Tis the season to let the festive commercial deluge commence, and kicking things off is Disney, which is airing the third and last instalment of the ‘From My Family to Yours’ animated series for their Christmas ad this year, in aid of their charity Make-A-Wish.
The series, which started in 2020 with the story of Filipina grandmother and grand-daughter Lola and Nicole, continued in 2021 with Nicole all grown up. Titled The Stepfather, that year’s premise centred around Nicole introducing new boyfriend Mike to her own children Max and Ella.
As Disney have told us repeatedly, these ads have been praised for their depiction of a “blended family”, forgoing the idealised, traditionally nuclear family you might see on greetings cards for something increasingly closer to many peoples’ lived experience.
This year, we’re heading back to visit our Filipino friends again, with the focus shifting to the youngest child, daughter Ella, as Nicole and Mike prepare to welcome their first child together.
From the off, it’s clear that a huge amount of love and technical attention has been put into 2022’s Christmas advert.
The animation is wonderful. You can really see how the quality of what we’re seeing on screen has shifted since the first short was released, even as recently as 2020 – the strands of Ella’s hair and individual flakes of snow are all rendered with loving precision as the two siblings play around cutely in the snow.
That’s all well and good. But is it enough to melt a Christmas Grinch’s heart?
It’s tooth-achingly sweet, that’s for sure. Ella’s sadness at having to share her mother with a new child - casting sad looks her way when she’s shooed off to go play - is something I imagine most elder siblings (and parents) will be able to relate to, while her more sanguine brother Max’s attempts to cheer her up by offering hugs are also rather adorable.
And of course, the short ends with Ella putting her jealousy aside to gift her new sibling her beloved Mickey Mouse toy (described by Disney in an introduction to the advert as a symbol of hope and optimism. Cringe).
That said, the product placement is quite something. It shouldn’t be a surprise – Disney has had a firm monopoly on children’s wishes since the 1940s – and perhaps someone with a higher tolerance for this kind of thing would charitably call it an Easter egg, but seeing the kids hang Olaf baubles on the Christmas tree in the weeks before the big day sent a squirmy shudder through this jaded reviewer.
Disney has already released the track A Little More (recorded by Encanto voice actress Jessica Darrow) as a single in its own right, which, with its sweeping strings and emotive piano, is a study in melodrama.
But high sugar content aside, the ad’s core message is wholesome as a loaf of dark rye, and if it yanks a little too insistently on the heartstrings then it’s only to be expected. After all, it’s Christmas.
