high-tech equipment. Nevertheless, it sends a message which everybody must acknowledge: what is the true meaning of Christmas!

I went into this thinking I would end up watching another boring animated Christmas special but I was surprised. I actually enjoyed it and while I can see why one reviewer thought it was militarized, it's still better than a lot of the animated specials I've seen in the past few years. Yes, we should leave the military out of it and stop prepping the kids for war! There were no angry wolves trying to eat the characters and the humour was not aimed at the adults as is so often the case in animated features these days. I guess having John Lasseter as executive producer helps. I grew up on Frosty, Rudolph, The Grinch and now that I think of it, they also had some darker elements to them but they are and continue to be classics. I don't know if this one will be a classic but the animation is top notch and kids are not fooled by cheap imitations these days.