Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol

"Dropping in for the holidays!"

2025 0h 22m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

⭐

6.1

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 40★6.1IMDB · 596

AnimationComedyFantasyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Christmas elves Lanny and Wayne panic when their holiday missions go awry, leaving Wayne thinking he's in BIG trouble with Santa and accidentally revealing other merry mishaps.

“Dropping in for the holidays!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Dave Foley
Wayne (voice)
Derek Richardson
Lanny (voice)
Sarah Chalke
Magee (voice)
Debi Derryberry
Nog (voice)
Colleen Evanson
GBM Voice (voice)
Manny Jacinto
Renato (voice)
Danny Pudi
Chef Geoff (voice)
Dulcé Sloan
Janice (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Shane Zalvin
Writers: Hilary Helding, Colleen Evanson, Colleen Evanson
Languages: English, Portuguese, French
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 22-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Portuguese, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Prep & Landing Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Christopher Willis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dave Foley and Derek Richardson and Sarah Chalke carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Shane Zalvin directs. Christopher Willis scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Portuguese, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 22-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Released last year.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Portuguese, French.
4International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
5Part of the "Prep & Landing Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
7Original score by Christopher Willis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Dave Foley and Derek Richardson and Sarah Chalke carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Dropping in for the holidays!".
10IMDB entry: tt32594892 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 40 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Original score: Christopher Willis
Runtime: 22 min · 0h 22m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol (2025)
IMDB rating: 6.1/10 · 596 votes

Part of

Prep & Landing Collection

Disney Prep & Landing is a computer animated television special, based on an idea by Chris Williams at Walt Disney Animation Studios and developed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton into a half-hour Christmas special. It first aired December 8, 2009 on ABC. A sequel, Operation: Secret Santa, aired on December 7, 2010, reprising the original cast with the addition of Betty White as Mrs. Claus. The second half-hour Christmas TV special, Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice aired on December 5, 2011, on ABC.

Also by

Shane Zalvin

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What people are saying

Animal_King2026-05-21
★ 2/10
This is a pretty big nothing of a special. The plot is just Lanny & Wayne mess up a mission. They try to keep it a secret, but then they are called in by Santa for a secret meeting. Where Wayne then proceeds to ty and figure out what secret thing Santa has called him in to talk about, he then proceeds to talk about two missions that went bad, which he assumes are the reason he is there. Which is just lazy writing to cut to two different ~10 minutes shorts, both predictable, and boring.

Production companies