For the second year in a row, Disney and Taika Waititi have collaborated on a heartwarming original story of friendship for the holidays in A Disney Holiday Short: Best Christmas Ever –– now available to watch online and on Disney+.
At the center of the story is a little girl and her doodle who comes to life on Christmas Day after Santa mistakes the drawing for a holiday wish.
The short follows the charming story of the friendship between the girl and the animated product of her imagination during this magical season in a uniquely Disney way.
The lovable character Doodle is voiced by Disney Legend John Goodman, who has voiced numerous beloved animated characters for Disney, including James P. “Sulley” Sullivan from Disney and Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Monsters University (2013), as well as Pacha in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), and “Big Daddy” La Bouff in The Princess and the Frog (2009), among many other Disney titles.
Renowned Walt Disney Animation Studios animator Eric Goldberg, the creator of beloved Disney characters such as Genie from Aladdin (1992), acted as an advisor on the animation of the short in collaboration with Untold Studios, producer hungryman, and creative agency adam&eveDDB.
This short follows last year’s Emmy-nominated, A Disney Holiday Short: The Boy & The Octopus, also directed by Taika Waititi, whose numerous Disney credits include Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), and Searchlight Pictures’ Jojo Rabbit (2019), for which he won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
“What makes this story uniquely Disney is the fact that it’s set in the world of a kid. It’s a kid and her new best friend, navigating the complex world together, and doing it just with the power of friendship and imagination,” said Taika Waititi.
Watch the full short here:
The short includes a sweet score rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”, is filled with other “Easter eggs” from Pixar’s Toy Story, and ends with the little girl and her friend Doodle riding the teacups in Disneyland Paris.
