Line #132 WesternAnimation/PrepAndLanding


1	[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/abebbb66defba4d5df54234ed928530a.jpg]]
2
3	->''"Have you ever wondered how it all gets done? How Santa gets in and out of millions of homes all in one night? Let's just say he has a little help... Our mission statement is: Get in. Get out. Never be noticed. I'm part of Prep and Landing, an elite unit of elves getting houses ready, around the world, for the big guy's arrival."''
4	-->-- '''Wayne'''
5
6	''Prep & Landing'' is a 2009 computer animated half hour ChristmasSpecial produced by [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Walt Disney Animation Studios]], which spawned animated sequels also released in two succeeding holiday seasons.
7
8	It is a story of two [[ChristmasElves holiday elves]], part of an elite unit known as Prep and Landing, which arrives at each house ahead of time and prepares for [[SantaClaus Santa's]] arrival.
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10	Wayne is an old pro who's been working on Prep and Landing for over 200 years and is finally hoping to receive a promotion. After being turned down, he is teamed up with a new recruit, Lanny. The two head off to Timmy's house to prepare for Santa's arrival. But with Lanny's inexperience and Wayne's new defeatist attitude, things go wrong real quickly, and the house is not prepped in time. And with the threat of a terrible snow storm, it appears that Santa has no choice but to skip Timmy's house that year. Realizing the error of his ways, Wayne only has a limited amount of time to make things right.
11
12	It has been followed by a seven minute short for the 2010 holiday season titled ''Operation: Secret Santa'' featuring Creator/BettyWhite as MrsClaus (a role she had previously played in [[WesternAnimation/TheStoryOfSantaClaus two other]] [[Series/TheNoddyShop holiday specials]]) and in 2011, ''Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice'' about Wayne's enstranged brother and the lists being tampered with by a child who got a hold of elven technology. No further ''Prep & Landing'' shorts were ever made after this.
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14	It is also the first Disney property to cross over with Marvel in the comic story "Mansion: Impossible" in which Wayne and Lanny must prepare the [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers Mansion]] for Santa's arrival. This ran as a backup in ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' (Vol. 4) #19 and two ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures'' books.
15
16	----
17	!!''Prep & Landing'' provides examples of:
18	* AllThereInTheManual: ABC.com's official website contains information and backstory about the characters not revealed in the special itself.
19	* BenevolentBoss: Santa full stop. Not only did he not fire Wayne despite having full reason to do so, but he addresses the fact people do go to the naughty list every once in awhile, gives him a gift as a reminder to why their job is so important, and even offers him a promotion (though Wayne turns it down).
20	* BetterAsFriends: Wayne and Magee according to the website.
21	* {{Blackmail}}: Wayne threatens Magee by saying that if she doesn't patch his call through to Santa, he's going to tell everyone "about you and Tiny!" It works.
22	* BlatantLies: Wayne when stating he was happy that his former partner Peterson got the promotion he was after.
23	* BrickJoke: A somewhat literal one, involving a heavy brick-shaped fruitcake. It gets forgotten early in the show only to resurface for the finale.
24	* BrokenPedestal: Lanny has one towards Wayne after he realizes how apathetic and cynical the latter has become about his job. It is [[RebuiltPedestal quickly rebuilt]].
25	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Lanny's a clumsy rookie, but when the situation gets critical, he proves just ''why'' he was his class' top student.
26	* TheCameo: The Labrador that gets sedated at the beginning is a [[PaletteSwap recolor]] of ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}''.
27	* ChaosOfTheBells: "Carol of the Bells" plays during the climax as Wayne and Lanny struggle to lay down landing lights for SantaClaus during a snowstorm.
28	* ChekhovsGun: The Christmas decorations Lanny points out after landing on the house.
29	** All of the elves' gadgets demonstrated in the first sequence.
30	* CirclingBirdies: Substitute 'birdies' with 'Christmas lights'.
31	* CodeEmergency: All over the place.
32	* CompanyCrossReferences: Wayne watches ''WesternAnimation/MickeysChristmasCarol'' on TV.
33	* CrazyPrepared: The entire Prep And Landing elite force. They have a device and protocol for every problem that might arise. [[spoiler: Except for disgruntled elves who fall behind schedule. But even then...]]
34	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Tiny's hat suddenly shoots straight up when Wayne threatens Magee about "telling everyone about you and Tiny."
35	* EasterEgg: The license plate on the station wagon that Wayne and Lanny bump on while skiing says "12501WED". December 5, 1901 was the birth date of '''[[Creator/WaltDisney W]]'''[[Creator/WaltDisney alter]] '''[[Creator/WaltDisney E]]'''[[Creator/WaltDisney lias]] '''[[Creator/WaltDisney D]]'''[[Creator/WaltDisney isney]].
36	* EveryoneHatesFruitCakes: Wayne gets a soot-covered fruit cake from the coal elves. He promises them to enjoy it, but then passes it on to Magee. In the end, it gets passed on to Lanny, who is the only one overjoyed about receiving it.
37	* TheFaceless: Santa is only ever seen from the shoulders down. Tiny, on the other hand, is so short (even by elf standards) that only the top of his hat gets seen on-camera.
38	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: When Magee pours out her drink into a tiny potted pine tree, a few seconds later, the last of the pine needles falls off.
39	* TheGrinch: Wayne considers his Prep and Landing duty as his "job" and nothing more. But after getting passed over for a promotion (his only motivation for continuing to do good work for 200 years), his ego has become deflated, his enthusiasm for the job is gone, and he becomes lazy and goofs off (during a mission) instead of fulfilling his duties. He even acknowledges it with an aside: "Yeah, I'm being naughty."
40	* HotBlooded: At least two of Santa's team of eight reindeer seem to tackle every emotion they express to its extreme.
41	* HowCanSantaDeliverAllThoseToys: The premise of the special (and as discussed by Wayne in the OpeningNarration) is that an elite team of elves is sent out on Christmas Eve to prepare every house for Santa's arrival and ensure he can deliver the gifts as quickly as possible.
42	* INeedAFreakingDrink: Non-alcoholic version. Magee drinks egg nog lattes whenever she's stressed out.
43	* InstantSedation: The elves carry around ornaments that explode into magic dust that causes anyone affected to instantly fall asleep.
44	* JerkassHasAPoint: After ''200 years'' doing the same job and having the person he trained get promoted ahead of him, Wayne does have a right to be a little bit angry.
45	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Thrasher, Dasher's cousin, who threatens Lanny on their first meeting. The "heart of gold" part is that he's a good friend of Wayne according to the website.
46	* TheLeader: While Santa is [[BigGood The Big Boss]], Magee is definitely in charge of the North Pole operations center, so much so that when she gets intel that Timmy's house isn't prepped, it falls to her, and her alone, to declare "Figgy Pudding," the abort code. She has to personally set the console controls and hit the BigRedButton. Santa, as it is shown, ''can'' override the declaration, though.
47	* LeavingFoodForSanta: One of the duties of the eponymous team is to check the milk and cookies to see whether they're up to standards. When Wayne is passed for a promotion, he takes it out on a Santa cookie and tries to bite its head off (although it's a little tough for him).
48	* {{Lilliputians}}: All the elves in the specials are just a few inches tall.
49	* MissionControl
50	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Wayne, when he realizes his lack of effort might had just cost Timmy his Christmas.
51	* NaiveNewcomer: Lanny
52	* NoFlowInCGI: Averted. As even the simplest moves show the hair move.
53	* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Timmy does this to Wayne when he's [[TalkingInYourSleep talking in his sleep]].
54	* OnlySixFaces: Actually averted despite being a CGI cartoon, quite impressive for a 30 min show.
55	* PassedOverPromotion: Wayne was expected by nearly everyone to be promoted to Head of the Naughty List, only for his partner Peterson to get the job instead. He's '''not''' happy about it. [[spoiler:It later turns out that Santa just wanted to keep Wayne on the Prep and Landing team for one more year so he could train Lanny in the field before promoting him to the Head of the Nice List. Wayne ultimately turns it down so he can keep working with Lanny.]]
56	* SavingChristmas: Wayne and Lanny must do this for one little boy.
57	* ShoutOut: To almost every Christmas carol in the English language -- the Prep and Landing force uses dozens of easily-recognized Christmas phrases as slang terms AND code names, such as "figgy pudding" for a house that must be skipped because it wasn't prepped for Santa to land there.
58	** Also: the codename for the sleigh itself is [[ItWasHisSled Rosebud]].
59	** In the French dub, it's instead "The Red Line", in a clear reference to the famous Red Telephone.
60	** The scrawny little tree from ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas'' is on a shelf behind Magee's desk.
61	*** Also, Magee has a coffee mug that says "Dr. H Elf Dentistry", a nod to Hermey in ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer''.
62	** When Wayne is goofing off, the first thing that pops on the TV is ''WesternAnimation/MickeysChristmasCarol''.
63	* SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: Lanny calls Wayne out on this. Wayne dismisses it at first, but gets better.
64	* TrueMeaningOfChristmas: Wayne (re)learns this eventually.
65	* TookALevelInIdealism: Seeing how excited Timmy is for Santa reminds Wayne just how important the Prep and Landing team's work is.
66	* UnderTheMistletoe: Implied with Lanny near the end; he has mistletoe hanging from his Christmas tree hat, [[CoveredInKisses and has three lipstick kisses on his face.]]
67	* VomitDiscretionShot: When The Big Guy lands on Timmy's roof, Dancer does his best to hold back his vomit.
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69	!!''Operation: Secret Santa'' provides examples of:
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71	* AbortedArc: This was promoted as a ''Prep & Landing: Stocking Stuffer''. Indeed, this was originally going to be the first of a series of shorts, but no further shorts were made.
72	* DaydreamSurprise: As Lanny and Wayne sneak into Santa's office, Santa wakes up, sees them and puts them on the Naughty List, then kicks out Lanny, who ends up living in an igloo in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, it all happens in Lanny's head.
73	* EarlyBirdCameo: Noel from ''Naughty Vs. Nice'' can be seen with the other elves at the end.
74	** Nessie from "The Ballad of Nessie'' short can be seen in Santa's secret workshop.
75	* TheFaceless: Like her husband, Mrs. Claus is only shown from the shoulders down.
76	* IfYouDieICallYourStuff:
77	-->'''Magee:''' Good luck. And if something happens to you I just wanted to say... I’m claiming your snowmobile.
78	-->'''Wayne:''' I cancelled the insurance.
79	-->'''Magee:''' Okay, bye!
80	* MythologyGag: One of the items displayed in Santa's secret workshop is a ''green'' coat.
81	** Also counts as ShownTheirWork.
82	* SpitTake: Lanny stops himself from doing one after being informed that the mission is to retrieve a box inside Santa's office.
83	* ThisIsNoTimeToPanic: Wayne keeps telling Lanny to keep his worries in his hat. However, when it gets closer to 3:00, Wayne finally gives him permission to worry.
84
85	!!''Mansion: Impossible'' provides examples of:
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87	* {{Crossover}}: And with ComicBook/TheAvengers, believe it or not!
88	* ShieldSurf: Wayne and Lanny do it with ''Captain America's shield'' at one moment!
89
90	!!''Naughty vs. Nice'' provides examples of:
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92	* AntiVillain: [[spoiler: Grace]]
93	* AbhorrentAdmirer: Carol, from Christmas Carol's seems to have a thing for Lanny.
94	* AccidentalMisnaming: The old coal elf at the bar keeps calling Wayne "Dwayne". In the end a newspaper headline misspelled Wayne's name the same way, and the elf gloats about being proven right.
95	* TheAce: Noel.
96	* BadassAdorable: [[spoiler: Grace]] the Hacker. Can take on the best the North Pole has to offer, and to quote from Lanny...
97	-->"''You're so adorable''".
98	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: [[spoiler: The reason Wayne resents his brother.]]
99	** [[spoiler: This is also why Wayne was so set on becoming director of the naughty list. He would have been Noel's boss.]]
