Tuesday, October 12, 2010

WDAS' Prep and Landing slated to return

We touted the Emmy Award winning achievements of the WDAS team on Prep and Landing a couple of months ago. Imagine our pleasure when we learned that Disney was going to release more of the enjoyable duo of Lanny and Wayne.

"Prep & Landing" returns this season with an all new 7-Minute animated short, "Operation: Secret Santa," airing on ABC in December, while the half-hour animated special, "Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice," debuts in 2011. "Prep & Landing" became an instant favorite with viewers and emerged as TV's number 1 holiday special in the 2009 season. It was also the highest kids rating (kids 2-11/ 7.5/23), for any primetime telecast on broadcast TV in 2009. The special went on to win four Emmy Awards.

Commenting on the announcement, [John] Lasseter said, "We had so much fun making the first 'Prep & Landing' special, and the response from the audience and our colleagues in the industry was so terrific, that we wanted to bring these great characters back for more holiday fun. Kevin [Deters] and Stevie [Wermers-Skelton] have done an amazing job writing and directing these films, and everyone at Walt Disney Animation Studios has pitched in to make them truly extraordinary entertainment. Wayne, Lanny and the rest of our animated cast are funnier than ever in 'Operation: Secret Santa' and 'Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice;' we know they will become holiday favorites."

Congrats to the folk at Disney Animation who are working on this project. We're looking forward to being entertained by your work once again.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome! That was a great special, probably the best Christmas special since Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (wouldn't it be cool if Rudolph made an appearance in a Prep and Landing special?)

I read a comment at WDW Magic.com that suggested that Disney build a dark ride based on Prep and Landing. I think that would ROCK.

Anonymous said...

Rudolph won't make any appearances. Disney won't pay the large licensing fee, nor can they have a reindeer with a red light for a nose without paying thru that nose (whether or not he's called "rudolph.")

And they may have a float at the parks, but the limited nature of the "holiday theme" means there won't be a dark ride.

It's a cute Saturday Morning level special for small children--but not much more.

J said...

For many folks it is a lot more. It is a classically told, well narrated, strong character driven adventure. It may be short, but it is strong.

The Characters in Prep & Landing are genuine and relatable. With all the crap holiday specials we've been fed over the years, it's a breath of fresh air to see something like Prep & Landing still being made.

But that's just my opinion. Which like you, I am entitled to.

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