Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice (2011)

Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice (2011) is an American animated television special, created by Walt Disney Animation Studios and helmed by directors Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers. In the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the Coal Elf Brigade, a specialized group of Christmas elves tasked with delivering coal to children who have been deemed naughty. While this may seem harsh to some, the brigade also includes encouraging notes in hopes of steering these children towards the nice list. As Christmas Day draws near, Wayne and Lanny must race against time to retrieve top-secret North Pole technology that has been hacked by an individual known only as ‘jinglesmell1337’. Desperate to prevent chaos from overtaking Christmas, Wayne enlists the help of his younger brother Noel, an expert on handling naughty children and a member of the Coal Elf Brigade himself. Though initially hesitant to bring Noel along for the ride, Wayne eventually agrees and together they join forces with the rest of Prep & Landing team on their mission. During their journey, brothers Noel and Wayne reflect on their past memories working together as a dynamic duo.

As the trio arrives at the hacker’s house, Wayne springs a booby trap, endangering the whole team. While Noel successfully defends himself, Wayne suffers a rough blow from the trap’s multiple mechanisms. Meanwhile, Lanny manages to reach the hacker’s room but is ultimately captured. To their surprise, the hacker is revealed to be Grace Goodwin, who is determined to clear her name from the naughty list. She believes her younger brother Gabriel was responsible for ruining her chances by breaking her favorite toy and causing her to miss out on asking Santa for a new one due to his constant crying. After Lanny suggests using a ‘magic word’ as the password for a device that can remove her from the naughty list, she quickly takes his advice and utters ‘please’. As it turns out, this simple word is rarely used by genuinely naughty children. At first, it seems like Grace has successfully changed her status from naughty to nice. However, the device malfunctions and puts the entire planet at risk of being placed on the naughty list unless Grace and her team can complete a dangerous mission to fix it.