Disney’s holiday short is a story of friendship and imagination

A doodle on a Christmas list isn’t a mistake or a smudge but an opportunity for a new friend in Disney’s heartwarming holiday short directed by Taika Waititi.

Over the course of the nearly three-minute spot, from adam&eveDDB, a young girl finishes her Christmas list with a doodle and leaves it for Santa, who mistakenly interprets the doodle as a request. Said doodle comes to life under the Christmas tree, and a new friendship is born.

Using a “logical misunderstanding” from Santa as a way into the narrative served as a fresh approach to familiar holiday story beats for the creative team, Darren Beresford, creative director, adam&eveDDB, told Marketing Brew.

Early on, it’s clear that the doodle is missing something—but the little girl can’t quite put her finger on it until she observes the doodle interacting with a plush version of the character Stitch, from Lilo & Stitch, and appearing envious of Stitch’s massive mouth. The little girl solves the dilemma the next Christmas by requesting a Mr. Potato Head toy and giving her doodle a mouth that she can stick on.

The doodle’s joy of having a mouth to talk and eat and enjoy all the things in the world (ultimately voiced by John Goodman) may be a reminder of how great the world can be.

Throughout the spot, there are moments where Disney products factor into the story and can naturally create change, making for a seamless narrative that can connect with audiences, Beresford explained.

“There’s products all over the ad,” he said, “but the thing is, because it’s Disney and because that is all over the place anyway, because a little girl’s bedroom is naturally filled with that sort of stuff, you don’t feel it like product placement.”

It helps that “Disney is very unique” in that way that “we’ve all grown up with it,” so there’s a feeling of nostalgia and excitement that’s easy to tap into, Rick Gayton, creative director at adam&eveDDB, said.

Real world: In addition to the short, Disney also rolled out an activation in Times Square where passersby were able to have their own doodles come to life on a billboard.