100	* AndShowItToYou: Noel tearing out the toy rabbit's battery.
101	* BearHug: Holiday Hug!
102	* TheBigDamnKiss: "Come here, you nerd!"
103	* BigLittleBrother: Noel.
104	* BoisterousBruiser: Noel.
105	* {{Brawnhilda}}: Carol the bartender. Lanny mistakes her for a man until she gives him her name and phone number.
106	* BrickJoke: An old elf keeps calling Wayne "Dwayne". Come TheStinger where Wayne's name is misprinted as Dwayne, the old guy thinks he was right.
107	* BrokenPedestal: Noel suffers one after Wayne stated he never wanted him.
108	* CainAndAbel: Wayne and Noel. And Wayne is the ''Cain''.
109	** To get in detail, Noel's bio and the teaser show that he loves his brother, but that same teaser and the poster show that it's ''really'' not reciprocated.
110	*** It's actually [[spoiler: a nasty case of [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]]]].
111	** [[spoiler: BashBrothers / SiblingTeam: After they reconcile.]]
112	* {{Catchphrase}}: Noel's "Jingle BAM!!"
113	* ChildProdigy: [[spoiler: Grace]], the hacker.
114	* ContinuityNod: Timmy is the first kid to be seen on one of the monitors.
115	* CrazyPrepared: Grace, who set up her entire house to be able to take on the elves. Even wearing a large helmet and using a robotic dog so the sleep grenades don't affect her.
116	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
117	** Noel gives Thrasher a case of candy canes as if they were freshly rolled Cubans.
118	** After Lanny accidentally lets his sparkle grenade go off on him, he spends his next few scenes acting intoxicated. (Or high, considering he suggests ordering a pizza.)
119	* EarlyBirdCameo: Nessie from "The Ballad of Nessie'' short can be seen as one of the toys suggested for a good girl right before the power goes down for a bit.
120	** As well as a toy under the Hacker's bed.
121	* EurekaMoment: Lanny mentions the "magic word" when the hacker is demanding the password to the Naughty & Nice database. What magic word? "Please."
122	** Turns out to be a bit of FridgeLogic that an unfairly labelled kid would know it. Truly naughty kids ''never'' say "please." Though it could be a combination of the child in question's young age and not believing the password could be that simple.
123	* FreakOut: When Wayne learns that [[spoiler: Noel could become Elf of the Year instead of him]], he completely ''snaps''.
124	** {{Angrish}}
125	** MadEye
126	** IWishedYouWereDead
127	* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: Grace]], the hacker, [[spoiler: is acting out because she thinks she's TheUnfavorite]].
128	* FreudianSlip: The "Nerd" Elf Mr. Thistleton seems to keep accidentally calling Magee "baby".
129	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: The kid behind [[spoiler: Grace]] waiting for Santa makes an odd look on his face as [[spoiler: she is dragged off before she could talk to Santa]].
130	* GadgeteerGenius: The hacker demonstrates a wide array of technological skills.
131	* GatlingGood: While Prep & Landing elf teams carry grenade-like Christmas ornaments ("sparkle") to help deal with detection, Coal elf teams carry multi-barreled "sparkle" guns to do the same.
132	* GoneHorriblyWrong: All the [=JINGLESMELL1337=] hacker wanted to do with the stolen device was simply transfer themselves from the "naughty" to "nice" list (which they do). But due to a technical hiccup in the process, the device starts transferring ''everyone else'' onto the Naughty list....
133	* GreenEyedMonster: Wayne, regarding Noel, who always tends to come out ahead of him regardless of the subject; Noel is not only more popular, he tends to insert himself between Wayne and Wayne's desires without really meaning or even ''trying'' to, like when Noel was late to their emergency meeting because he was buying a limited luxury snowmobile that Wayne would have purchased himself if he hadn't been interrupted by the emergency in question.
134	* HappyDance: [[spoiler: Grace]] does one after she successfully removes her name from the Naughty List.
135	* HotBloodedSideburns: Noel.
136	* ICallItVera: Noel has a pet name for his sparkle gun: Little Miss Sweet Dreams.
