Disney’s Prep & Landing DVD Review

Prep & Landing, which was released on DVD on Nov. 22,  is a super cute holiday tale about a high-tech team of elves who make sure everything is ready in homes around the world before Santa descends down the chimney. They scan for creatures stirring, make sure the fireplace is secure, and basically just make Santa’s job a lot easier. After all, he has a lot of houses to visit and very little time to mess around! After working for as  a Prep and Landing elf for 227 years,  Wayne (voiced by Dave Foley) is upset when he doesn’t receive an expected promotion. Instead he is partnered with an idealistic and somewhat naive newbie elf named Lanny (voiced by Derek Richardson) to execute a special Christmas Eve mission. During their journey, they face unexpected challenges that really force them to show what they’re made of,  and ultimately threaten Christmas for children around the world. But in the end, these two elves work together to guide Santa through a raging snowstorm in order to save Christmas.

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is watching all the specials. Even before I had a kid, I used to look forward to all the cartoons and movies. Now, I just have even more of a reason to get excited about them.   Prep & Landing is adorable, and both Jacob and I really love it. What makes the DVD so special, however, is the bonus features, and there are lots of them. The two coolest bonus features are the shorts: “Tiny’s Big Adventure” and “Operation Secret Santa.” In the first one, Tiny (who is so small, we only ever see the top of his hat) has to make a pot of coffee, but the coffee canister is way out of his reach. He practically destroys the entire break-room before he accomplishes his mission. In “Operation Secret Santa,” Wayne and Lanny are asked to retrieve a very important object in Santa’s office and deliver it to Mrs. Claus. Of course, that’s not nearly as easy as it sounds.

In addition to the shorts, there are also several Prep & Landing “Training” videos that are done in an old-fashioned style, and a few really cute North Pole Commercials, including one for the Fruitcake Factory and one for an Elf dating service. So while you may be able to catch Prep & Landing  on ABC during the holiday season, the bonus features are only available on the DVD and they are definitely worth checking out.

Take a peek at this clip from the “Tiny’s Big Adventure” bonus feature: