| Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice | |
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| Genre | Animated television special |
| Created by | The Walt Disney Company |
| Based on | |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Michael Giacchino[1] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Dorothy McKim |
| Editor | Jeff Draheim |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | December 5, 2011 (2011-12-05) |
Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice is an American animated television special, produced byWalt Disney Animation Studios, and directed by Kevin Deters andStevie Wermers-Skelton. It aired on December 5, 2011, on theABC TV channel.[2] The special is the second 22-minute Christmas special, and the fourth short film in thePrep & Landing series, afterPrep & Landing,Tiny's Big Adventure, andOperation: Secret Santa. Another 22-minute special,Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol, was released on November 27, 2025 (Thanksgiving night) onDisney Channel, the first of the series to debut via that channel.[3][4]
The beginning of the special introduces the Coal Elf Brigade, a special unit ofChristmas elves responsible fordelivering lumps of coal to naughty children. While seeming cruel to some, the brigade adds small, encouraging notes in an attempt to steer the children back to the nice list.
With Christmas Day approaching, Wayne and Lanny race to recover classified North Pole technology that has fallen into the hands of ahacker identified only as "jinglesmell1337". Desperate to prevent Christmas from descending into chaos, Wayne is assigned his younger brother Noel, an expert in naughty children and member of the Coal Elf Brigade.[2] Reluctant to take Noel along with him, Wayne relents, and Noel joins the Prep & Landing team on the mission. During the trip, Noel and Wayne reminisce about their childhood, when they worked together far better than they do now. As the trio arrives at the hacker's house, Wayne sets off a booby trap, imperiling the entire team; Noel manages to defend himself, Wayne takes a particular beating from the trap's various mechanisms, and Lanny makes it into the hacker's room, only to be captured.
The hacker then reveals herself to be a child named Grace Goodwin. Her mission is to get herself off the naughty list, believing that she had been set up by her toddler brother, Gabriel, who had destroyed her favorite toy and ruined her chances to ask Santa for a new one by his crying. After Lanny suggests using the "magic word" to get the password for the device that will get her off the list, she does just that: using the word "please" as the password. At first, she appears successful in changing her status. Meanwhile, Wayne is particularly bitter at being "shown up" by his younger brother, prompting a fight in the street in front of Grace's house. Noel throws what he had intended to give Wayne as a Christmas present at him: a toy sled that Wayne had wanted as a kid but was never able to get. This prompts Wayne to reconcile with Noel and carry out the mission. Grace, watching the whole argument as it unfolds, learns a powerful lesson and a newfound appreciation for her younger brother.
Wayne then receives a call from Magee who tells him that the device is causing bigger problems by transferring every child to the naughty list, and Mr. Thistleton can't access the device to fix it. Wayne tells them that the antenna is broken. Mr. Thistleton tells him to fix it by attaching it to a powerful antenna to reverse the damage. Grace assists the elves and apologizes for being naughty. Noel and Wayne climb to the top of the building, and realize that they cannot go near the antenna due to electric hazards, so they work together to launch the calculator to it, restoring the connection and reversing the damage, saving Christmas.
The next morning, Gabriel gives Grace her new Christmas present; a replacement toy for the one he had destroyed a year prior. Meanwhile, back at the North Pole, Wayne and Noel both win the title of "Elves of the Year" for their efforts and cooperation.
The special was released on DVD and Blu-ray ofPrep & Landing: Totally Tinsel Collection on November 6, 2012, together withPrep & Landing,Operation: Secret Santa, andTiny's Big Adventure.[5][6] The 3D version of the special was screened at theMuppet*Vision 3D theatre atDisney California Adventure inAnaheim, CA.[7]
On December 5, 2011, on the day of its first broadcast,Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice was nominated for elevenAnnie Awards in seven categories by theInternational Animated Film Association,ASIFA-Hollywood.[8] It tiedRango for the most awards with four, winning for character animation, character design, music and storyboarding in a broadcast production at its39th annual ceremony.[9]
| Result | Award | Winner/Nominee Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominated | Best General Audience Animated TV Production | Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| Nominated | Character Animation in a Television Production | Chad Sellers |
| Nominated | Rebecca Wilson Bresee | |
| Won | Tony Smeed | |
| Won | Character Design in a Television Production | Bill Schwab |
| Nominated | Directing in a Television Production | Kevin Deters,Stevie Wermers-Skelton |
| Won | Music in a Television Production | Grace Potter,Michael Giacchino |
| Nominated | Storyboarding in a Television Production | Barry W. Johnson |
| Won | Brian Kesinger | |
| Nominated | Joe Mateo | |
| Nominated | Writing in a Television Production | Kevin Deters, Stevie Wermers-Skelton |