137	* InfantSiblingJealousy: [[spoiler: Grace's motivation]].
138	* InsufferableGenius: Mr. Thistleton seems to have signs of this, where Magee instantly cuts off his communication after he tries to add something about his genius into the conversation.
139	* LeetLingo: [=JINGLESMELL1337=]
140	* LifeOfTheParty: Noel, where he's liked by pretty much everyone is one of the main reasons Wayne feels like he is AlwaysSomeoneBetter to him. He's so popular, he's even good buddies with the fearsome reindeer Thrasher.
141	* ItsAllMyFault: Grace realizes that not only her actions had jeopardized Christmas, but ''every'' child on Earth is being put on the Naughty List.
142	* MetaphorIsMyMiddleName: Soon after Wayne, Lanny and Noel enter [=JINGLESMELL1337=]'s house, Wayne says that stealth is his middle name.
143	-->'''Lanny''': ''(whispering to Noel)'' [[LiteralMinded I thought it was Francis.]] ''(Noel nods.)''
144	* MirrorCharacter: Wayne and [[spoiler:Grace, in their relation with their respective brothers]].
145	* MyCard: Carol slips Lanny a card with her name and phone number.
146	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: Grace]] has one when [[spoiler: she]] realizes that her actions might have caused the end of Christmas.
147	* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: [[spoiler: Grace introduces herself as Goodwin, Grace Goodwin.]]
148	* OffscreenBreakup: Magee and Tiny aren't dating anymore.
149	* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: The password for the naughty list is "please". Justified because truly naughty kids don't even use the word in everyday conversation, so they wouldn't even think of it being the password.
150	* [[spoiler: SamusIsAGirl: The hacker turns out to be a girl.]]
151	* SavingChristmas: And this time, [[spoiler: ''[[SequelEscalation for the whole world]]'']].
152	* ShoutOut:
153	** [[Film/AChristmasStory Ralphie and the "I like Santa" kid]] appear in the line to see Santa.
154	** [[spoiler: Grace]] wears a Franchise/DisneyPrincess shirt and has dolls of WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse and [[Ride/JourneyIntoImagination Figment]] in her room.
155	** One of the books on Grace's desk is ''Walt Disney's Comics''.
156	** The doll that attacks the elves is a parody of [[Series/SesameStreet "Hug-Me Elmo"]].
157	** Noel calls Thrasher "WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}".
158	* StillSucksThumb: Lanny sucks his thumb when he falls asleep on the front steps of Grace's house.
159	* StockSoundEffects: Grace's baby brother is "voiced" by ''those'' baby sounds. You know the ones.
160	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: While the Prep & Landing teams are equipped with a couple of sparkle grenades for the occasional Creature that's Stirring, the Coal-Elf Brigade members tote a 7-shot launcher. Why? Because Naughty Children are more likely to be still awake when Santa is due to come by.
161	* ThroughHisStomach: Carol gives Lanny a much bigger drink than she gave to Wayne.
162	* {{Tomboy}}: Grace
163	* UnderTheMistletoe: When Wayne is angry at Noel, the latter asks if it's about his sharing a kiss with Wayne's old sweetheart Dolores under mistletoe. In Noel's defense, he didn't notice the mistletoe.
164	* ViewersAreGoldfish: Thistleton says at the end of act one, "Every child is going on the naughty list!" and then at the beginning of act three, "As I said, every child is going on the naughty list!"
165	* VocalDissonance: [[spoiler: Carol has a beautiful singing voice in contrast to her appearance.]]
166	* TheVoiceless: Carol the bartender of Christmas Carol's [[spoiler: until TheStinger where it is revealed she actually has a very nice singing voice]].
167	* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[spoiler: The technology is recovered, [[HeelFaceTurn the hacker realizes the error of her ways]], Wayne and Noel reconcile... And all of a sudden, Christmas is endangered for ''THE ENTIRE PLANET''!!]]
168	--> '''Wayne:''' [[OhCrap "Oh frostbite."]]

Context WesternAnimation / PrepAndLanding